Detailing process after sealant question.

[Teebs]

I'm new to detailing. I apologize if this has been covered elsewhere; I did search.

Car: 2012 Audi S4
Where: Minnesota, with Minnesota winters
What I've done so far: Touchless carwash, clay, meguiar 205 on PC, meguiar 21 sealant (2 coats).

Question: How do I clean the car while maximizing the life of the sealant? Just one drive will make the car dirty. The winter weather in the midwest makes it essentially impossible for me to wash the car in my detached garage (no water source, no heat, no drain). Thus, I take it to a touchless wash. But does a touchless wash strip the paint of the sealant? Or is the sealant somewhat resilient to a carwash?

thanks for any guidance,
Teebs

[Wors]

Welcome to AGO Teebs!

Touchless soap could possibly strip your LSP quicker than using a LSP safe soap at home. Touchless soap is usually very strong to make sure it gets the most dirt off the car without caring for your LSP.

In the winters most use either a rinseless or waterless wash method to keep cars clean.

One common method is to take the car to spray bay and rinse the salt/dirt off without soap then perform a rinseless wash.

[vet]

Welcome!

I've ''heard'' that the prewash in the touchless car wash is what's hard on the wax. I think it probably varies between individual sites. I'm in Illinois, and have the same problem (no drain, heavy road salt, etc.), but my garage is usually warm enough do it. I use the manual bay at the car wash once in a while if the grime is heavy, then do an ONR wash when I get home. I also use the touchless to get the under car wash, so they aren't all bad.

I use DP Poliseal, and top it with Max Wax, it seems to hold up decently in my unprofessional opinion.

People smarter than me will chime in, I'm sure.

I sometimes use a spray wax after a wash to revive the shine.

[WAXOFF]

I would use Collinite 476s as you top coat. The grime doesn't stick as bad and you can even rinse a lot of it off becasue the surface is so slick.

[VroomVroom]

I think your topcoat is just fine. #21 is a good product. With two coats, even better. I second the nomination for Optimum No-Rinse or equivalent. GREAT stuff, with tons of 'how-to' write-ups and vids to ensure it's used without ill effects. Totally THE solution for your situation. If you have the time and energy, a follow up coat of sealant every month will keep a nice layer of protection that can compete well against road salt and winter grime.

What color is your S4? (SWEET car, btw.) You'll notice that the clearcoat is HARD, and when it comes time to level some swirls and light scratches, that you'll need more oomph...pad, product, and elbow grease. But heck....that's a worry for spring.

[CM8 6MT]

I think your topcoat is just fine. #21 is a good product. With two coats, even better. I second the nomination for Optimum No-Rinse or equivalent. GREAT stuff, with tons of 'how-to' write-ups and vids to ensure it's used without ill effects. Totally THE solution for your situation. If you have the time and energy, a follow up coat of sealant every month will keep a nice layer of protection that can compete well against road salt and winter grime.

What color is your S4? (SWEET car, btw.) You'll notice that the clearcoat is HARD, and when it comes time to level some swirls and light scratches, that you'll need more oomph...pad, product, and elbow grease. But heck....that's a worry for spring.

I agree ONR is a great product which i use extensively.

If your looking for a sealant that looks amazing in the looks department, you cant go wrong with Meguiar's M21 or Wolfgangs DGPS 3.0

If your looking for durability, Menzerna Powerlock or Collinite 845 are great choices for that.

[Teebs]

Thank you for all of the thoughtful responses! I will definitely give ONR a try. Also, I'll learn about the Collinite or Menzerna products.

VroomVroom:
It's a Monsoon Grey S4, and it's awesome so far. I moved up from a 2002 Impreza WRX - unstoppable in snow, served me well. But, from a paint perspective, I felt like swirls were made by breathing on it. The Audi clearcoat seems much harder. In fact I was wondering if my initial PC passes with Meg 205 on a white lake country pad was doing anything.

thanks again, I look forward to learning more on the forum,
Teebs

[CM8 6MT]

Thank you for all of the thoughtful responses! I will definitely give ONR a try. Also, I'll learn about the Collinite or Menzerna products.

VroomVroom:
It's a Monsoon Grey S4, and it's awesome so far. I moved up from a 2002 Impreza WRX - unstoppable in snow, served me well. But, from a paint perspective, I felt like swirls were made by breathing on it. The Audi clearcoat seems much harder. In fact I was wondering if my initial PC passes with Meg 205 on a white lake country pad was doing anything.

thanks again, I look forward to learning more on the forum,
Teebs

205 is a fine polish, it wont touch hard Audi CC if it has moderate swirls. You can hower correct down with it on softer paint systems.

You can move up to something like Meguiar's Ultimate Compound. Or, if you want to try the Menzerna line you can move up to SF4000.

[spiralout462]

205 is a fine polish, it wont touch hard Audi CC if it has moderate swirls. You can hower correct down with it on softer paint systems.

You can move up to something like Meguiar's Ultimate Compound. Or, if you want to try the Menzerna line you can move up to SF4000.

Do you think SF4000 provides more cut than 205? Sorry about the thread jack.

[CM8 6MT]

Do you think SF4000 provides more cut than 205? Sorry about the thread jack.

The last time I had a chance to play with SF4000 was in a trainning class here in town. I would say it has a bit more cut than 205.