New Car Prep...

[NYCLR3]

I have posted before and lurked for a long time. I have a 2015 Audi Q7 being assembled in Germany now. Plan on taking delivery in a few months. Looking for some advice on prep and coating and figure this is a good time of year to purchase the products. I am going to go with Cquartz UK. Now, when I get the new car I will likely tell the dealer not to prep. I will clay the car and Iron X, or is that overkill? I have a GG 6" with the backing plate set up, do I need to polish? I have some Menzerna polish left, would that be compatible with the cquartz? Lastly, would I use eraser before i apply the coating? Is cquartz suitable for glass, or should I invest in a separate glass coating? Thankfully questions are typically free, product is not so I wanted the expert opinion before I purchase.

[builthatch]

I have posted before and lurked for a long time. I have a 2015 Audi Q7 being assembled in Germany now. Plan on taking delivery in a few months. Looking for some advice on prep and coating and figure this is a good time of year to purchase the products. I am going to go with Cquartz UK. Now, when I get the new car I will likely tell the dealer not to prep. I will clay the car and Iron X, or is that overkill? I have a GG 6" with the backing plate set up, do I need to polish? I have some Menzerna polish left, would that be compatible with the cquartz? Lastly, would I use eraser before i apply the coating? Is cquartz suitable for glass, or should I invest in a separate glass coating? Thankfully questions are typically free, product is not so I wanted the expert opinion before I purchase.

congrats on the truck. my wife did the same thing with a '14 Q5. she loves it.

definitely tell them to not prep it, leave everything on and do the bare minimum just so it can be driven. the exception to leaving "everything" on is i would recommend that you let them take the bigger pieces of protection off of the exterior (BUT NOTHING ELSE, NO TRIM PLASTIC REMOVAL, NO WASHING, ETC.). this is so you can at least look at the paint prior to leaving so you know there isn't anything weird going on under there. otherwise it can be a pain if you remove it all yourself and find some issue (it happens).

claying and decon can't hurt, just want to do it carefully so you don't mar the surface, obviously. Audis are shipped pretty wrapped up but i'd still do it. Polishing is up to you. gauge the finish under various lights and see what you think. personally, i'd at least do a finish polish job on it no matter what and also take care of any random isolated damage if needed. but that's me.

YES on Eraser before the coating. it will assure that things work out with the coating sticking.

someone else can chime in on the glass thing - my guess is you can use it on glass that doesn't have wipers but need a glass-specific coating for the front and rear windows. but again, i don't use CQ so i don't know if that stands true for all of that like it does for OPT coatings.

6" BP is a big plate for that machine. 5" is as big as i'd go on a PC-type machine so you can use 5.5" pads MAX. if i were you i'd also get a small backing plate so you can use 4" pads too. 3.5" BP so you can use 4" pads...and optional is a 3" BP so you can use 3" pads for those really tight spots.

[SYMAWD]

Your Audi will arrive at the dealership in a full car cover like this:
http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af270/SYMAWD/IMAG2846_zpsp1fasnkb.jpg (http://s1014.photobucket.com/user/SYMAWD/media/IMAG2846_zpsp1fasnkb.jpg.html)

http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af270/SYMAWD/IMAG2821_zpsfhspnhzi.jpg (http://s1014.photobucket.com/user/SYMAWD/media/IMAG2821_zpsfhspnhzi.jpg.html)

Underneath these covers there is really no other exterior protection so if they are not carefully removed they can cause some marring and light scratching. You can ask your dealer to leave the wrap on until you arrive, but that may or not be possible unless your salesman tells everyone at the dealer that no Q7s are to be unwrapped until they are sure it is not your car.

[Desertnate]

Your Audi will arrive at the dealership in a full car cover like this:
http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af270/SYMAWD/IMAG2846_zpsp1fasnkb.jpg (http://s1014.photobucket.com/user/SYMAWD/media/IMAG2846_zpsp1fasnkb.jpg.html)

http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af270/SYMAWD/IMAG2821_zpsfhspnhzi.jpg (http://s1014.photobucket.com/user/SYMAWD/media/IMAG2821_zpsfhspnhzi.jpg.html)

Underneath these covers there is really no other exterior protection so if they are not carefully removed they can cause some marring and light scratching. You can ask your dealer to leave the wrap on until you arrive, but that may or not be possible unless your salesman tells everyone at the dealer that no Q7s are to be unwrapped until they are sure it is not your car.

The first car in that pictures appears to be a '15 GTI. I think it's safe to assume, my '14 was wrapped in an identical fashion and I can tell you first hand they will mar the paint.

I too told my dealer not to wash/prep the car and they honored the request. At delivery it looked pretty good but under better lighting I found noticeable marring and some light swirls. They didn't appear to be from washing based on their location and direction, so I can only assume they came from the cover and other abuse in the manufacturing/shipping.

Like previously recommended, I'd at least give the vehicle a light polish to prevent locking any damage under a coating for the next year or two.

