Protecting brand new BLACK car paint?? suggestions on products and methods please...

[zdubsi]

Re: Protecting brand new BLACK car paint?? suggestions on products and methods please

I'll throw in my .02 here as a fellow black car owner. (BTW grats on the Genesis Coupe, those look so pretty!!)

I am a time starved college student who drive 75+ miles a day so I don't have a lot of time to care for my car so I follow a pretty simple regime. In your case, regardless of whether or not you can feel bonded contaminates on your car I would probably claybar it just to make sure there is nothing on it before your first big detail!

I do the claybar - cleaner wax (I use M66 because I have a G110) - M21 - NXT 2.0 twice a year, once before winter as a "winter prep" and once after winter as a "spring cleaning". Other than that I just add coats of wax here or there when I have time/desire just to give it that freshly waxed look. I think using a cleaner wax is good idea for just general paint prep as its mild and will help remove any minor paint defects that just happen in general. Use scratchX and the likes to remove larger scratches/defects and swirls as you notice them.

Washing as much as you can will help maintain your protection and extend the life of your paint. I try for every saturday, although I really enjoy washing cars myself.

I'm sure a lot of this has been said, but I just wanted to put in that having a good system when a couple times a year you just dedicate a day to paint care is a great way to keep it in good shape.

[GenTarkin]

Re: Protecting brand new BLACK car paint?? suggestions on products and methods please

Is quick wax meant to be used on the entire vehicle or just in certain spots? Does it offer any other protection other than the "just waxed" look? How is a quick wax different than a spray wax? When should you use one vs. the other??

What about Quick Detailer vs. Ultimate Quick Detailer? I gather that QD is to be used with claying and UQD cannot, but I'm not sure why?? It says QD is to remove bird droppings, etc but what if the vehicle isn't freshly washed? Seems like spraying that on a dirty surface wouldn't be a good idea. I also know that UQD has hydrophobic polymer technology and I like that, I've heard it's an awesome product... I'm just curious when to use all this stuff! When should you use QD vs. UQD? UQD seems to be like a Quick Wax, something that you use in between washes?? How do you know which to use though?

Also, about microfiber towels, do you wash the ones you wax with seperately than the rest?? Seems like you shouldn't combine them in the wash?? And what happens if you accidentally dry a microfiber towel with a used dryer sheet that was left in dryer?! We did that last tonight and re-washed it immediately... I really don't wanna have to throw our water magnet away cause of it, but we will if we need to. I don't want residue on the car!!

Thanks for your help!

[Murr1525]

Re: Protecting brand new BLACK car paint?? suggestions on products and methods please

1. Quick Wax, Nxt Spray Wax, and Ultimate Quick Wax are all similar, in that they are meant to be applied very thin, so they dry very fast, and give that fresh waxed look with little effort. The UQW would be the most advanced of them. I wouldnt use any other... I would use the UQ Detailer if not the UQW.

2. Couple different questions there... The UQW cannot be used when claying because of the polymers in it, and the slickness. As far as removing bird droppings, you want them off the car, no matter what. The Nxt 2.0, UQW, and UQD all have the polymer technology. As far as which to use... If you want to get the most life out of your 2 coats of wax, then the UQW will add some wax back to the surface. The UQD will not. Frankly, I havent quite figured it out either, and I only just tried the UQW, still gettng the hang of it.

3. I have not had trouble washing all the MF towels together, regardless of if they were for washing or product removal. I would just rewash it, maybe with some white vinegar even. That is a nice way to soften up MF's every once in a while.

What have you gotten to so far? How is the detailing going?

[GenTarkin]

Re: Protecting brand new BLACK car paint?? suggestions on products and methods please

We have:
Meg MF Wash Mitt and Water Magnet
NXT Wash
Smooth Surface Clay Kit (Incl. QD and sample of Cleaner Wax)
ScratchX 2.0
ColorX
NXT 2.0 Liquid Wax - use Supreme Shine MF Towel

We're also getting UQD and possibly UQW, although I don't really see a point in getting both at this point... I really don't see a difference. Anyone have any ideas on their differences? Which is BETTER? Anyone have experience using both and have any advice??

I will wash and inspect surface... part of me thinks claying is a good idea, even if surface feels clean... but I don't want to do something unnecessary either...

I am also curious because I read that ColorX is safe, yet more abrasive than other paint cleaners or cleaner waxes, for example the one that came in with the smooth surface clay kit. Since we have a brand new car, I'm wondering if we should start out with something less abrasive than ColorX? More like paint cleaner or cleaner wax???

Also, should we be thinking about putting on a polish? Is that necessary, or something to do later, after we've washed/waxed the car a couple times, etc??

Thanks for all your help, we're excited but nervous!! Some of these products seem so similar and we don't have money to waste!!

[Murr1525]

Re: Protecting brand new BLACK car paint?? suggestions on products and methods please

1. If you have lots of QD for bird droppings, etc, and you plan to UQW after washing, UQD probably isnt a top priority. UQD came out a while ago, before the UQW this year, and so it became the 'after wash' product of most people, instead of the older spray waxes.

