First new car should I wax or not wax it?

[ddenes]

I purchased our first new car and the color is black metalic. I am having a hard time keeping it clean. With all of the products out there, I am confused which to use to wax the car with. Any suggestions? If possible, could you give me a list of materials and products in the mid price range that would be good for our vehicle. The car has leather seats, so I would also need to know what to use on the seats in order to keep them in good condition. Or should I even be waxing the car?

[GMC83]

You can wax the car.

For the seats I would use a good quality leather cleaner/conditioner, such as Meguiars Rich Leather Spray Cleaner/Conditoner.

[Mike Phillips]

Welcome to Autogeek Online!

Congratulations on the new car, it's always a thrill to have something brand new no one else has messed with.


Dealerships are famous for DISO which stands for the Dealer Installed Swirl Option, so maybe the first thing you should do is wash the car so that it's spotlessly clean and then do to things,

1. With your clean hand, feel the horizontal surfaces to make sure the paint doesn't need to be clayed. A brand new car shouldn't need ANYTHING but if it sat on the lot, or on a transport truck or a rail car for any length of time it's possible it could have some above surface bonded contaminants.

Feeling the paint will tell you because it will either feel smooth and glassy or you'll feel little bumps.

This thread shows you one way to wash and dry a car and also how to feel the paint and use detailing clay.


2008 Lexus IS 250 - Pinnacle Detail - August 14th, 2009

Usually only the horizontal surfaces need to be clayed because that's where air-borne contaminants will land and accumulate over time and if not removed within a day or two, at least some contaminants will bond to the surface.




2. Next try to get the car into bright sunlight and then stand in such a way as to get the sun right down on the hood or trunk lid and look for swirls. Cross your fingers it looks clear and swirl-free.

Try to get the car into bright sunlight, directly overhead and then position it and the stand in a way that you can place the sun directly onto a horizontal surface so you can inspect for swirls. This is a black Lincoln project that will be posted tomorrow. We started losing sunlight but you can see what I mean by positioning the car and yourself to see the sun on a horizontal surface. By the way, even though the sun was hiding in the clouds overhead the paint in the center does have a swirl-free finish.




Alas after we did our Test Spot on the trunk-lid the rain clouds moved in as you can see in this photo taken around 4:00pm Eastern Time.







If you car passes the above two test then you're ready to start maintaining the finish by applying a quality wax or paint sealant.

It's almost 11:00pm here in the office so we'll post some more tomorrow, do check out the finish like mentioned above and lets hope the dealer didn't touch it and if they did, lets hope they have an in-house detailer that reads forums like this and knows what their doing.

[unclestu]

Is the car kept out doors? In what part of the country do live in? Are you looking for paint protection or are you more interested in a show car shine. i would definatley be looking at this link on Autogeek. It explains the differences between waxes and sealants and I found it very helpful. Carnauba Car Wax vs. Paint Sealants


on your new ride

[ddenes]

Thanks for your reply. The car is kept in the garage when not in use. We live in Indiana and it will be exposed to summer and winter conditions. I have noticed it does not have any swirl marks on it. But with the color being black it gets dirty really fast. We would like the same shine on it as the day that we bought it. Does anyone have any suggestions on dusting mitts or chamois? Any other advice would be appreciated since this is out of my area of knowledge...having a hard time deciding which products to use. Thanks again.

[Matt]

Well, 1st of all on your question about dusters, DON'T use a duster of any sort.

I see some people on here use a California duster before QD'ing to get the majority of the dust and particles off to reduce swirling during the QD process.

BUT! Doesn't that sorta make the process redundant? The QD is a lubricant and will help protect the paint from the dust. Using a duster on its own first, and dry, there is no protection what so ever. This seems stupid to me, if you want to use a duster and you want to QD, then it's gonna be safer if you spray the QD on, use the duster to remove the majority of the dust and QD and then use a microfiber to remove the rest of the QD. That way you've always got some lubrication on the paint and you're not just rubbing dusty paint while it's dry.

As for a chamois, you'll find that most people on here use microfibers to dry the car.

For drying you'll find it's quickest to use the sheeting method to get the majority of the water off the paint (when I first used it it cut my drying time by about 2/3's). For this you take the hose nozzle off the hose and have just a smooth stream of water flowing over the car so that it rolls off like a sheet.

Then you can use a Cobra Guzzler HD to pat the paint dry and remove the rest of the water. I'm very impressed with these and even though I have 4, I only need one when drying the car (after sheeting) and it barely even gets wet!

There are many microfiber products out there and almost one for every detailing need.
Here you will find the wonderful selection AutoGeek carries.

If you have anymore questions, be sure to ask

^__^...o, and welcome

(Please excuse the fact that this doesn't read very smoothly. I've just finished doing an Economics AND an Accounting assignment and am very tired...time for bed)

[Nappers]

Wax away!

I recommend claying, a lot of grime gets on your paint during transit to the auto dealer. Our Dodge Neon was purchased new and when I got it home, I removed a ton of gunk off of it when I clayed! The paint felt rough in places and you wouldn't believe how much overspray from the factory I removed!

Have fun!

[r0ckstrWS6]

some good waxes that I've tried are, the pinnacle Sig series, and Poorboys waxes.

both are great waxes that don't break the bank. use some foam applicator pads to apply the wax and some cobra indigos to remove the wax.

as stated above check if the car needs to be clayed first.

[Blackfire]

My 09 garage queen is black. I prepared it with pinnacle clay before any polishing.

I then used the WG Paint Polish Enhancer, WG Deep Gloss Sealant 3.0 and thus far, two coats of Fuzion.

It's as black and brilliant as it gets.

It gets a shampoo once a week, need it or not.

It's so shiny, you can only see the blue sky and flag, not the black paint.

[ScottB]

I think the Pinnacle kits, including Sizzling Shine offer alot of bang for the buck. Forum favorite was also a pleaser ... kits offer best value IMO.