New Black Stingray Z56-What do the dealers put on the paint?

[JoeSip]

Son just purchased a new Stingray Z56, Color - Black.

Decided the car needed to be washed and a good coat of just paste wax (TW ICE) applied.

First, we rinsed the car off with just water to remove the dust and any loose dirt. Then washed car with using 'Blue Coral' car wash soap and a micro-fiber cloth. Noticed a circular haze spot on fender, about 3" in diameter. Applied a small amount of TW liquid rubbing compound and then applied some TW liquid polish. The haze spot was removed but noticed a sticky like goo that was difficult to remove.

To dry the car, we used a leaf blower. Noticed the water droplets did not blow off clean, but rather smudged off. Never could get all the water to blow off completely dry. Very tiny water droplets remained (surface tension?). Completed applying wax inside the garage out of the sun, and then polished the car with clean micro-fiber cloths (in sections). Noticed areas with a wax haze in the sunlight. Using a clean micro-fiber cloth, tried to polish/wipe off the haze only to find the haze re-appear in about a minute. The wax seemed to smudge in those hazed areas, but not all over the car. Further inspection of the entire car found what looked like very small clear coat flaws or small pieces of what looked to be solidified contaminants.

Seems I remember reading how dealers will apply some sort of commercial 'Glaze' to make their new cars look shinny and hide any defects. Could that be what's causing the goo and what looks like solidified surface contaminants after washing and waxing?

From 'feet' away, the car shines great. Only upon close inspection (1 foot away in the sun) can one see these flaws, haze and 'other issues'.

Any advice and suggestions would greatly be appreciated.

[davey g-force]

Re: New Black Stingray Z56-What do the dealers put on the paint?

You are best starting with a 'clean slate', so clay the car first before re-waxing. That should sort things out.

a good coat of just paste wax (TW ICE) applied.

^^ That could be your problem right there! Just sayin

[JoeSip]

Re: New Black Stingray Z56-What do the dealers put on the paint?

You are best starting with a 'clean slate', so clay the car first before re-waxing. That should sort things out.



^^ That could be your problem right there! Just sayin

Waxing before claying or using "ICE Wax"?

[JoeSip]

Re: New Black Stingray Z56-What do the dealers put on the paint?

Another question. Assuming it would be better to remove all the old wax before claying, what is the recommended product to use to remove the old wax?

[wifpd4]

Re: New Black Stingray Z56-What do the dealers put on the paint?

As Davey said, you need a clean slate. The dealer may have used some sort of compound or glaze or whatever and even run it through his own automatic car wash and left remnants of who know what on the car. Also possible it's adhesive from the plastic wrapper the car may have had on it during shipping.

Wash the car using a high quality automotive soap/shampoo using the two bucket method. With a black car you'll want to start learning proper concerned car care. So it it suggested you view all or most of the videos here:

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?134-How-To-Videos

Washing and claying would be the first two videos to watch.

Wash the car, carefully dry the car and the using a proper clay lubricant and an automotive clay, clay the car. Then if you aren't going to do any corrective work, wax the car. I might suggest reading more on MOL, watching the videos and try not to do too much until you feel very comfortable caring for this black car. Good luck.

[davey g-force]

Re: New Black Stingray Z56-What do the dealers put on the paint?

Waxing before claying or using "ICE Wax"?

Using ICE

Another question. Assuming it would be better to remove all the old wax before claying, what is the recommended product to use to remove the old wax?

IMO there is no need to do this. A good claying will remove the old wax.

[exploreco]

Re: New Black Stingray Z56-What do the dealers put on the paint?

I bet that is one beautiful car. Post some pictures when you get her all shined up. I will say I bought a brand new black car this spring. No Corvette, but black none the less. I didn't really think much about how it would look other than it being dirty. I came here looking for advice and to read up. Now, months later, I can say that I am on the correct path to properly washing my cars using the two bucket method, using quality product, and now that I have applied those products, I too use the leaf blower and I have hardly any water left on the car when I am done.

I wash using the two bucket method. I then dry with the leaf blower and then finish off with a QD or QW. This keeps everything nice in between. I also bought a dual action polisher which I can say, I can say is the best thing I have done for my car. Talk about making that black look nice. I was from that school of thought that hand waxing is the best way until getting the education from here and the great folks on here. The dual action polisher is the way to go. Just did my daily driver, my white 07 Pilot for the first time with it this weekend, I have never seen that car look so wet.

Another thing I have done buy the Details line of Megs products. I was using Megs off the shelf stuff from Walmart, and some other stuff like ICE and what ever I would get as a Christmas gift. When I started trying to keep the new black car sparkling all the time I found I was using a lot more product. So, buying the Detailers line in bulk is much more cost effective. You have to get stocked up on it but once you do you should be good to go. I am so picky now with my stuff, the wife knows to not even try to buy me anything for a birthday gift or fathersday gift

I have found now that black is very hard to keep clean and other colors are more forgiving, but boy it sure is rewarding when it is done.

