Hi,
I have never cared for my cars finish very well, rarely even washed them. I have a can of Mother's California Gold wax sitting my garage a few years I think I used it once.
But now I have a brand new 2017 Prius Prime that is Pearl White so my attitude has changed. From what I have read I should clay it, polish it and then apply wax, sealer or coating.
I thought it was strange that i should have to clay and polish a brand new car, but I did the finger inside the baggie test and it feels quite rough. The car was shipped from Japan to L.A. where I bought it.
I watched some Mike Phillips videos and that was really helpful. The thing I am having the most trouble with is the wax / sealant / coating. There are so many products I don't know what to go with. Since I don't want to spend a lot of time and effort, something that is easy to apply and more foolproof is better than something that is tedious and I might screw up, but I don't want to be waxing it every 8 weeks. Since I am not sure I want to take this on myself because lack of time and I would have to buy a buffer, I spoke with a detailer that i had used before. He told me that he would not recommend a sealant on a white car especially if it is parked in the sun and said he would just use wax. He quoted me $150 to clay, polish and wax and $400 for sealant, $800 for coating. the latter two prices seem rather ridiculous to me. He also kept using the term Teflon when referring to sealant / coating which I do not see when looking at these products. I think nano ceramic is mostly what I remember. Here are some products I have read about:
Optimum Gloss Coat
Opti-seal
Blackfire Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection
Chemical Guys JetSeal
McKee's 37 Hydro Blue SiO2 Coating
Thanks for any advise