Prep my brand new car

[CleanCarGuy]

Hi guys, just took delivery of a 2014 Honda Accord Sedan. Alabaster Silver Metallic.

They ran it thru an automated "touchless" wash prior to delivery. The car looks fanstastic, no scratches or anything (although difficult to see on Honda's silver)

Anyhow, will do its first prep this weekend.

Was thinking of doing the following.

Wash
Decontaminate with Iron X
Meguairs Clay
Wash/Rinsh thoroughly
Polish with Menzerna 4500 (black LC pad on 7424xp)
Collinitie 476 (applied by hand)

My question is, should I be using a DA with the Menzerna 4500 on a brand new
car. I know the 4500 is a final polish, but should I be using this on brand new clear coat? I dont want to eat into clear coat. Again, upon inspection, there arent any scratches or holograms

Just wondering if I should skip the Menz 4500 after claying and go straight to the Collinite 476.

[bullitt 736]

The cut is very minimal to none. The 4500 will really bring out some shine. Do it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[10secdream]

I think your process sounds perfect. Yes you should use a DA with Menzerna 4500 on a Black Pad to enhance the gloss of the paint.

[zmcgovern45]

A light polish is definitely beneficial... even on a new car that was not destroyed by the dealership. It may not be too dramatic of a difference on silver paint, but when you're done it will surely look amazing, so I would take the time to do a quick polishing step.

[CleanCarGuy]

Thanks, looks like I will include the Menzerna 4500 with my 7424xp.

Once Im done claying and ready to polish, what speed should I set my 7424xp on
for the Menz?

[HateSwirls]

I just bought a brand new car also.
After proper prep work I polished it using my PC using a Lake Country 5.5" flat finishing pads for most of the car with the Meguiar's 205.
Came out nice, then applied Wolfgang Paint Sealant, Done:)

Mine had defects , on the bad areas , mostly on the hood I use my PC, white LC pad and some Wolfgang Uber.

My car was unlike yours due to swirls.
IMO a DA like the PC7424XP is the way to go on a new car.

[CleanCarGuy]

I just bought a brand new car also.
After proper prep work I polished it using my PC using a Lake Country 5.5" flat finishing pads for most of the car with the Meguiar's 205.
Came out nice, then applied Wolfgang Paint Sealant, Done:)

Mine had defects , on the bad areas , mostly on the hood I use my PC, white LC pad and some Wolfgang Uber.

My car was unlike yours due to swirls.
IMO a DA like the PC7424XP is the way to go on a new car.


Thanks, what speed did you use on the PC7424 when you applied the polish?

This weekend is calling for picture perfect detailing weather. Upper 70's, sunny with low humidity.

[zmcgovern45]

Thanks, looks like I will include the Menzerna 4500 with my 7424xp.

Once Im done claying and ready to polish, what speed should I set my 7424xp on
for the Menz?

SF4500 tends to perform best with a firmer pad and moderate speed so that the abrasives can break down properly. I like using it with a white polishing pad on speed 3-4 beginning with moderate pressure for 2-3 passes, then finishing with little to no pressure for 1-2 passes.

It is a very oily polish, so I would recommend an IPA or Eraser wipedown (or two... or three lol) after polishing.

[CleanCarGuy]

SF4500 tends to perform best with a firmer pad and moderate speed so that the abrasives can break down properly. I like using it with a white polishing pad on speed 3-4 beginning with moderate pressure for 2-3 passes, then finishing with little to no pressure for 1-2 passes.

It is a very oily polish, so I would recommend an IPA or Eraser wipedown (or two... or three lol) after polishing.

Thanks for the reply. You've been very helpful. What's the point of polishing a brand new car (which i want the paint to reveal more gloss), when Im going to wipe away the polish with an IPO wipedown? Wouldnt that just defeat the entire purpose of polishing with the Menzerna 4500 in the first place?

[WRAPT C5Z06]

If doing it correctly, you can compound your car several times and still have a good amount of clear left. A finishing polish will remove a minute amount of clear(if even measurable). I would use SF4000 with a DA. Plus, SF4500 is very oily. No thanks.


Thanks for the reply. You've been very helpful. What's the point of polishing a brand new car (which i want the paint to reveal more gloss), when Im going to wipe away the polish with an IPO wipedown? Wouldnt that just defeat the entire purpose of polishing with the Menzerna 4500 in the first place?
SF4500 is not a wax. It's an abrasive polish that's used to remove minimal defects and bring clarity to the paint. When you wipe it off, you're revealing the shine you worked for. You're definitely not wiping away the shine. After you're done polishing, you'll want to do an IPA wipedown to ensure all polishing oils are removed so the wax(after polishing) can bond to the paint properly.

