Ugh - Correcting Paint after "Dealer Prep"

[USMCStang]

Straight to the point:


New-to-me, Black, 2018 F150 Lariat. Picked up two weeks ago. Chrome package (PVD chrome wheels, chrome running boards/ bumpers/ exhaust tip, "plastic chrome" grill, mirror caps, etc.)
The dealer ever-so-generously "prepped" it before I took possession, sigh.

Absolutely FLOODED some sort of vinyl/ rubber/ plastic treatment all through the wheel wells, tires, weathertech floor mats, and the bed liner (there were actually puddles of whatever "armor-all" type substance they used in the bed liner!), and any other black plastic surface. I darn near broke my neck because the running boards were so slippery.
Sprayed/ applied something or other over the paint, glass, and chrome wheels/ bumpers. It beads really nicely right now, but who knows what it is or how long it will last anyway.


The paint is swirled to hell.
There is a substantial amount of tar/ road gunk in the wheel wells, bumper ends, and underbody. Presumably more on the actual paintwork as well, but it's harder to see due to black paint.


Needless to say, "dealer prep" only put lipstick on a pig, and magnified the swirls, probably induced more swirls, and left me with some work ahead. There are no deep scratches, no dents, very, very minimal chipping on the leading edge of the hood (looks like some were touched up), and two minor scratches on the windshield. The truck is begging to have a well thought out and PROPER reset to bring it back to better-than-new.

I'm waiting on a few products to be shipped to me. Otherwise, I mostly use OTC products (primarily Meguiars brand, I trust their products and they're available OTC), as they've served me well for years, and as the saying goes "Find what you love, and keep using it". I do have Summit Racing equipment's headquarters 10 minutes away, and can pick up a lot of the professional line stuff locally from them)

What I have done so far:

A general overall foam, wash, & dry with Meguiar's Ultimate Soap
Washed down the bed liner, running boards, and floor mats with APC to remove the slickness from them.
Washed the wheels with Meg's All-Wheel cleaner (they certainly bled out a lot of Iron contamination), followed by wheels and tires with Meg's hot rims wheel and tire cleaner.
Threw some temporary Meguiar's Gold Class liquid wax on the wheels as a temporary protection layer.
Nevr-Dulled the running boards, and exhaust tip (had to use some 0000 steel wool and polish on the exhaust tip).


So, I'm left with a clean, swirled black truck with shiny wheels, running boards, and exhaust tip. It's garaged daily, by the way. Interior is nice and clean right now.


The meat of my question(s):
I don't know what type, brand, formulation, or method was used to coat the paintwork by the dealer. It might have just a spray "glaze", or it could have been hand applied wax (doubtful). I don't know if the previous owner ever waxed it, sprayed it, or had even a professionally applied ceramic coating/ sealant.

All I DO know is that it "beads", looks nice from 10ft. away in the shade, and that the sealed-in swirls need correction. I also know I tend to overthink, lol.




Do I IronX/ decontaminate, clay, then polish?
or
Do I clay (to help remove coating product), THEN Iron-X, & polish?
Do I wash the entire truck down with something a bit harsher than standard car-wash soap before doing any of this? (Remember, I prefer OTC. I have meg's ultimate and deep-crystal soaps on-hand, along with megs pro APC and other household cleaning products)


Basically, I want to strip whatever products the dealer applied and have "clean" surfaces to work with, but I don't know what products are present. I also don't want to clog up claybars create more swrls, or smear things around, creating even more work. I don't think there will be a need for compounding...polish should get the job done. (I have a Griot's 6" polisher and Meg's ultimate compounds, polishes, and wax).

Lastly, I've really liked the Meguiar's Ceramic Spray Wax since it was released, but I'm hearing some good things about the Turtle Wax Flex-Wax (the "graphene" stuff) on Black. I'm not planning on any "True" ceramic coatings, so it's going to be one or the other...what's your vote? I don't mind "waxing" twice or more a year. ;)

[Lance Mark]

Wash > Iron Remover > Clay Bar

As for an intense wash, I've tried CarPro's Reset. Not a regular wash, but it does the trick. Super sudsy, a little bit goes a long way. This or a bath like it is what I'd do in your situation.

If you are looking for a stout easy to apply LSP, try Gyeon's CanCoat. Super easy to apply. You need to get the car ready as if you are putting a coating on it, but the application is easy. Spray product into a MF and quickly rub it into the surface and then buff until dry. As it bonds to the surface and you buff it off, you can feel the surface change and become slick as snot. And it looks really impressive. Looks like a bit of glass on the surface. :)

[WhiteShadow89]

I am sorry to hear that man. Anytime the dealer can or offers to touch your car always say no.

I can't imagine a dealer doing anything beyond a ceramic spray on wax or sealant of sorts. Both don't require very much to remove. I prefer to always do the iron/fallout spray first and claying second. Not knowing how long it has been since your vehicle was washed, if it is garage kept or driven I would just do a decontamination wash (includes fallout/iron spray and claying). From there you can test a spot to see if the dealer protectant is still around, but since you plan to correct the swirls I would jump right into correcting the swirls. I am assuming you own some sort of compound (like M105) and a buffer since you want to correct the swirls. Whatever you use with the buffer to remove the swirls will also remove whatever light protectant they have on there. Hope this helps!

Edit: Spelling.

[Lance Mark]

I would be curious as to why so many recommend an iron remover before clay barring.

I have a theory, but I'm still a noob and would be curious as to what the vets have to say.

The need for an iron remover is because there is iron imbedded on the surface of the paint. If you were to clay bar first, could you pull a piece of iron off of the surface and then drag it across the clear coat?

