Fresh paint and complete noob.

[Joe Cool]

Hi guys, I'm new here. I mostly joined to inquire about how I should prep my car for the winter.

I'm still a pretty young guy but I'm on my fourth car and up until now I haven't had one worth worrying about protecting the paint or enhancing the shine. So now that I've gotten a much better job than I've previously held I decided to spend a large portion of my income on my dream car and I did so. The car has a fresh paint job that was prepped and sprayed by a professional and reputable local shop. From what I've heard it's the general agreement not to wax your car until sixty days after it's been painted. So I've been very careful with it and have gently and carefully hand washed it once a week or so with Meguiar's Gold Class as per my paint shop.

But the sixty days is going to be up at the very beginning of November so I planned on using the 2nd to completely give my car the rub down and apply every protectant and high shine enhancing item that I can possibly give it.

Now the car right now is an absolutely gorgeous black but I know that it won't stay that way through the salty and extreme Utah winter, at least not without protection.

So here is where you guys come in. I'm not experienced by any means in this wax and paint protection business. All I know is to let the wax dry to a haze then buff lightly. (haha) So I need your advice and guidance. My goal is to have an absolutely stunning and beautiful car that will preserve well throughout the winter and for years to come. I know that this isn't the most costly insurance for my paint so I'm definately willing to dump a lot of money into product if it will do what I want but I don't want to if it won't add any extra protection.

So what can you guys do for me? Keep in mind I'd like to do this by Sunday, the second so as soon as you can let me know I can go out and purchase the products and be prepared.

What do I want to wash it with? What should go on between the wash stage and the wax stage? Links to product pages on the main website and any hints/tips on using them would be appreciated.

Hopefully you guys can tell me exactly what I need to buy and do so I will be best prepared for Sunday. Thank you. My car thanks you too.

[benhui86]

Re: Fresh paint and complete noob.

since your car is already in good shape you wont be needing much swirl removal

im guessing you be doing this by hand..... so here is what you would need
clay- thoroughly takes out surface bonded contaminants-use on whole car
deep crystal 1-paint cleaner- use on whole car-wipe on wipe off do not let dry
scratch X-takes out swirls/scratchs/watever- spot cleaning on problem areas only-SCRUB on wipe off do not let dry
deep crystal 2-polish- this puts polishing oil onto paint to give it a deeper glossier shine-apply to whole car-wipe on wipe off do not let dry
NXT 2.0 tech wax- wax-this is one of meguiar's more durable waxes as I understand and would be great for winter protection- wipe on let dry wipe off

use the yellow meguiar's applicator pads is recommended because it gives a good even application and will not mar your paint.... so just buy like maybe 6 or 8 of them would be good..... DO NOT LET THEM DROP ON THE GROUND..... or else you'd have to wash it in the washing machine and open a new one.....microscopic sand/dust/rock particles get trapped in the foam when it comes in contact w/ the ground and if you touch the car with it its similar to making microscopic key marks on your car so its like keying your car yourself......

anyways.... you will then use microfiber clothes to wipe off the products after you finish applying them.... i hear target brand vroom ones are good..... the meguiar's variety of different microfibers are all good as long as its the ones for detailing and not drying car....

best results when done in the shade.....

orbital buffers do not work so dont even bother.... it just bogs down on you from overheating and you'd have to finish job by hand anyways

thats the basics... with products that are easily found at local stores....

eventually you'd maybe want to invest in a G110 dual action polisher which just makes the job 10X easier and faster but then you'd be using different products with that from the meguiar's professional line of products.....

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Fresh paint and complete noob.

My goal is to have an absolutely stunning and beautiful car that will preserve well throughout the winter and for years to come. I know that this isn't the most costly insurance for my paint so I'm definitely willing to dump a lot of money into product if it will do what I want but I don't want to if it won't add any extra protection.

The best thing you can do is the simplest thing and that's to find a few maintenance product you like and then use them often. By using them often, this mean use them as often as needed to maintain the level of appearance quality you desire balanced against how the car is used.

If the car sits in the garage all the time you won't need to do anything to it very often because it won't be doing down hill due to use. If this is your daily driver and you want to keep it looking showroom new all the time then find a car wash you like, a car wax you like and a few other items like a tire dressing, a glass cleaner, something for black plastic trim and a cleaner/conditioner/protectant for your interior surface.

Then use these product on a regular schedule. It's only when you neglect your car that it goes down hill. (If it's a daily driver).

