Caring for new black car on the COAST

[arborman]

Hi everyone, I am a new user here, and very very green at detailing cars.

We just bought a 2014 Mustang GT premium with the track package and full glass roof. Its black, with painted aluminum wheels. I live one block from the Ocean (15 miles south of San Francisco), and we have wind and fog, especially in the summer months. The car is NOT garaged, and its black. I did buy a aftermarket car cover that fits very well, and have already read about how they can scratch the paint.

My question is whats the best I can do to keep the paint in great condition? I will be diligent about washing, and am planning on applying my first coat of wax in the next week or so. Are there any tips out there for me to keep in mind since I live in such an exposed area? Its not an every day driver, mainly a weekend car.

Thanks! :props:

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

Hi, welcome to AGO.

Your best option for a vehicle that resides outside will be to use sealant and not wax. With a quality sealant offering 4-6 months of protection rather than a wax just giving 2-3 months.

Do you have a garage or carport to use while doing mini detailing sessions other than washing?

[swanicyouth]

The best thing you can do is ditch the car cover. Wind will move that thing against your paint - especially if you live near the ocean - scratch city. Any dirt on the paint will be rubbed against by the car cover creating marring. Get a 2 bucket method set-up, a pressure washer, and a foam cannon. Get a good quality soap like Optimum, Lusso Oro, or P21S. Get a good wash mitt. Too many good ones to list. Get a Master Blaster to dry the car. If you don't want to spend that much, get some high quality waffle weave towels from AG.

I would apply a sealant or coating and top it with a wax. That way you have the best of both worlds.

[arborman]

Thanks for the feedback... No, my garage is basically a full on wood shop, so I cannot bring the car into the garage..

Also, the car was purchased with ( a mistake, now that I understand) a twice a year sealing package, called Zaktek. They sold it to me for $700, which they refresh every six months for the next 5 years, along with doing the interior.

So, should I do a new sealant over the Zaktek, or just let it ride and do my own application in the next 4-6 months?

[arborman]

:doh:Regarding the car cover: I had it on more to protect against the salt air, but now I am concerned about it moving over the paint. Is it in my better interest to really not use it at all when the car sits all week? It seems to fit very very well, at least from what I have seen in the past few weeks. I guess that was another $200 mistake, along with my $700 Zaktek dealer mistake

[swanicyouth]

Thanks for the feedback... No, my garage is basically a full on wood shop, so I cannot bring the car into the garage..

Also, the car was purchased with ( a mistake, now that I understand) a twice a year sealing package, called Zaktek. They sold it to me for $700, which they refresh every six months for the next 5 years, along with doing the interior.

So, should I do a new sealant over the Zaktek, or just let it ride and do my own application in the next 4-6 months?

Wash the car and see how the water is beading and sheeting on the paint. If water is beading well, that usually is a sign the protection product is doing it's thing. I'm not familiar with Zaktek - it could be great or it could be snake oil.

Generally, those dealer paint protection packages are just polymer sealants. That is why it needs to be refreshed every 6 mos. But, that doesn't make it a bad polymer sealant. You would apply a wax over sealant - not sealant over sealant.

You have to understand, on this forum we will go into the most laborious complicated minutiae about taking care of paint. Theoretically, every new car should be de-contaminated of iron and "clayed", before applying such a sealant. But if it looks nice and is beading water well, I probably wouldn't worry about it until that beading stops.

Of course, you can top it with a non-synthetic type wax, which will likely make it look even nicer. Search for the "Baggie test" to see how you can tell if there is contamination in your paint. Just make sure the car is surgically clean when you apply the wax and you use quality towels to buff it off. A lot of times scratches can occur this way as well. You want to use high quality applicators and towels and not sit them down on anything that even has a possibility of having any dirt on it.

[Mike Phillips]

Hi everyone, I am a new user here, and very very green at detailing cars.

We just bought a 2014 Mustang GT premium with the track package and full glass roof. Its black, with painted aluminum wheels.




I love a guy that dives in head first!


If you're expectations are to keep the paint in category #1 then you're going to need to learn some detailing skills ASAP and purchase at a minimum a Porter Cable dual action polisher.

Click this link, read the descriptions and choose the category that best describes your expectations for how you want the paint to look on this car.


Page 37 - Paint Condition Categories (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/51281-page-37-paint-condition-categories.html)


If swirl don't bother you and you just want to keep the paint protected, this will be easy. Wash it and apply a paint coating or wash it and spray on some Optimum Car Wax and use this product after each wash.


Read the below article, it will bring you up to speed with what you're up against... I just wrote this a few weeks ago and you need this info...

Clearcoats are Scratch-Sensitive (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/74234-clearcoats-scratch-sensitive.html)


This one is for you too...

"Black is not a color, it's a full time job" (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/57621-black-not-color-s-full-time-job.html)




Here's a few more...

Frequent Car Care is Easy Car Care (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/69006-frequent-car-care-easy-car-care.html)

How to maintain a freshly waxed car (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/hot-topics-frequently-asked-questions/40056-how-maintain-freshly-waxed-car.html)





If you've never used a machine to buff a car, read this and look at the pictures of the people buffing out cars.

It's not that hard... (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/55512-s-not-hard.html)



AND....

Since you live near the ocean, Wiper Scratches in the glass is going to be an issue over time. I just put together this article out of thin air just for you...


How to remove scratches in glass - Wiper Scratches from Beach Sand (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/74935-how-remove-scratches-glass-wiper-scratches-beach-sand.html)

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/715/ScratchesINGlass001.jpg




:)

[arborman]

Wow, thank you so much for taking the time to hook me up with all that awesome information.. I will go through it with a fine toothed comb. I think I can say that I don't need my paint to be perfect, but would like to preserve it as best as I can.

