New car - What to do ahead of cquarts (not prep steps)

Hello, I just got a new car today, I had already ordered cquarts and the full line of carpro products (from AG)... So I'm ready to roll! Also I didn't have the dealer do anything to the car so it's fresh from the factory.

Due to some rainy weather the next few days and possibly not having time for another few days to be able to dedicate 2-3 days to a proper cquartz application and full detail I am wondering what should I do?

Leave the car as is, no products on it.
Apply a silica based product like Reload or Hydro2
use another product temporarily

I will need to drive the car and in the rain for a week or so... my gut tells me to put something on it, but I hesitate if that will make cquartz application harder or more time consuming to strip or worse, make the application not as effective?

Appreciate any guidance!

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Originally Posted by kring

Hello, I just got a new car today, I had already ordered cquarts and the full line of carpro products (from AG)... So I'm ready to roll! Also I didn't have the dealer do anything to the car so it's fresh from the factory.

Due to some rainy weather the next few days and possibly not having time for another few days to be able to dedicate 2-3 days to a proper cquartz application and full detail I am wondering what should I do?

Leave the car as is, no products on it.
Apply a silica based product like Reload or Hydro2
use another product temporarily

I will need to drive the car and in the rain for a week or so... my gut tells me to put something on it, but I hesitate if that will make cquartz application harder or more time consuming to strip or worse, make the application not as effective?

Appreciate any guidance!

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You will be fine if you don’t put anything on it. The clear coat is not going to fail.

If it were me I would wait the week and then proceeded with prepping and coating (wash, chemical decon, mechanical decon, polish & coat).

Great, thank you.

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Originally Posted by The Guz

You will be fine if you don’t put anything on it. The clear coat is not going to fail.

If it were me I would wait the week and then proceeded with prepping and coating (wash, chemical decon, mechanical decon, polish & coat).

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I agree with Michael.

Leave her alone and then do the full meal-deal when you have all your supplies and the time to do it right.

Me?

I would do a Mike Phillips wash job the night before you plan on detailing it. This means wash the heck out of the car and get it super duper clean. Then after drying, leave her in the garage overnight with a fan on to create moving air to fully dry the car throughout all the cracks, crevices, seams, channels, emblems, wheels, etc.

Then start first thing Saturday morning. Start early. A full coating install will take you the entire day.



:)

Bingo! My thoughts exactly on both previous answers.

Your new car paint won't suffer any damage other than simply getting dirty for a week. You can always wash and decon when you have the time.

Are you planning to polish it before coating?

Thanks, good extra advice to do the full detail wash the night before, that will save me some time and "wear n tear" on the arms during the coating day!

I probably won't polish, the car traveled wrapped and covered so it didn't get the usual truck buildup. I did a basic wash today to inspect the car and it's flawless plus it's white so I'd see most contaminants, and I looked over every millimeter with a magnifying glass :) So I am thinking just a super double cleaning and the standard prep list and then go for it.

I'm only going a few miles over the next few days around town so it won't be getting any crazy stuff hitting it.

It’s up to you of course but do the baggie test and see if it needs claying. If it does then I’d also polish it to remove the marring the clay will probably cause. You don’t want to skip steps right before coating, it will only last if you do the prep work properly.

I would still go over it with a fine polish to not only prep the surface but to increase the gloss. Even white can be glossed up.

This is where Essence would come in handy.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by The Guz

I would still go over it with a fine polish to not only prep the surface but to increase the gloss. Even white can be glossed up.

This is where Essence would come in handy.

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And with a new paint, this would be a very quick, and very smart step.

The Guz is always thinking!!!

Right on, Mike. :)

Ok, you convinced me to at least test, and since I have a clay bar and Wolfgang polish, I will go for it if needed.