New Car - Clearcoat Question

[Taguk]

Hi,

I'm awaiting delivery of a new red Corvette C6 and have just joined this forum.

I've read through numerous posts concerning care of Corvette's including the advice provided to "ltoman" and recommendations about not letting the dealership wash the car.

I have two questions:

1. Is there anything special that I need to do when I wash the car first time - I'm assuming it will be covered in that protective wax[?] that normally the dealership would clean off.

2. Reading up (here mainly) about clearcoat and the ability to buff out scratches etc. Would there be any benefit in having additional clearcoats applied by a custom paint shop before I start driving the car? I was figuring that it would offer greater protection and potentially a better finish.

Any advice and feedback gratefully received.


Thanks,

[steveo3002]

on the extra clearcoat question,no leave it as is..with proper care you will have plenty clear coat to play with

[Jimmie]

First of all welcome to AGO and congratulations on your new Vette. A few years ago it was said that the amount of time your new car sat at the manufacturing plant, was in transit, and sat at the dealership was enough time for the paint to cure. I was never sure how long that was. When your paint has cured the initial steps will be to WASH-CLAY-PROTECT. Have fun shopping for your AG products. They're the best.

[trhland]

congrats on the new vett. first thing very inportant dont let the dealership wash it or anything. pick it up dirty. i know its hard to do because most poeple want to pick up there new cars and have them shiny and the tires dressed but trust me . clean it your self. most dealerships use dirty rags not ,microfibers and they just wash it quick and dont give a crap about it. you will learn alot from this site. welcome!!!

[klumzypinoy]

Dealerships give you crap washes! Whenever you get your car fixed at a dealership, boldly state NO WASH :). COngratulations on your new car. For now, wash, clay, protect.

[ASPHALT ROCKET]

Congrats on your new C6. When I picked my C6 up I washed, clayed, polished and waxed. I use the pinnacle products to keep it looking brand new.

[BetaB]

Dealer car washes=BAD. When i picked up my new mazda3 a couple of months ago, i should have requested that to have them not touch the paint, but oh well. Tons of swirls, but that might depend on the dealership, but wouldn't take the risk.

[nick19]

on the extra clearcoat question,no leave it as is..with proper care you will have plenty clear coat to play with

I won't agree with your comment completely, as you can never have enough. You really only have 2.5 mils or less, or about 1/3 of your total clear coat thickness to play with.


Get some good polishes, clay and waxes and enjoy. It will be a learning experience, but with the right products (wash, dry, MF, polishes, sealants etc), and pads (for the PC), your clear coat will last you forever. Don't result to the most aggressive product first, for anything. Wheels, paint, interior etc.

If it takes 30 more minutes to save 2 more years of your clear coat, I'll advise you to do so.

Just my $.02


And Welcome to the AG family. Glad to have you here. :cheers:





-Nick

[CalgaryDetail]

Welcome to AGO,

Concering the clear coat, cars have pleantly of clear to then, when you buff you only take off a few microns. I would not worry about the clear, it should ot be an issue.

Often times the dealer will remove the wax and plastic wraping on the car unless otherwise stated. If you plan on doing it yourself be patient, it will take a few washings and a few applications of cleansing lotion. Dont rish it. It will come off.

Like people have mentioned, do not let the dearship was the car. Often time they will run it through a tunnel wash. These are bad for a few reasons. The presure of the water, combined with the dirt can (but not always) casue scratches and swirls. they often use recycled water to save money. Also the detergents used are very strong, becasue there is no agitation (only light when doing it by hand) so the wash has to be strong enough to get everything off.

When you get the car and have it all unwrapped I would recomened washing, claying, then polishing if needed. Finnaly a good wax or sealent to protect.

Cars when shipped (including bently's) are shipped on open car trailors. There are lots of contamined on those things, the envoiorment combined with the crap from the semi exaugest gets emeded into the paint. A caly will get this off. Once done you will see and feel what I mean.

Follow this with a wax or sealent to help protect the clear coat.

Enjoy the new C6, its a nice car. And perhaps invest in a rador dectertor ;)

Enjoy


-Mike

[ScottB]

As a C6 owner, and a C5 owner before it, I can comment on the shipping of the car. Chevy does NOT currently use cosmoline on the C6. They do use a white plastic tape type material that pulls off without issue. As offered, do all detailing yourself at home and do not fall for the paint sealant offering.

As for the clearcoat, the Vette is considered quite hard. Infact for correction I find the need to use the newer Ceramiclear polishes. That said, with proper washing and drying you will not need to remove swirls and a quick clay and final polish should have her perfect.

Do a search using C6 ... I did a sticky a while back on detailing the Vette specifically. It will provide some nice hints.

[Taguk]

Thank you for all your helpful advice and the warm welcome to the forum.

I'm a number of weeks away from receiving my car but will post photos in the future.

[paivag]

If you really want protection. You can also look for a clear bra option before you drive it. It all depends on what look you want. There are 3M films out there that get applied to the nose of the car and usually offer 5 or so years of protection from the elements.