[SYMAWD]

The first car in that pictures appears to be a '15 GTI. I think it's safe to assume, my '14 was wrapped in an identical fashion and I can tell you first hand they will mar the paint.

I too told my dealer not to wash/prep the car and they honored the request. At delivery it looked pretty good but under better lighting I found noticeable marring and some light swirls. They didn't appear to be from washing based on their location and direction, so I can only assume they came from the cover and other abuse in the manufacturing/shipping.

Like previously recommended, I'd at least give the vehicle a light polish to prevent locking any damage under a coating for the next year or two.

Yes, your car was wrapped like that too. All Audis are, most Porsches are, and all European built VWs are. However, some from Mexico show up wrapped and it seems to be completely random on which ones are and aren't.

[Paul A.]

The VIN will be visible even with the shipping cover on. Tell them you won't accept it if the wrap is removed before you arrive.

[SYMAWD]

The VIN will be visible even with the shipping cover on. Tell them you won't accept it if the wrap is removed before you arrive.

Yes, but a tech still needs to PDI the car. Which means it must be put on a lift to remove shipping blocks, remove the 22MPH speed limiter, enable all of the electronics, etc. Doing a PDI with the wrap on would be difficult. Perhaps he can have the dealer PDI it once he arrives and they can do it when he signs all of the paper work.

And like I said, the salesman will literally have to tell everyone it is not to be unwrapped because they are typically unwrapped as they are unloaded so that they can be inspected for damage during transport.

[NYCLR3]

Thanks for the replies. I will instruct them not to prep the car. Maybe they will leave the wrap on so I can unveil for my kids, they might like it, or they will run to the free snack section and not care. Going to order a the speedy prep package, some microfibers and cquartz uk. What about glass? and Leather. I have some PERL, maybe I will use that, unless there is something better. Problem is I am really excited, but it is still in the steel stamping stage.

[99monguse]

Where I work, the service dept will not accept a vehicle without being able to fully inspect for damage because any damage or missing items NOT caught when the car comes off the hauler, the dealer EATS, and we're not in the business of paying for damage the hauler did. I would recommend you get the date the vehicle is supposed to arrive, be there when the truck shows up and present for everything. It really amazes me how crazy some of the members are. We are talking about daily drivers here, not show cars. No matter how careful you are, you will get scratches and swirls throughout the duration of vehicle ownership.

[builthatch]

Where I work, the service dept will not accept a vehicle without being able to fully inspect for damage because any damage or missing items NOT caught when the car comes off the hauler, the dealer EATS, and we're not in the business of paying for damage the hauler did. I would recommend you get the date the vehicle is supposed to arrive, be there when the truck shows up and present for everything. It really amazes me how crazy some of the members are. We are talking about daily drivers here, not show cars. No matter how careful you are, you will get scratches and swirls throughout the duration of vehicle ownership.

right, but that doesn't mean it should come pre-damaged by dudes being careless, lol. your engine will end up with 100k if it's a daily driver...so should they just pre-wear the engine out too? i'm being silly but still.

and not all of these cars are daily drivers. a lot are garage queens. anyway, you know what kind of tree you are barking up around here, haha.

i have yet to have a dealer tell me that they can't leave it alone, however, after being burned by pre-delivery damage concealed under the protection, i am not mad at your recommendation. they can inspect it, JUST DON'T WASH OR WIPE!

[NYCLR3]

I agree, but you can't fault me for trying to keep it looking as new and nice as possible for as long as possible. Most guys here take pride in their cars regardless of their duties, ie daily drivers or garage queens.


Where I work, the service dept will not accept a vehicle without being able to fully inspect for damage because any damage or missing items NOT caught when the car comes off the hauler, the dealer EATS, and we're not in the business of paying for damage the hauler did. I would recommend you get the date the vehicle is supposed to arrive, be there when the truck shows up and present for everything. It really amazes me how crazy some of the members are. We are talking about daily drivers here, not show cars. No matter how careful you are, you will get scratches and swirls throughout the duration of vehicle ownership.

[CarolinasFinestDetailing]

If I were you, I would coat the glass and leather to protect your investment. CarPro Forte for glass and their leather coating for the seats. Also, if you have enough CQUK, double coat the front bumper, hood, lower valences, and rear bumper at least for protection against the salt. (I assume youre from NY from your screen name.)

[NYCLR3]

Car is built, shipped and in NYC. I pick it up next week. I think this is my final list:
CquartzUK with Reload Kit
Wolfgang interior sealant
FlyBy30

I have some P21S Paintwork Cleanser, will thatremove oils and polishing residue? I plan on claying, using that and then applying CQuartzUK over that. Would that work?

[SYMAWD]

It might work, but why not get some Carpro Eraser to be sure.

[conquistador]

P21S will leave a lot of oils behind. I would use Eraser like suggested above or if you don't want to buy Eraser IPA, or simply rewash the car after polishing.