Regarding buffing machines, I actually own a tool that I think works VERY well for this. Its a tool made by Festool, and its the Rotex 150. I bought it for woodworking, but I know that its used by many for polishing cars as well. Never thought I would see the day where I would use a machine to take care of my car paint before!

Ok, I just looked at the paint categories... With all fairness, I think I would be able to commit to category 3...

[Mike Phillips]

Regarding buffing machines, I actually own a tool that I think works VERY well for this. Its a tool made by Festool, and its the Rotex 150.

I bought it for woodworking, but I know that its used by many for polishing cars as well.



I have not used that tool with a foam pad on it to try to do correction work, (remove swirls), it could be it might work.

The problem with most wood sanders is they will not rotate a foam pad under pressure and especially as the pad starts to become wet with product.

You won't know until you try. It could be it would work with Microfiber Pads as most of these are very thin,

Thick pads don't work well on dual action polishers with a free spinning drive mechanism.

Believe it or not... I have an article on this topic...


Wood Sanders as Paint Polishers (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/hot-topics-frequently-asked-questions/68667-wood-sanders-paint-polishers.html)

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/722/Bosch_3107DVS_5_Variable_Speed_Random_Orbit_Sander _Polisher.jpg









Ok, I just looked at the paint categories...

With all fairness, I think I would be able to commit to category 3...




There's nothing wrong with maintaining a black car at category #3




3: Good Condition
Light swirls, scratches, water spots and oxidation.

When viewed in bright sunlight, the paint should look pretty good overall except that it has light or shallow looking cobweb swirls and scratches throughout the paint. Any water spot problems should be shallow imprint type stains common to Type I Water Spots, certainly not deep craters like Type II or Type III where the paint is physically stained.

Paint in this condition would require one or two polishing steps before a finishing wax could be applied to bring the quality to Excellent or Show Car Quality.




In order to maintain categories #2 and #1 you would have to have both a passion for polishing paint and make car detailing your new hobby.

The most important thing will be how you wash the car. You can either wash it yourself or take it to a touchless car wash. Read the article I already shared,

Clearcoats are Scratch-Sensitive (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/74234-clearcoats-scratch-sensitive.html)


If you decide to wash it yourself, it's pretty simple, just don't SCRUB the paint. I talk about his in my how-to book and somewhere on the forum I have an article on it.


:)

[vet]

Welcome!

I won't try to add anything after Mike posted. You can't go wrong following his advice.

[fly07sti]

Hey Arborman, I'm in the East Bay (Alameda) and I'm about 4 blocks from the Bay.I have been detailing for 20 years and I have a plethora of waxes, sealants, microfibers so if you would like any help or would like to try a few things out before you make a purchase, just pm me.

[arborman]

Thanks for all the help guys... I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I got this car!

So, I did the bag test yesterday after I gave her a nice careful hand wash (funny how I didn't even know how to correctly hand wash a car). And, as you all most likely would have known, the surface is not smooth as I would have thought for a brand new car. Quite bumpy.

I know the dealer put on a paint protection over the clear coat (Zantek).

Am I safe to clay this car? Seems reasonably easy to do.

And, do I need to re seal the car right after claying?

Reason I am asking is that seems like a lot of time dedication for one day. Could I do this in sections? Like maybe one side one day and the other the next?

Lastly, I think I am going to just eat that $750 I paid the dealer to go back every six months for a recoat of the zantek. In place of this, should I apply my own sealer, and then wax over the top of the sealer?

[Mike Phillips]

Thanks for all the help guys... I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I got this car!



We see a lot of posts like yours... :D





So, I did the bag test yesterday after I gave her a nice careful hand wash (funny how I didn't even know how to correctly hand wash a car). And, as you all most likely would have known, the surface is not smooth as I would have thought for a brand new car. Quite bumpy.



Not surprising, check out this brand new car makeover... there's a clay picture showing how dirty the paint was...

Video & Pictures: 2012 Black Camaro Convertible - Blackfire Show Car Makeover! (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/pictures-autogeek-s-car-week/53703-video-pictures-2012-black-camaro-convertible-blackfire-show-car-makeover.html)






I know the dealer put on a paint protection over the clear coat (Zantek).



In the past, this was merely their in-house detailer or car wash boy hand applying some type of synthetic paint sealant for a lot of money.





Am I safe to clay this car? Seems reasonably easy to do.



My personal practice and recommendation is to plan on doing at least one machine polishing step after claying to "ensure" a clear, defect free finish before sealing.





And, do I need to re seal the car right after claying?



Yes.





Reason I am asking is that seems like a lot of time dedication for one day. Could I do this in sections? Like maybe one side one day and the other the next?



I outline this approach in my how-to book and recommend it for anyone new to car care. It's "safer" to tackle your car in bites instead of trying to eat or detail the entire thing in one day. Anytime you get tired or try to rush quality will suffer.





Lastly, I think I am going to just eat that $750 I paid the dealer to go back every six months for a re-coat of the zantek. In place of this, should I apply my own sealer, and then wax over the top of the sealer?




I typed Zantek Paint Sealant into Google (https://www.google.com/#q=Zantek+paint+sealant) and found what I expected to find out in this 350Z forum thread.


Zantek - Protective Coating (http://my350z.com/forum/cleaning-and-detailing/341515-zantek-protective-coating.html)


Someone else already did the research so I'll let you read what they have to say and make up your own mind.

If it were my car? I'd forget the Zantek and invest in a dual action polisher like the Porter Cable (if your sander won't maintain pad rotation), and then get a few good polishes and after doing some research, pick a quality brand,


Car Wax
Synthetic Paint Sealant
Coating

and then simply wash your car once in a while safely and then polish and re-seal when needed.


:)