Which coating for a brand new car and how to I prep the paint for the coating?

[Mike Phillips]

Which coating for a brand new car and how to I prep the paint for the coating?



Anytime I get questions via e-mail, a PM or a FB message I prefer to invest my typing time where

A: It's easier for me to share links, pictures and videos.

B: More people can read and thus benefit from the information. (no just one set of eyeballs


So I get an e-mail from a long-time Internet friend asking,

Hi Mike,

Jeff here up in Wisconsin. You used to answer questions for me back when you were with Meguiars and I've always valued your expertise and enormous contributions to our hobby.

After two decades of owning used cars that I drive for about a year, then flip, I'm going to buy a new Honda or Toyota soon.

Because I've never kept my cars too long, I just use traditional wax (usually Meguiars Ultimate or a Pinnacle product) as my LSP. But, I plan to keep this new vehicle long term and I'm excited to start with unmolested paint!

If you purchased a new Honda or Toyota and lived in Wisconsin, what would YOU do to keep the paint protected?

My instinct says to

1. clay,
2. DA polish with Meguiars 205 and a finishing pad,
3. then protect with CQuartz.

However, I trust YOUR recommendation, though, as you've ALWAYS steered me in the right direction. Thank you for your input.


Keep up the fantastic work, you've solidified your place as THE paint correction guru.

Seriously.

Sincerely,

Jeff

Hi Jeff,

And thank you for the kind words.

Hope you don't mind that as a a practice I answer questions on the forum as my typing time is so limited now days.


As for your plan of attack for you new vehicle, there's nothing wrong with it that I can see.

From experience, even a BRAND NEW car will have at a minimum, light swirls and scratches and usually some form of chemical contamination.

These three steps,

1. Washing
2. Claying
3. Machine polishing

Will remove any surface contamination as well as remove the fine or shallow swirls and scratches thus getting you down to a clean base for to apply a coating.


CQuartz is a great brand and as long as you do the prep steps correctly, then chemically strip the paint and then correctly apply and remove the CQuartz coating you should have an amazing looking finish.



My comments...

Sometimes M205 can be a tick too aggressive on softer paints and induce micro-marring. You won't know until you try. If you want, instead get the Pinnacle Advanced Swirl Remover. This is a medium cut polish, probably a tick more correction ability than the M205 but it works on any paint system, hard, soft or anything in-between. It's expensive but also bubba-proof.


As for coatings, if this is a daily driver and the car is driven in the rain at least some portion of the year, then I wouldn't get caught up in set-in and forget-it long term protection.

Instead, plan on doing a light polish once a year and the re-coat. That's if you want the paint to always look the best. If you're less concerned with how the car looks and are more interested in protection than 2, 3, 4, etc. coatings are the way to go.



Here's the link to CarPro products

Here's the link to Pinnacle Advanced Swirl Remover

Here's the link to Meguiar's products


Hope that helps and congratulations on the new car!

[Mike Phillips]

Also,

See what I wrote here today from another e-mail question sent to me over the weekend...



Coating questions? Do they degrade? Are you married to them? Can you go back to a wax or sealant?

[Mike Phillips]

And two more resources for you...

First - EVERYHONE asks


How long will brand XYZ coating last?

or

How long will a brand XYZ car wax last?

or

How long will brand XYZ synthetic paint sealant last?



And the answer to how long ANYTHING will last comes down to what I always type on this forum....


It depends on how the paint is TOUCHED.



By the word touched, I mean exactly that. How is the paint going to be touched?

1. Are you going to run the car through a swirl-o-matic brush style car wash?
   
   
2. Or wash it yourself carefully by hand?
   
   
3. Are you going to inspect your microfiber towels before wiping the paint with a spray detailer?

It's real simple, how long anything lasts OR how long anything LOOKS GOOD - all comes down to how you "touch" your car's paint.

[Mike Phillips]

And this...

Probably the most important article I've written in the year 2017


Click the link, read the text, watch the video and look at the pictures...


How, why & when to inspect your microfiber towels when detailing cars

[Mike Phillips]

***Bump***


Hey Jeff,

Did any of the above help you out?


I sent you the link to my answers via e-mail but never heard back from you?

Was any of this important?

[tidmack]

Fellas, I read Mike's advice he shared with me, but never fully realized Mike shared the info in the forum. I just want to chime in and let everyone know I ended up picking up a Toyota Highlander. I'm in Wisconsin, so keeping daily drivers clean can be difficult. BUT, Mike's suggestions for a new vehicle were spot on. Upon arrival, with just 5 miles, I clayed and waxed the paint (I'm a Meguiars Ultimate Paste guy). I did some spot polishing, but that's all. Underneath, I pulled body & frame plugs, and sprayed with Fluid Film to help protect the undercarriage in winter. I know there are other products out there, but for this application, I felt like Fluid Film was my best choice.

For those who might be newer to Autogeek, there's no one I trust more with paint correction than Mike Phillips. For 20 years, I've never been steered wrong by his advice.

Jeff

[Mike Phillips]

Fellas, I read Mike's advice he shared with me, but never fully realized Mike shared the info in the forum.

I just want to chime in and let everyone know I ended up picking up a Toyota Highlander. I'm in Wisconsin, so keeping daily drivers clean can be difficult. BUT, Mike's suggestions for a new vehicle were spot on. Upon arrival, with just 5 miles, I clayed and waxed the paint (I'm a Meguiars Ultimate Paste guy). I did some spot polishing, but that's all. Underneath, I pulled body & frame plugs, and sprayed with Fluid Film to help protect the undercarriage in winter. I know there are other products out there, but for this application, I felt like Fluid Film was my best choice.


For those who might be newer to Autogeek, there's no one I trust more with paint correction than Mike Phillips. For 20 years, I've never been steered wrong by his advice.

Jeff

Hi Jeff,

Welcome to AutogeekOnline!


Yeah.... I'm not very good at answering questions in e-mail, I prefer to invest the typing time where others can see the info for years even decades....

Glad to hear you were able to take care of the brand new Toyota Highlander!