New car paint

[Gumgumpug]

Hi I'm just asking if there is any big no nos as to detailing a new car.

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

If it is a brand new car from the factory you can wax it. If it was fresh from the body shop then it needs a minimum of 30 days before you can wax it.

[stibuki]

IMO do as you like and treat it as you would any car with good to excellent paint. If you check the build tag on a brand new car depending on North American or overseas manufacture usually your paint will be a few months old or longer.

Your paint should be in pretty good shape and only require minor decontamination, correction and sealant/wax (over simplified explanation).

If it's a new paint job on an older car lots of variables come into play. Best bet is to ask your painter for some guide lines.

[BobbyG]

The advantage of new paint is it hasn't seen a lot of time in the sun and in car washes!

Even though it's new the finish needs to be washed and clayed. Correction will probably be minimal but at the very least a paint cleaner should be employed to enure the best possible surface for sealant and wax...

Basic steps in order are:


Wash
Clay
Polish
Seal
Wax

[Lawalker]

What would be a good paint cleanser for a newer vehicle? Would Duragloss 501 be good?

[Gumgumpug]

Thanks for the advice guys

[Shortspark]

What would be a good paint cleanser for a newer vehicle? Would Duragloss 501 be good?

I guess it depends on what you use as a cleaner but I will quote what Jerry from Duragloss emailed me about this very subject when I contacted him a couple weeks ago. I bought a brand new Mercedes in May with the "Diamond White" paint option and it was in perfect condition as you would expect. It cost an additional $1500 and is suppose to be something like five layers of top quality German paint. When I got it home I washed, clayed and washed again. Then I went straight to 601/105 (two coats 12 hours apart), topped with AquaWax the next day. I never used 501 or any other cleaner. It looks beautiful.

Although we all like to experiment with different stuff I contacted Duragloss (my favorite brand) by email to ask how best to care for this paint using their products specifically. They responded right away and have given me some pretty good information. With regards to your question here is one of the things Duragloss wrote back: "The 501 is only needed for older paint that is oxidized or has lots of fine scratches. Stay with the 601/105 combination and you will not have to use anything else. Let me know how it works and thanks so much.
God Bless,
Jerry, Technical Support".

So, as you can see from Jerry's response, 501 (which has some minor correcting/cleaning capability) is not really needed on new paint because new paint should not need any kind of correction at all, as Bobby indicated in his post above. Eventually it might benefit from this depending on how well it is cared for but not when brand new. In fact, Jerry indicated that their 111 might even be a better choice over their 105 as an LSP on a new vehicle and it is what he recommended for my Mercedes paint. I believe he made this recommendation based on the fact that unlike 105, the 111 has no cleaners and is pure sealant. In addition, although Jerry did not say this, I have heard others say 111 looks better on white paint than does the 105.

"Richy" and "Richard" and a few others here who are Duragloss users and have a lot of real world experience with these products may not agree with all this, especially the part of 111 being better on new, light colored cars over 105 (basically, 105 is an advanced 111, 105 being sort of a 111 on steroids). They also probably don't agree on when 501 should or should not be used. Personally, I don't think you will hurt a thing by using 501 on a new car and I intend to try it the next time I detail my Mercedes based on "Richy's" advice. However, I simply want to point out to you that Duragloss says using 501 is usually an unnecessary step on a brand new vehicle.

[Gumgumpug]

First of thanks all for you replies and great advice.

I tend to lean towards mag products as its what I'm used to and have all of the pro cutting and finishing polishes.

I just needed to know if I had to wait for the paint to harden first as the car was only built on the 25th July and is due for delivery next week.

[BobbyG]

What would be a good paint cleanser for a newer vehicle? Would Duragloss 501 be good?

Personally, I would say yes.

Duragloss 501 contains fine abrasives and for the most part, this should take care of the minor surface imperfections found on a new cars finish...

[Mike Phillips]

I just needed to know if I had to wait for the paint to harden first as the car was only built on the 25th July and is due for delivery next week.



Most cars built on assembly lines are painted before things like the interior and wiring are installed because the paint is baked-on with high heat to quickly dry it and harden it without the fear of melting the other components or warping them.

By the time a new car is pushed out of the assembly plant the paint is as hard and cured as it's going to get and you can do anything you want to it.

The only time you have a waiting period is if "you" take the car to your local body shop and have fresh or brand new paint sprayed onto it.

I think and hope I clear up any confusion on this topic with this article.

Don't wax your car for at least 30 days! (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/hot-topics-frequently-asked-questions/26967-don-t-wax-your-car-least-30-days.html)



:)

[Lawalker]

Thanks for the responses Shortspark and BobbyG!