New 2008 vehicle

[webhound]

I'm 59 years old, and I just got done hand waxing my new Dodge Grand Caravan and will be suffering from shoulder exertion for some time as a result. That said, I will be ordering a PC 7424 this week. I am planning on using the Pinnacle products from autogeek.net. The vehicle is new (500 miles), and only waxed once with Meguairs NXT Next Gen Tech Wax 2.0.
Based on what I feel using the "hand in the baggie test", I will be using Pinnacle Ultra Poly clay and then Signature Series II. Does anyone have any comments on this? Should I use a clear coat polish? The vehicle is Light Sandstone Metallic Clear Coat, which equates to a light gold metallic, clear coat.
I have been a long term Meguiars user for years. What I currently have left from my last car, is Meguiars NXT generation Car wash, wheel & tire treatment, interior treatment, and an almost empty can of the NXT Gen II paste wax. I want to upgrade to the next level of auto detailing products for a real "top quality shine".
I use a 5 gal Home Depot bucket with a grit guard, and a microfiber wash mit. I use the wax applicator pad that came with the wax, and a m/f cloth to remove it. Then a clean m/f cloth to buff.
What I want is a look that I will never have to apologize about. I plan to take as much time to do what is required for that Exposition quality look.
The brake dust is incredible, so I need suggestions for the wheels also. I currently use Meguiars Hot wheels cleanser, since it is pH balanced for all wheel types. These are Chrysler Coroporation Clear Coat wheels. I need something, wax? so that the brake dust does not stick to the wheels, and will make futire detailing easier.
Please give me your suggestions and thanks.
In particular, what color Lake Country CCS pads are recommended for a new vehicle? There are no swirl marks and I plan to keep it that way.
Thanks
PS: This vehicle spends its nights and evenings in the garage, and daytimes in the work parking lot. Temperatures here on the edge of the Mojave desert range from winter lows in the low 30°'s and summer highs into the 115°'s. There is regularly a great deal of dust in the air.
This is a keeper vehicle and I want to do what it takes so I can get maximum mileae and the best appearance from it. No trading it in 2 - 3 years down the road.

[getcha]

Welcome to detailing.

As far as your new vehicle(congrats on that too) is concerned you are correct in wanting to clay it following your wash. This will remove all the bonded stuff from the surface and give your protection, whichever you choose a good place to bond or sit atop. Pinnacle seems to have a good clay, Sonus green is also very good and widely used.
Grab a second bucket though and put your grit guard in the bottom of your rinse bucket.

As far as your climate, a durable sealant and in my opinion a durable wax are almost a must. I will tell you that 476s from Collinite is probably the most durable wax out right now and durable sealants are arguably Ultimas, Optiseal, and alot of the zaino line(z2, z5, CS). I personally like Zaino. Zaino sealants usually need a surface prep to ensure there is a super clean surface to bond to but they are among the best in the world. I know you mentioned your shoulder so I think unless you were applying by machine, ClearSeal from Zaino or Optiseal are great because they are essentially spray on, and walk away. You can then follow up with your choice wax. Optimum car wax is a spray wax that has UV protection, looks great on metallics as well(so does 476s).And NXT2 which im sure you found looks great, isnt known for its great durability.

Hot wheels cleaner is a blend of some of the weaker acids so its not considered pH balanced. One of the best wheel cleaners is P21s (a pH neutral gel or liquid that you can let sit unlike acid based) Once you get all the brake dust off, you can use either a dedicated wheel sealant or if you choose a paint sealant, that works equally well on factory clear coated wheels. 476s from collinite is great too on wheels. After waxing, as long as you wash them regularly, the wheels can be cleaned off just using your car wash solution(after the body is washed of course)

Gold and silver vehicles are awesome in that they hide imperfections realllllly well. Assume there is nothing outstanding you could probably hold on buying a PC unless you wanted it to play with or for glaze/sealant/wax applications.
Very briefly, Pads are generally recommended for the PC in 6inch or smaller diameters.Yellow is a cutting, Orange is a light cut, White polishing, blue/black/red finishing. For any protection application the blue blacks and reds are usually recommended.

If you were to polish, assuming the defects werent all that bad, a finishing polish might be enough on an appropriate pad however Dodge is known for very hard paint so you may need to step that up. Menzerna makes a great line of polish from aggresive to finishing, along with meguiars and optimum.

For interior UV protection, 303 is highly recommended. Its a dressing that is a nice matte finish to maintain the factory look however has great UV protection to keep your internal surfaces protected. 303 is a great overall dressing and can be used on exterior trim to help prevent fading as well.

Towels/microfiber media- This is SUUUUPER subjective but: Pakshak(.com) makes great towels albeit a bit more money. Exceldetail(.com) has amazing scratchless towels called supremes, and IME are the only ones ive found yet to pass the revered "cd test".

These are just some choices, theres a million combinations. but check excel, or danase.com. Patrick and Bob respectively are probably the best customer service ive ever had anywhere

Keep in mind that product and material opinions are gonna start pouring in, but keep an open mind and most importantly do your own research on them.

Read around, some other great forums are Autopia.org, and detailingworld.com

For general cleaning too, Meguiars All purpose cleaner is probably your BEST bang for buck cleaner for interior when diluted correctly and for exterior degreasing- 15 bucks cant be beat.

:D good luck

[vinnier6]

since you have a brand new car, you shouldnt need more than a mild polish, any protectant, nxt works great, i would use white pad to polish pc speed 4-5, gray or blue pad to apply nxt liquid pc speed 2-3....