Detailing a brand new car

[Andybro99]

Hi guys,

I have a brand new Black 2007 C6 Corvette Convertible, and the paint look absolutely flawless as far as I can tell (no dealer installed swirl marks). Do you feel that QDing and waxing would be sufficient, or would you put a layer of just some M80 or pure polish on before doing so. I am fairly familar with all the meguiar's products and have attended a Detailing 101 seminar. PC as well.

Also, for those familiar with black cars, where have you seen the best shine? Synthetic waxes such as M20/NXT or Carnauba waxes? I have a can of this stuff called Malco Imperial Paste Wax, which a pretty knowledgable auto body friend of my dad gave to me, and so far it's worked very well...but I would not mind trying one of the meguiar's synthetic ones since a lot of you like them as well. Any advice would be great, thanks.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Detailing a brand new car

If the car is brand new (congrats on a fine ride, by the way) and is swirl free, then I see no need to hit it with the PC. In my, albeit limited, experience though, there is no such thing as a perfect finish straight from the dealership. I would suggest at least a good wash and clay bar treatment. As much as they try to protect these things between the factory and dealership they can still pick up a bunch of crud. Give it a good claying and then re-evaluate the finish and see if you still think it's swirl free.

Otherwise, after claying and rewashing, give Meguiar's M21 a go - awesome stuff and I think you'll love how two thin coats look on a black 'Vette.

[astaticwinter]

Re: Detailing a brand new car

Definatly a wash and a clay...probably won't be necessary to hit it with any sort of cutting polish, but a pure polish like #7 could add a nice depth and shine to it.

Best results I've gotten from black paint thus far is from 2 coats of liquid NXT applied back to back, then a coat of Gold Class paste after that a day or so later. Gives the NXT time to cure, and since it's a purer wax, it won't strip the NXT off.

Could also try the #26 Hi-Tech Yellow wax over the NXT...supposed to add a better shine than the gold class, and last a bit longer.

[OctaneGuy]

Re: Detailing a brand new car

You are very fortunate. The last black Z06 I worked on came from the dealer looking like this:







After my work was all done, all of those defects were removed and the paint was flawless


Corvette paint is notoriously hard. M80 is a paint cleaner/polish. You don't put a layer on before waxing. You work the product in to clean the paint and remove blemishes. The polishing oils will make the paint look better rather than just applying a wax.

If your paint is truly flawless, try using some #7 Show Car Glaze instead of M80 which is a pure polish without any cleaners.

Then follow with M21 or M26 depending on your preference for synthetic or carnuba.

You can then maintain this with QD and MF towels, but in my experience, the black paint won't stay flawless for long--unless this car is always garaged and never driven.

Richard

Hi guys,

I have a brand new Black 2007 C6 Corvette Convertible, and the paint look absolutely flawless as far as I can tell (no dealer installed swirl marks). Do you feel that QDing and waxing would be sufficient, or would you put a layer of just some M80 or pure polish on before doing so. I am fairly familar with all the meguiar's products and have attended a Detailing 101 seminar. PC as well.

Also, for those familiar with black cars, where have you seen the best shine? Synthetic waxes such as M20/NXT or Carnauba waxes? I have a can of this stuff called Malco Imperial Paste Wax, which a pretty knowledgable auto body friend of my dad gave to me, and so far it's worked very well...but I would not mind trying one of the meguiar's synthetic ones since a lot of you like them as well. Any advice would be great, thanks.

[Kman]

Re: Detailing a brand new car

Richard, did you use #83 before the #80 since the paint was so hard?

[OctaneGuy]

Re: Detailing a brand new car

My full writeup is posted here:

showcargarage.com/forums/showthread.php?t=472

In short these were my process steps:

Process was Makita Rotary Buffer with 7006 pad and M83.
RB with W8006 pad and M80.
RB with W9006 pad with M82.
PC with W8006 pad and M80.
PC with W9006 pad and M82
PC with W9006 with M21.
NXT Metal Polysh on exhaust tips.

Richard, did you use #83 before the #80 since the paint was so hard?