Hello all new guy from Philly

[xios29]

I just purchase a new honda crosstour in pear white. I am new to detailing my cars. I really never took care them. I really want to take care of this one.

1 Whats the best way to maintain a white car to keep it protected and shiny?

2 What products are recommended for white cars?

thanks any help would be much appreciated

Terri

[JBL]

Welcome aboard!

First and foremost, I have a 2008 Honda Accord, and unless they did anything to change the paint or clearcoat, they can swirl rather easily. Automatic carwashes (:nomore:), dirty towels/sponges or anything else left to touch the paint in more than a friendly pat will leave a mark. That being said, you're in the right place to prevent that or take care of it once it happens (besides, it happens to every car at one point in time).

As far as white goes, I'm not the person to ask, but I know there will be a lot of good responses to follow. With winter right around the corner, I'm sure plenty of people will recommend Collinite #845 as a coat to protect your car for the the next few months. I actually just applied some to mine and was strangely excited for the rain we're having today (I'm in Philly too).

Read up and have a good time. Tons to learn in here and plenty of friendly faces (er, screen-names?) to help out.

FWIW...I think you should take a look at these...

Auto Detailing Facts, auto detailing Tips, How to detailing Guides, how to polish, how to wax, DIY detailing, do it yourself guides (http://www.autogeek.net/detailingtips.html)

There's a bunch in there that cover everything from simple wash techiques to full-on paint corrections. I actually even printed a bunch when I was first starting to get serious just for reference. There's even a Winterization link. Give it a look.

[alko]

Welcome to the forum Terri! I'm alittle worried about ya'll on Sunday (Redskins fan here). It should be a good game though.

Congrats on the new car purchase. I really like the Crosstours. I love Acura's version.

I had an 08 Accord and now a 2010 Acura TSX. If you look at the paint funny it will swirl. When I first got into detailing, I got a Porter Cable 7424XP with the Sonus SFX bundle over at autopia. I really like the SFX line. Earlier this year I detailed the TSX with the same polish, but using some Lake Country CCS pads. The results were absolutely amazing.

I'm sure many more will chime in here...as we'll give you our feedback on what we have used. Prepare yourself for information overload.

[JBL]

Welcome to the forum Terri! I'm alittle worried about ya'll on Sunday (Redskins fan here). It should be a good game though.

I've taken up kayaking on Sundays.:surrender:


I'm sure many more will chime in here...as we'll give you our feedback on what we have used. Prepare yourself for information overload.

Guess I left that out.

I wash with Meguiar's Gold Class shampoo and a nice, soft mitt. I use two buckets--a method taught and sworn-by by the entire Autogeek community--one for washing, one for rinsing the mitt...can't be dragging dirt back onto your clean paint.

For this winter, I'll be working with Optimum No Rinse (ONR) with two buckets...no need for a hose and since I parallel park in the street wherever I can, this helps me a ton.

I almost always finish with Meguiar's Ultimate Quick Detailer. It helps dry the car by letting a towel slip across the paint gently. When available, I ignore the looks and just use a leaf blower to dry the car. That's another thing...plenty of soft, CLEAN microfiber towels. Keep them organized too...one color for wax, one for windows, etc...it'll make your life easier. A really nice plush one for buffing too.

Like I said, I've currently got the car covered in Collinite #845 for my winter protection and so far, my brand of choice has been Poorboy's World (no garage, outside in the sun, all by hand).

I do everything by hand and while I try to keep my business here at AG, the other stuff is pretty easy to find OTC at like an Autozone or something, i.e., the shampoo. There's always a sale here though, so just do it all at once, since AG carries it all as well.

More than anything though, the best protection you can offer while cleaning your car is to work clean yourself. If you drop the sponge on the ground, DON"T put it up to your paint. If your towels are dirty, wash them (follow AG's guide in the previous link). If your bucket of clean water is getting nasty, change it. There's no sense in doing all of this work if you're just going to drag the dirt back onto the car.

And lastly, Collinite the wheels. It'll make brake dust easier to clean off.

[xios29]

Thanks for the support.


The eagles are a bigger mess than my last car.

[Ryan R]

Welcome aboard! Definitely go with the Collinite 845 for the winter. I'm about 45 minutes north of you so we share the same winters :(
It's tough on white because it goes on so clear but it is well worth it.

Go to the show n shine section of the forum or search for "VW 2010 Daily Driver" and check out the line of products used on the white paint. It looks incredible and it's what I would expect my white car to look like if I had one.

[blckbrd]

Terri,
:welcome:aboard. I'm probably 30 mins away from you. I live near King of Prussia. +1 on Collinite 845. I'm currently detailing my white truck with Collinite 845. I used it on my white thunderbird and my wife's silver maxima. The last time I wax my tbird was end of May. The water still beads up and the car is out in the weather all the time.

Ken

[Meghan]

:welcome: Love Liquid Souveran on White!

[215Detailing]

Welcome to the forum

[Mike Phillips]

Welcome to Autogeek Online! :welcome:


The goal with any color of paint is two things,


Make the surfaces as smooth as possible
Make the surface as defect free as possible

You do the above with your prep steps and if you do the prep work right then any quality wax or paint sealant or even coating will take your finish to it's maximum potential.

Just to note, this is an intro forum group, it's best to start a NEW thread in a topical forum group for questions. You'll get more replies especially if you create a good title for the thread. Right now the title of this thread says,

Hello all new guy from Philly


So from the title nobody knows you have questions about,


1 Whats the best way to maintain a white car to keep it protected and shiny?

2 What products are recommended for white cars?


A tip to help yourself get great answers when you start a thread (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/tips-techniques-how-articles-interacting-discussion-forums/29344-tip-help-yourself-get-great-answers-when-you-start-thread.html)

How to write a good title for your thread (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/introduce-yourself/20306-how-write-good-title-your-post.html)



:dblthumb2:

[CEE DOG]

Welcome to Autogeek!!

[dad07]

:welcome:to AGO!

[VASpartan]

:welcome:Welcome from VA!

[xios29]

Yasou spartan.

[xios29]

Welcome to Autogeek Online! :welcome:


The goal with any color of paint is two things,


Make the surfaces as smooth as possible
Make the surface as defect free as possible

You do the above with your prep steps and if you do the prep work right then any quality wax or paint sealant or even coating will take your finish to it's maximum potential.

Just to note, this is an intro forum group, it's best to start a NEW thread in a topical forum group for questions. You'll get more replies especially if you create a good title for the thread. Right now the title of this thread says,

Hello all new guy from Philly


So from the title nobody knows you have questions about,


1 Whats the best way to maintain a white car to keep it protected and shiny?

2 What products are recommended for white cars?


A tip to help yourself get great answers when you start a thread (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/tips-techniques-how-articles-interacting-discussion-forums/29344-tip-help-yourself-get-great-answers-when-you-start-thread.html)

How to write a good title for your thread (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/introduce-yourself/20306-how-write-good-title-your-post.html)



:dblthumb2:

Thanks for the help.