2. Clay. Clay. Clay.

3. There would be nothing wrong with using up the cleaner/wax sample size. But a daily driver gets a lot of dirt and grime on it, and even more if kept outside, so a little stronger cleaner is kind of nice. Plus, do not think of old fashioned "abrasive compounds" that were like sandpaper when thinking of ColorX. It is a bit stronger of a cleaner/wax, not sandpaper. And you can work it in more gently or more strongly as needed. Right now, you can probably apply it more gently.

4. A cleaner/wax, whether ColorX or the red bottle Cleaner/Wax, are really cleaner/polish/waxes. So there is some polishing oils already in it. A pure polish can help a dark colored car look even better.... but that will add more time to your detail, and I have a feeling you would like doing something simpler first. #7 Show Car Glaze is the top of the line polish.

5. Dont worry.... Just wash, dry, clay with plenty of lube, Apply your cleaner/wax working it in gently, let dry, remove, apply Nxt 2.0, let it dry, remove, and stand back and stare.

[akimel]

Re: Protecting brand new BLACK car paint?? suggestions on products and methods please

Hi, General. Sounds like you are about ready for your big detailing day.

Let me suggest the following to get you started. For your first detail:

1) Wash
2) Clay
3) ColorX
4) NXT

This will get your paint looking really really good.

After this initial session, it's only a matter of maintenance. I know you are concerned about the abrasiveness of ColorX. Let me suggest that you use the ColorX/NXT combo every third month and plan on claying every six months (spring and fall). In between these events, wax your car, either with Ultimate Quik Wax or NXT, on a regular basis. What "regular basis" means you will have to discover yourself through experience with the products. Some folks, for example, like to UQW their cars after every wash or every other wash. Figure out what you enjoy doing. Do you like how easy and quick UQW is? Then use it frequently. Do you prefer spending a little more time with your car by applying a coat of wax and then carefully removing it? Then wax it with NXT once a month. Or come up with some interesting schedule and combination of products that work for you. You have lots of freedom here. Have fun experimenting. That's part of the joy of detailing.

What is important is to find a regimen that works for you. You can tweak your regimen as you go along.

So hurry up and get started! You are going to be thrilled with the results. And don't forget to take some pictures and share them with us.

Cheers,
Al

[GenTarkin]

Re: Protecting brand new BLACK car paint?? suggestions on products and methods please

Thanks guys. Hey if I do use ColorX, should it be applied with foam pads or with even coat MF applicator pads?? I'm just wondering. I know on a video detail job that the Megs guy uses foam pads and I'm just wondering if there's a benefit to using that instead of even coat ones? Or does it not really matter?

getting excited! Hope there's no rain today!!

[akimel]

Re: Protecting brand new BLACK car paint?? suggestions on products and methods please

FWIW, I use the foam applicator but not sure if it matters.

[Murr1525]

Re: Protecting brand new BLACK car paint?? suggestions on products and methods please

I use foam.

Go for it....

[GenTarkin]

Re: Protecting brand new BLACK car paint?? suggestions on products and methods please

Well, we just completed our first session on the car.
We washed and dried it. Clayed it entirely, then applied colorx lightly, then applied wax #21 v1.
I have a few questions about usage amount of product. First of all we used nearly a full bottle of the quick detailer that came with the clay kit .. we clayed the entire car. Is this too much? too little? We used half a bar of clay.
Also, used about nearly a half a bottle of wax of v1 #21 to wax the car, this is the smaller size bottle.
Its lookin good, but did not get it done till late at night in a tiny garage that had a tiny dim lightbulb so, hopefully tomorrow it will be lookin awesome in the sun =)
Also, something kinda alarming here...when claying the car sometimes would notice a scratching sound like dragging a spec of dirt across the paint(squeeky sound)... we stopped when we heard this and folded clay even when was not dirty really. So, just wondering is this normal sometimes or what, cuz I just feel like something is scratching paint more when this happens lol.
Feedback appreciated!
Thanks

[Murr1525]

Re: Protecting brand new BLACK car paint?? suggestions on products and methods please

Who cares.. How does the car look?

But yeah, you could use a lot of QD when claying, you may have used a little extra, but nothing wrong with that the first time.

The clay will be reusable.. just fold it over again, and put it back in your baggy to save. Did you see it pull anything up?

Your coats of wax were probably a bit thick. Were they easy to remove?

Did you end up skipping the cleaner/wax for now?

[GenTarkin]

Re: Protecting brand new BLACK car paint?? suggestions on products and methods please

Looks awesome at night so far....in the lights =) We will try and get some pix tomorrow- sure hope a dust storm doesn't roll in!

Yes the clay actually did pick up some stuff, mostly around the rear above the tail pipes and the side panels too.

