New vehicle, busy guy

[Pure Kinetics]

New car (dark blue), paint appears flawless. I need the fewest steps possible to keep the paint job protected. I suspect I will need to use clay. Should I use fine or ultra fine grade? After, is both a sealant and a wax necessary? It seems to me they would serve the same purpose.

 

I'm just looking to keep the paint as protected as possible, and don't really need showroom results - more like preventative maintenance. Please advise.

 

Thanks!

[mc2hill]

Check to see if you need to clay by doing the 'baggie' test. Put you hand in a plastic bag and feel the surface of the car, if it is rough it should be clayed to remove the surface contaminants. Adam's clay is a fine grade clay.

 

You are correct on the protection - a sealant and a wax do the same thing, but by different means and can give a different look. A sealant bonds with the paint and will protect the longest, but a wax will usually look a little better, which is why lots of folks will put the sealant down and put a wax over it.

[Chewy]

Do as Michael has stated. Make sure you do the baggie test on a just washed vehicle.

 

Any time you get the paint as clean as possible, you increase the length of time your LSP (wax or sealant) last. IMO, if you want the longest life product available, go with AQS or MSS depending on if you own a Flex or Porter Cable polisher or not. MSS needs the machine, whereas the AQS doesn't.

 

Personally, I use the AQS on my DD's and it's AWESOME!!! Easy on, easy off, and LASTS!!! I apply two "coats" to get me through the winter in IA.

 

Pre cleaning the paint with Adams Revive polish will make the paint pop even more, but it's NOT mandatory.

 

Chris

Edited March 25, 2013 by Chewy

[THE Mook]

Hello,

 

More than likely you will need to clay bar the vehicle. Michael mentioned the baggie test, once the car is clean. That's a great place to start. If it feels pretty smooth, you don't need to clay. At that point, for protection, I would suggest Adam's Quick Sealant for a Daily Driven vehicle. If it really is flawless, making sure you stay on top of maintaining that the right way is paramount. Two Bucket washes with Grit Guards in the bottom of each bucket, Adam's Car Shampoo, two separate wash pads for the upper 2/3 and the lower 1/3, Adam's Detail Spray as a drying agent, the use of the Great White Drying Towel, and if you can afford it, something like the Sidekick or Master Blaster to aid in getting the water off the car.

 

Mook

[gencoupe3dot8]

I concur with the above but have a question for you:

 

Is the paint really flawless? Do an IPA wipe-down after your wash. Did any swirls appear? The reason I ask is often dealers will use glazes or other fillers to hide swirls, rather than doing a high quality detail (using polishes to make the paint "perfect")

 

Curious to hear your results.

 

[m]

[Pure Kinetics]

I concur with the above but have a question for you:

 

Is the paint really flawless? Do an IPA wipe-down after your wash. Did any swirls appear? The reason I ask is often dealers will use glazes or other fillers to hide swirls, rather than doing a high quality detail (using polishes to make the paint "perfect")

 

Curious to hear your results.

 

[m]

 

Will do - the car was not on the lot for not more than a day since it was a SO. The dealer did a quick detail upon delivery, not sure what exactly they did.

[gencoupe3dot8]

I suspect you have some DIS (Dealer installed swirls). I would highly suggest an IPA wipe-down after a wash.. and a baggie test for sure... even brand new cars need clayed (rail dust, etc during shipment).

 

[m]

[high_lander]

Yes, this is true. I clayed/sealed my new FX2. When I was claying, I got a light orange colored residue on the claybar and the detail spray runoff was also light orange, so there was lots of raildust and contaminants in the paint even though the car was hand washed by me. Threw down some Machine Super Sealant after that.

 

I also think the rail dust was more apparent since my truck is white. First thing I do on our new vehicles is clay those suckers.

[Redbeard]

Yes, this is true. I clayed/sealed my new FX2. When I was claying, I got a light orange colored residue on the claybar and the detail spray runoff was also light orange, so there was lots of raildust and contaminants in the paint even though the car was hand washed by me. Threw down some Machine Super Sealant after that.

 

I also think the rail dust was more apparent since my truck is white. First thing I do on our new vehicles is clay those suckers.

 

On that note, Adam's new Deep Wheel Cleaner can also be used on paint to get rid of metallic contaminants:

"Adam's Deep Wheel Cleaner is great for more than just wheels too! Have a light colored paint job like white or silver? Then you've no doubt noticed the little orange iron particles that stick to your paint. Adam's Deep Wheel Cleaner can be sprayed on these little trouble areas and used to dissolve the iron from these surfaces as well."