Starting Right

[Jeff97223]

I have a brand new Racing Red F 150 4X4 and I want to get started taking care of it on the right foot. What do I do and how soon after I bought it do I do it? Can I wax it right away? Should I use wax or a paint sealant? Is waterless wash appropriate for new paint? I would really appreciate your advice on this!

[GSKR]

To keep things simple wash it and dry.Take a sandwich bag put it on your hand.More than likely you will feel bumps like grit with your fingers.If so clay it and try the new McKee Def sealant.

[Jeff97223]

To keep things simple wash it and dry.Take a sandwich bag put it on your hand.More than likely you will feel bumps like grit with your fingers.If so clay it and try the new McKee Def sealant.

Thank you for your quick response! I read the information and directions on the McKee sealant and it looks very good. My biggest issue might be finding a dry day to reapply it in six months........I live in Oregon! But I will see what I can figure out.

I also have a lot of black plastic/polymer parts (grill, door handles, bed rails). What do you recommend for that?

[custmsprty]

I have a brand new Racing Red F 150 4X4 and I want to get started taking care of it on the right foot. What do I do and how soon after I bought it do I do it? Can I wax it right away? Should I use wax or a paint sealant? Is waterless wash appropriate for new paint? I would really appreciate your advice on this!

Here you go, everything you ever wanted to know and then some from the Professor of Detailing Mike Phillips. He put together an in depth comprehensive post on detailing new vehicles:

https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-articles/54451-how-detail-your-brand-new-car-mike-phillips.html

[Jeff97223]

To keep things simple wash it and dry.Take a sandwich bag put it on your hand.More than likely you will feel bumps like grit with your fingers.If so clay it and try the new McKee Def sealant.


I have another question....sorry!

Will using a waterless wash product like Mequiar's Ultimate Wash & Wax Anywhere affect the adhesion of the sealant?

[Paul A.]

With regard to how soon you can do any of this the answer is immediately. I think the wait period for new vehicle paint has all been disspelled as it's applied and fully cured by the time you take delivery. That's not necessarily the case with repaints from a body shop but new vehicles are ready to go.

[cleanmycorolla]

I have another question....sorry!

Will using a waterless wash product like Mequiar's Ultimate Wash & Wax Anywhere affect the adhesion of the sealant?

no

[Route246]

I just took delivery of a new car a few months ago. Here is my advice.

After reading the forums I chose products, kept it simple and committed. There are so many choices out there it is difficult to make a choice. Don't get sucked into trying this or that or the latest thing that is touted here. You'll be loading yourself up with unnecessary self-doubt and remorse. Just pick something and go for it. You cannot go wrong with any of the house brands here, but there are plenty others that are also competent and will work just fine. If you try to over-analyze and over-optimize you'll just be in a vicious circle of loading up your garage with surplus products.

The only decontamination I did was a thorough clay bar but that yielded very little, the finish was slick already but it was more for peace of mind. I did not use any iron-x or other iron product.

For sealant I chose Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant 3.0. Why? Because among the multitude of suggestions I read here this one seemed to get the most positive responses. It was a matter of 5-10 different approaches and I had to choose one so this one was chosen. "Easy application" was the main attraction.

To top DGPS I chose Fuzion. Why? Because I just paid $40K+ for my new car (it is a weekend driver and sits in the garage during the week) and it seemed like the appropriate match and kept it in the Wolfgang family. This is probably not an optimal decision criterion but it makes me feel comfortable. Fuzion goes on like a dream and wipes off like a dream, too. If I did not use Fuzion I was going to top it with Collinite 476s paste. I am a big fan of paste waxes applied by machine.

For wheels, tires, trim, windows and headlights I used other products which I won't name here since they are all pretty good. I have too many products now but three other vehicles to use them on. The new car gets only DGPS and Fuzion. The other three vehicles get whatever appeals to me at the time of application.

[soobaroo]

Another vote for Wolfgang deep gloss paint sealant. Clay it first for peace of mind and top the sealant with wax if you want to but not a necessary step. Rinseless washes and microfiber towels are a much better method than using car washes with their brushes. We get new Subarus every few years and I clay them and put sealant on as soon as I get them home. It's perfectly safe. Enjoy your new truck.

[Mike Phillips]

From one Oregonian to another....

Click the link, read through the thread and it will walk you through the steps to take and the order to do them...


How To Detail Your Brand New Car by Mike Phillips (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-articles/54451-how-detail-your-brand-new-car-mike-phillips.html)



:)

[Crispy]

I have another question....sorry!

Will using a waterless wash product like Mequiar's Ultimate Wash & Wax Anywhere affect the adhesion of the sealant?

Jeff 97223,

Read the article and it will answer your questions.