We used this method:
Wash/Dry
Clay
ScratchX only on a few isolated scratches
ColorX (so we did use the paint cleaner step)
M21 v1 that we had left over (next is NXT v2 soon)

The ColorX was definitely easier to buff off than the wax... we only did one coat of #21 so we did put it on a bit thicker which by the end of all this arms were already tired and sore so yeah definitely tougher to buff off!

But hey we completely forgot tires! Anything we can do about it now? Sure don't wanna wash and dry again tomorrow lol So maybe we'll just forget about it, they don't look too bad. Also, how the heck do you clean out inside the doors? Wash it and try hard not to spray in the car? lol We weren't sure what to use since it is dirty and just misting and wiping something would scratch probably right? Let us know what you all do!

Oh and we happen to have bought a vehicle with quite a bit of trim. We did our best to not get any colorX or wax residue on there, but in case we find some tomorrow, any ideas for what to use to clean it up nice? (our trim is not just rubber but also plastic fyi)

Thanks

[Nappers]

Q

First of all we used nearly a full bottle of the quick detailer that came with the clay kit .. we clayed the entire car. Is this too much? too little? We used half a bar of clay.

Uhhhh, that is about right, that bottle is pretty small. You want to keep the clay lubricated as you clay the car. I spray a couple of times in a 12"X12" area I guess.....I buy the big bottle of QD at Schucks(Kragen/Checker and now O'Reilly) and it lasts a long time. The other bottle is 16oz I think. A lot of folks use Last Touch from the Detailer line and dilute 1:1 (2 gal of product) to use when claying and for QD purposes as well.

half a clay? There should be 2 packages of clay, I unwrap one and go for it and use the other one when it's full.

Also, used about nearly a half a bottle of wax of v1 #21 to wax the car, this is the smaller size bottle.

Uh.....how big a bottle? I have a bottle of M26 (I know you said M21) and waxed my Yukon and Neon at least twice with 2 coats each and have about a 1/3 left or so. I even gave about a 4 oz or so sampler to a coworker. It's the 16oz bottle I think..... Make sure you put it on THIN, bout a teaspoon on your applicator and you can do a pretty good chunk of real estate with that. I put it on my applicator and "kiss" the paint here and there in a pretty big area (2 foot I'm guessing ) then spread it out. I can barely see it so I look at the paint at an angle to see where I went.....

Its lookin good, but did not get it done till late at night in a tiny garage that had a tiny dim lightbulb so, hopefully tomorrow it will be lookin awesome in the sun =)

Satisfying when you get it done eh? post some pics when you can .

Flourescent bulbs burn pretty bright and don't take much energy. We use the 13 watt bulbs in the house and they are bright. I have the 100W equivalent bulb in my back room and it's BRIGHT (can't remember the actual wattage)! Takes a moment for them to warm up though.

Also, something kinda alarming here...when claying the car sometimes would notice a scratching sound like dragging a spec of dirt across the paint(squeeky sound)... we stopped when we heard this and folded clay even when was not dirty really. So, just wondering is this normal sometimes or what, cuz I just feel like something is scratching paint more when this happens lol.
Feedback appreciated!
Thanks

Uh....., I don't quite remember any scratching sound that I can recall.....Just be sure to check your clay while claying and knead it after every panel or so, I knead it about twice a panel, 3-4 times on the hood etc, small areas. If you drop it on the ground, toss it. I do hear a low dull sound mostly when I clay.....not sure though, I'm going to clay a '00 Dodge 2500 and I'll "see" what I hear.....

Post some pix of the Genesis when your done!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I like those cars.

[Murr1525]

Re: Protecting brand new BLACK car paint?? suggestions on products and methods please

A sqeak from the clay and grabbibg could be from the area being un-lubricated.

I tend to open my doors when washing as the last step, and just wipe the mitt along the sill. Then just hosing the car down seems to flush the soap out.

Your coat of the regular wax should have been easier and thinner than the ColorX.... Might have just applied it a bit too thick, might see a smudge or two in the morning, nothing to freak out over.

Just save the tires till next time. I like to use APC, but just some soapy water is fine for next time.

Feel free to go around wiping the trim tomorrow, getting it off soon is the best idea.

[GenTarkin]

Re: Protecting brand new BLACK car paint?? suggestions on products and methods please

we took one of the bars of clay and cut it into two pieces, like mike does on the video that way we'll get 4 clays out of the smooth surface kit.

The M21 bottle is only an 8oz, and it wasn't full when we started and it's not empty so we used maybe about half give or take a little.

Thanks for the bulb suggestions, but unfortunately we live in an apartment complex, so the tiny garage was just a dim bulb and isn't even our garage, my genesis is only parked under a carport- eek! That's why I say hopefully no wind or storms tonight or you guys are gonna think we're even worse noobs!!

Thanks for the advice about the last touch... my feeling is it's like final inspection? Did they stop making final inspection now or they have that and last touch? Do you know the differences? Seems like both those and QD are pretty much the same thing. lol