Griots 3 in 1 ceramic wax after polish

[Larry A]

I did a little reading at Chemical Guys web page just to make sure I wasn't going to speak incorrectly. Blacklight is simply a glaze with some sealant added in. It will not provide any correction. From their Blacklight web page under the area titled "Use this glaze to": "Fill in swirls without cutting or polishing".

If you want to remove any defects from production/shipping/molestation by the dealership, you'll want to hit it with a polish to remove the defects, not hide them temporarily with fillers. The Griots Perfecting Cream already mentioned would be a good start, the Finishing Cream, or other quality polishes depending on the damage and/or hardness of the paint. I wouldn't use a compound unless it was absolutely needed. A medium grade/swirl remover or finishing polish would probably do the trick

Chilly: On many of the European car lots they are knows as "Porters". Same end. Some poor guy with a brush and a dirty drying towel stuck washing cars all day long for delivery prep. The latest offense in my area is now dealerships with their own tunnel washes. The valet/porter only has to drive them through the tunnel to achieve the same level of destruction.

If you are just looking to quickly get some protection on the truck before winter, I'd simply hit it with the ceramic wax without the Blacklight and re-evaluate the condition of the truck in the Springtime.

Thats what I would do.

[chilly]

I did a little reading at Chemical Guys web page just to make sure I wasn't going to speak incorrectly. Blacklight is simply a glaze with some sealant added in. It will not provide any correction. From their Blacklight web page under the area titled "Use this glaze to": "Fill in swirls without cutting or polishing".

If you want to remove any defects from production/shipping/molestation by the dealership, you'll want to hit it with a polish to remove the defects, not hide them temporarily with fillers. The Griots Perfecting Cream already mentioned would be a good start, the Finishing Cream, or other quality polishes depending on the damage and/or hardness of the paint. I wouldn't use a compound unless it was absolutely needed. A medium grade/swirl remover or finishing polish would probably do the trick

Chilly: On many of the European car lots they are knows as "Porters". Same end. Some poor guy with a brush and a dirty drying towel stuck washing cars all day long for delivery prep. The latest offense in my area is now dealerships with their own tunnel washes. The valet/porter only has to drive them through the tunnel to achieve the same level of destruction.

If you are just looking to quickly get some protection on the truck before winter, I'd simply hit it with the ceramic wax without the Blacklight and re-evaluate the condition of the truck in the Springtime.

Yeah, the huge Toyota/Lexus lot in Anchorage has their own tunnel wash and you get a free pass every time you are in for service

I mean why pay a guy to trash your paint when you have a machine to do it for you...

Oy vey

[PaulMys]

First, congrats on the new F-150.

I work for a Ford dealer, and I can offer up another angle: Even if you factory ordered your truck, chances are (almost 100%) that it was sitting for weeks/months fully-built in a holding area in Kentucky awaiting micro chips/modules. (Covid caused a world-wide chip shortage).

On top of that, when it finally does receive the needed chips and ships out, it might have sat in a holding yard for additional weeks due to vehicle haulers having a shortage of drivers.

All of this equals a more than usual time for the truck to acquire dirt, grit, rail dust, bird droppings, water spots, etc. I am appalled at the paint condition of some vehicles that are delivered to us this year.

My advice would be to very carefully inspect and assess your black paint before deciding on a correction process.

[Rsurfer]

Complete newbie here,

Picking up my new black F150 and wanted to get on the paint correction and protection ASAP.

Going to do standard wash, Iron X and clay bar prep.

Polish out any minor defects (I expect them) with Blacklight and the go over the truck with CG Black polish.
Attachment 74616

Question,

If I go over the truck with an IPA after these steps and then apply Griots Ceramic wax, will I pull any fillers from the Black polish out of the paint?

Any suggestions are welcomed.

Congrats on your new BLACK truck. You just bought yourself a part-time job.

Don't get caught up with the "black hype" that CG puts out.

[opie]

First, congrats on the new F-150.

I work for a Ford dealer.

And you drive a dodge....oops sorry a "ram"...that says something to all the ford lovers out there



Sorry nothing personal...i just cant pass up a moment to rip on a ford lol





Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

[Northern Goat]

Thanks guys for all your input.

[ZRX61]

Chilly: On many of the European car lots they are knows as "Porters". Same end. Some poor guy with a brush and a dirty drying towel stuck washing cars all day long for delivery prep. The latest offense in my area is now dealerships with their own tunnel washes. The valet/porter only has to drive them through the tunnel to achieve the same level of destruction.

In the UK, a valet is a detailer. My cousin took up the trade after he had his fill of being a plumber. A porter merely moves cars about.

[Desertnate]

In the UK, a valet is a detailer. My cousin took up the trade after he had his fill of being a plumber. A porter merely moves cars about.

At dealerships here in the US the porters/valets are often the lowest layer of the dealership labor pool and do more than move cars about; typically all the stuff the sales and service staff don't want to be bothered with. This includes washing cars as the delivery preparation or the "complementary" service wash. While it used to be a dirty bucket of wash soap and a terry cloth towel, several places local to me now have their own tunnel wash, so the porters drive it through there and then dry it with an old terry cloth towel...

[Larry A]

At dealerships here in the US the porters/valets are often the lowest layer of the dealership labor pool and do more than move cars about; typically all the stuff the sales and service staff don't want to be bothered with. This includes washing cars as the delivery preparation or the "complementary" service wash. While it used to be a dirty bucket of wash soap and a terry cloth towel, several places local to me now have their own tunnel wash, so the porters drive it through there and then dry it with an old terry cloth towel...

WE used a Water Sprite Chamois

[oneheadlite]

One other thought to consider for if a new car needs much attention:

Independent of the physical wash or quality of detail your dealership performs, some dealerships have companies come through to "spruce up" the new/used cars sitting on the lot. When I was at an Audi dealership, they had a crew roll through (I don't remember how often) that would pressure wash the cars and towel them off.

I don't ever remember there being suds or spray bottles involved...