Good luck!

[The Guz]

Re: New Black Stingray Z56-What do the dealers put on the paint?

I would clay, polish (Ultimate Polish) to ensure complete removal of TW Ice and then wax. I have tried Ice and I'm not a fan of it. I would either use ultimate wax if you are looking for protection with a good look. Or if you prefer the look of a carnauba I would go with M26 or Gold Class.

Even using black wax would be good. That will strip off Ice. You can even top black wax with something long lasting like ultimate wax or NXT.

[JoeSip]

Re: New Black Stingray Z56-What do the dealers put on the paint?

I understand there are two basic types of car wax. Synthetic wax like TW ICE can last up to between 6 to 9 months but the shine lacks that 'pop' as compared to carnauba wax which provides a richer shine and "pop" but needs to be applied every 30 days or so (depending on conditions).

This is my sons car and issue. Then I checked my 2013 Torch Red GS. Yep, I can feel those tiny specs on top of the paint. The plan for both cars is to strip the TW ICE wax off first, then clay, then apply synthetic wax. This should provide just gobs of father-son bonding time. It was recommended to me by a guy who maintains very expensive cars for a museum to simply use 8 to 10 drop of Dawn dish detergent in a bucket of water to wash off the wax. Anyone have an objection to this method of wax removal?

I'm not a fan of how difficult synthetic car wax goes on and comes off (TW ICE) or the lack of that carnauba wax 'pop' it provides. I'm a fan of how long the synthetic wax shine lasts. I don't 'show' my car. When passing someone at 90 m.p.h. or in the parking lot of a store, I doubt anyone could tell a synthetic wax shine from carnauba wax shine... but that's just my opinion.

Thanks for all your help and suggestions gents. I've learned a lot. Will try to post pics of my sons Z56 "Murdered Black" paint after we/he gets this issue fixed.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: New Black Stingray Z56-What do the dealers put on the paint?

A couple of observations here:

1) synthetic waxes should be no more difficult to apply / remove than a carnauba. If anything, they should actually be easier to work with. Synthetics also tend to be the ones that give a really bright, crisp, "pop" to the finish.... especially if it's metallic. Carnauba waxes tend to give a deeper, richer, wetter look on black paint. But these days a lot is being done with synthetics to enhance depth and gloss in much the same way carnauba waxes will. On a black car, especially if it's metallic, we highly recommend our Ultimate Wax paste. It's fully synthetic, will give a deep rich look, and the metallic will pop like crazy. It's hugely popular on this forum (no big shock there) but also among many of the top detailers around the country.

2) we've seen far too many C7 Stingrays with factory sanding marks present on a variety of body panels. We know of a few people who even took delivery at their local dealer with the wraps still on the car, then took it to their detailer who stripped all that stuff off and..... sanding marks! Several weeks ago we had a Corvette club at out Saturday Detailing 101 Class and one of the guys brought his new metallic black C7 and, you guessed it, sanding marks. In his case it was an area maybe 4" across right at the upper corner of the hood at the passenger side A pillar.



The advice you've already been given to clay the car is valid and likely a very important step to be done here. You shouldn't need to strip your existing wax with dish soap or anything else. Just wash and dry the car, clay it, then evaluate the finish for any other minor flaws and defects. A common comment we about new cars when discussing defects is "I just bought a brand new car, so it's perfect". Well, we believe the first part of that statement, but rarely is the latter portion really accurate. It is possible, yes, but it's extremely rare as most dealerships simply won't take the time to do a predelivery prep to the standards that detailing forum enthusiasts demand. That said, we have seen Hyundais that look spectacular at delivery, and we've seen $400,000 Rolls Royces full of swirls in dealer showrooms. So we always take the last part of that "new car" statement with a grain of salt. In your case, it's obvious that some issues exist with your son's new car, and that's typical regardless of make or model. But it's easy to fix, 99.999% of the time.

So, we would recommend that you wash and dry the car, clay it, then inspect for any sort of light swirls, etc that might exist. You'll want to do this either in direct sunlight or with a really good, bright light. You're looking for a variety of potential "below surface defects" and you need good light to see them. Any fine swirls, light scratches, etchings from bird droppings, chemical stains, etc are all treated the exact same way - with a liquid paint cleaner and/or compound of some sort. Read through our 5 Step Paint Care Cycle article for more on product selection and how to use each type of product to achieve your goals.

[JoeSip]

Re: New Black Stingray Z56-What do the dealers put on the paint?

Thanks Mike, and to all the others for their advice. I'll pass this on to my son. FYI, the Z06 is just black, no metal flake as is my 2013 GS, Torch Red no metal flake.

[The Guz]

Re: New Black Stingray Z56-What do the dealers put on the paint?

My Camaro is like that as well. No flake in the paint. Post pics when you get this done.