[2black1s]

Sounds to me like either of your plan options will work.

Typically the chemical decon is performed before claying, but I understand the concern that whatever coating product they used could interfere, therefore claying first might provide some advantage. Or you could get really crazy and do a chemical-clay-chemical process. That would cover all bases.

Any way you do it, on black it's hard to see the color change during the chemical decon so you're really relying on the process to do its thing without the obvious visual indicators you would see on lighter colors.

[Desertnate]

Do I IronX/ decontaminate, clay, then polish?

This would be my vote. Get rid of every trace of the gunk the dealership applied.

As for the protective product there are so many choices these days which can be applied in a number of ways. There are spray sealants these days just as durable, or more so than traditional liquid ones, and others which are starting to challenge the "lite" coatings like CanCoat or CarPro Lite.

[Bruno Soares]

If you can dissolve iron contaminants instead of picking them up and dragging with a clay bar, wouldn’t that make sense? That’s why we say iron remover first, then clay.

[Azure]

I would be curious as to why so many recommend an iron remover before clay barring.

I have a theory, but I'm still a noob and would be curious as to what the vets have to say.

The need for an iron remover is because there is iron imbedded on the surface of the paint. If you were to clay bar first, could you pull a piece of iron off of the surface and then drag it across the clear coat?

I'm old, but not a vet at detailing lol. The theory I've always gone with was you'd remove contaminants that would likely scratch the paint more than if you were to clay bar first.

[Azure]

If you can dissolve iron contaminants instead of picking them up and dragging with a clay bar, wouldn’t that make sense? That’s why we say iron remover first, then clay.

You explained it much better.

[WhiteShadow89]

I would be curious as to why so many recommend an iron remover before clay barring.

I have a theory, but I'm still a noob and would be curious as to what the vets have to say.

The need for an iron remover is because there is iron imbedded on the surface of the paint. If you were to clay bar first, could you pull a piece of iron off of the surface and then drag it across the clear coat?

Pretty much lol. There are things that iron/fallout sprays and claying excel at. Fallout sprays excel at removing deeply embedded fallout deposits that are in your clear while minimizing the marring to your bodywork (spray, desolve, wash away). Claying is not as effective at removing these types of deposits/containments and if done first it will: 1. Potentially only take off the top section of a deeply embedded iron/fallout deposit and 2. Iron is jagged and sharp. Any that gets into your mitt/pad/clay will not do your body work any favors.

If you haven't heard of the nano skin synthetic clay products, I would recommend trying them out. Fine grade should be....well fine lol. Compared to traditional claying they are time savers and reusable.

[vaca22]

My dealer told me the 15k mile service for next time includes a "hand wash". I'll tell them that while I appreciate the gesture, do NOT touch that car.

A friend of mine has a neat 2015.5 Volvo Polestar wagon. Took it to the dealer for some work, and specifically told them NOT to wash the car.

They washed the car, and wrecked his coating.

Now the dealer has to pay $1000 for a correction and recoat. Oops!

[bob m]

My dealer told me the 15k mile service for next time includes a "hand wash". I'll tell them that while I appreciate the gesture, do NOT touch that car.

A friend of mine has a neat 2015.5 Volvo Polestar wagon. Took it to the dealer for some work, and specifically told them NOT to wash the car.

They washed the car, and wrecked his coating.

Now the dealer has to pay $1000 for a correction and recoat. Oops!


Happened to me at Audi a few ago, told them not to wash and yep, washed. Luckily, there weren't any obvious swirls - or maybe I just didn't want to bring out a light and check for them. Some people, besides telling the service person not to wash, make "signs" to leave on the dash...just in case they don't get the memo.
I know 99% of people are not detailing fanatics, but to be ok with dealers using such terribly poor materials and techniques to swirl up finishes, jeeeezzz.

[psnt1ol]

Happened to me at Audi a few ago, told them not to wash and yep, washed. Luckily, there weren't any obvious swirls - or maybe I just didn't want to bring out a light and check for them. Some people, besides telling the service person not to wash, make "signs" to leave on the dash...just in case they don't get the memo.
I know 99% of people are not detailing fanatics, but to be ok with dealers using such terribly poor materials and techniques to swirl up finishes, jeeeezzz.


Similar event happened to me with my BMW years ago. The dealership ended up giving me a $500 credit on future service since I refused to have their "Detail Dept" address the issue.

BTW...

AG gives away a sign that hangs on your rear view mirror for free with purchase...

Autogeek's Do Not Wash Car Hanging Sign (https://www.autogeek.net/do-not-wash-car-sign.html)

https://sep.yimg.com/ay/autogeek/autogeek-s-do-not-wash-car-hanging-sign-free-with-orders-over-95-9.gif

[Bill D]

I'd like to get one of those signs to have as a back up to the one I had to pay for from another site.

[BurnsDetailing]

In my experience, dealers offer a spray sealant from lines like First Place Finish, Permaseal, etc. The vendors pitch it to the F&I guys with a video showing how water beads and sheets off after applying their product and then follows it up with spilling coffee and ice cream on it, throwing buckets of mud on it and even using a flamethrower, you know, normal everyday stuff a car goes through. To top it off they claim it will last until you stop paying on your loan.

Real world though, it's only a few months, like many spray sealants, just long enough for you to forget that fact you paid $500 for it across 6 years. It's easily removed with a high pH soap like Griot's Foaming Surface Prep.

So I would Iron-X, Foaming Surface Prep wash and then baggie test the paint to see if it genuinely needs clay bar. Save time and effort to apply elsewhere if at all possible. Polish and wax.