[wdmaccord]

Hi guys, just took delivery of a 2014 Honda Accord Sedan. Alabaster Silver Metallic.

They ran it thru an automated "touchless" wash prior to delivery. The car looks fanstastic, no scratches or anything (although difficult to see on Honda's silver)

Anyhow, will do its first prep this weekend.

Was thinking of doing the following.

Wash
Decontaminate with Iron X
Meguairs Clay
Wash/Rinsh thoroughly
Polish with Menzerna 4500 (black LC pad on 7424xp)
Collinitie 476 (applied by hand)

My question is, should I be using a DA with the Menzerna 4500 on a brand new
car. I know the 4500 is a final polish, but should I be using this on brand new clear coat? I dont want to eat into clear coat. Again, upon inspection, there arent any scratches or holograms

Just wondering if I should skip the Menz 4500 after claying and go straight to the Collinite 476.

Can't tell if you have used a DA before. Possibly not DAT polishes either? I might recommend M205 on a white polishing pad. On a brand new car, probably 4 passes and you're good.

I took delivery of my 2013 Accord in December 2012, so I wasn't able to get it detailed and sealed until spring. I used Megs Ultimate Compound the first detail. Since then I only need to use M205 or SF4500 to buff out fine scratches from washing/drying. I polish twice per year. Almost have to if you don't use a coating on soft Honda paint.

[Mike Phillips]

Before you buff out the entire car be sure to do some testing first. See this article,


How To Do a Test Spot (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-articles/50162-how-do-test-spot.html)



Menzerna SF 4500 is a ultra fine cut polish, so it has even less cut than a fine cut polish.

I'd use a polishing pad if you have swirls to remove otherwise any softer pad with such a NON-aggressive polish might not remove the swirls and scratches. You will find this out when you do your Test Spot.


As for stripping the oils off the paint, if you're using a wax or a synthetic paint sealant, read the directions for what the manufacturer recommends. If they say to apply without chemically stripping then apply it.

I've never walked out into a garage the next day after detailing a car to find the wax or sealant has slipped off the car and piled up on the floor surrounding the car because it didn't bond to the paint.

Plus most methods of chemically stripping paint like IPA and such can cause marring. You would only see this on black and dark colored paints but it happens on light colored paints too you just can see it.

I document this here,

Hologram Free with a Rotary Buffer (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/43684-hologram-free-rotary-buffer.html)



Also, this article walks you step-by-step what to do and the order to do it. There's videos to watch and links to more info...


How To Detail Your Brand New Car by Mike Phillips (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-articles/54451-how-detail-your-brand-new-car-mike-phillips.html)


Enjoy your new car and enjoy detailing it, don't turn something that's really quite simple into rocket science.


Miscible and Immiscible - Wax and Paint Sealant Bonding (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/hot-topics-frequently-asked-questions/31186-miscible-immiscible-wax-paint-sealant-bonding.html)


Sheldon explaining Quantum Physics to Penny on the Big Bang Theory
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/715/molculesbonding.jpg



:)

[Mike Phillips]

My question is, should I be using a DA with the Menzerna 4500 on a brand new
car.



Won't hurt anything and it will remove any fine scratches or marring you can't see with your eyes plus perfectly prepare the paint for the Collinite 476.





I know the 4500 is a final polish, but should I be using this on brand new clear coat?



If it were my brand new car that would be the minimum polishing work I would do before sealing the paint.





I dont want to eat into clear coat. Again, upon inspection, there arent any scratches or holograms



This polish is so non-aggressive you really don't have anything to be worried about. It should be the least of your concerns.

Do tape-off any black plastic trim first or anything else you don't want to get polish and wax residue on.





Just wondering if I should skip the Menz 4500 after claying and go straight to the Collinite 476.




My rule of thumb is to ALWAYS do at least one machine polishing step after doing any type of mechanical decontamination and this would including claying.


:)

[HateSwirls]

Thanks, what speed did you use on the PC7424 when you applied the polish?

This weekend is calling for picture perfect detailing weather. Upper 70's, sunny with low humidity.


I used speed 5 with slow arm speed , used just enough pressure to keep the pad turning.

I only use speed 6 when it's really needed.

[Mike Phillips]

This weekend is calling for picture perfect detailing weather. Upper 70's, sunny with low humidity.





How did it turn out?


:)