So what can you guys do for me? Keep in mind I'd like to do this by Sunday, the second so as soon as you can let me know I can go out and purchase the products and be prepared.

What do I want to wash it with? What should go on between the wash stage and the wax stage? Links to product pages on the main website and any hints/tips on using them would be appreciated.

benhui86 posted a pretty good list of products and procedures.

Even though you have a new paint job, often times because there's paint being sprayed at body shops it's possible that you're brand new paint job could have overspray. So wash the car and then feel the paint with your clean and and see if you feel any overspray? If you do then clay the paint.

A new paint job shouldn't have any swirls or other defects so besides claying if it has overspray, you should be able to go straight to applying a wax.

NXT Tech Wax is VERY popular in the U.S and around the world, you might like to give it a try. I tested out a new product last nigh on our black Honda Pilot and then applied Tech Wax 2.0 to it and just like always, it came out looking crystal clear with excellent gloss and shine.






NXT Generation Tech Wax 2.0



Besides a good wax/paint protectant, pick up a tire dressing, we have lots to choose from you need to decide if you want a high shine or a matte finish, if you want a high shine then maybe check out Insane Shine in the aerosol can as it's so easy to apply. Personal preference of course.

NXT Generation® Insane Shine® Tire Coating



NXT Generation® Insane Shine® Tire Spray


NXT Glass Cleaner is now the new benchmark for all competitors, see if you can find a bottle of this for keeping your glass crystal clear both inside and outside.

If you have a leather interior look for some Gold Class

G10916 Gold Class Rich Leather Spray



If you have a vinyl interior, look for some Natural Shine

Natural Shine



Trim Detailer is great for maintain black plastic trim and rubber components.

Gold Class Trim Detailer




Also get yourself a collection of quality microfiber polishing cloths, how many do you need?

Enough to make a small wash load when you're done because you don't want to mix your microfiber polishing cloths with other things and you don't want to make wash loads of 3-4 cloths, so get yourself a dozen or so quality microfiber polishing cloths.

Also wax applicator pads for applying wax and dressings.

Hope this helps...

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Fresh paint and complete noob.

Here's a list of products I usually use on my own cars... note the recommendation to keep things simple...

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26579&page=3

[tguil]

Re: Fresh paint and complete noob.

I agree with Mike about the NXT 2.0, but if after you clay your car, you might want to use ColorX if you notice marring. Then put on a coat of NXT 2.0. Maintaining black is a real son-of-a-gun.

Tom

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Fresh paint and complete noob.

Maintaining black is a real son-of-a-gun.

Tom

That is a very true statement.

Everything that "touches" the paint has to be of the highest quality, used correctly and clean at the time.

[Joe Cool]

Re: Fresh paint and complete noob.

Thanks a whole lot guys. I really appreciate the advice and suggestions. I'll for sure take everything into consideration as I head out to get the stuff I'll need over the next week. Where can I get the applicator pads? I know that they come with some of the products but besides that can I buy them individually or in packs anywhere? I'd prefer to get them somewhere offline rather than online so I don't have to deal with shipping and such.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Fresh paint and complete noob.

Where can I get the applicator pads?

I know that they come with some of the products but besides that can I buy them individually or in packs anywhere?

Check out a couple of auto parts stores and possibly stores like Target or Wal-Mart. You might be able to get more specific store recommendations by calling Customer Care at 1-800-347-5700

Most auto part stores have wax applicator pads, recently at AutoZone I saw microfiber and cotton applicator pads, don't remember seeing foam applicator pads, (ours or anyone's), but I didn't really look that hard as I was just scanning.

Just do your best to find soft, quality applicator pads.

[Joe Cool]

Re: Fresh paint and complete noob.

I have yet some more questions to ask.

I just got a very, very small chip in my paint. It goes all of the way through the paint but it is so absolutely small that you wouldn't notice unless you knew exactly where it was. The problem though is that it may be more visible as time wears on if I allow it to stay in it's current state. I contacted the shop that painted my car (Maaco) and they told me that in order to restore it to good as new condition that it would require them to repaint the entire car. I'm not sure how much I believe that but I decided to come to you guys to seek a solution. I have touch up paint and I know I could hit it up with that but I was wondering if there was a better solution to restore to good as new or nearly as good condition. I do have color matched touch-up paint if I can factor that into a solution.

Also, I decided to go the way of Clay, cleaner, polish, wax. I was planning on applying those in that order on Sunday. After that I wonder though, can I apply any product at any time as I desire and as is necessary? Can I do them in any order as I see necessary after the initial applications? Also, how often will I need to clay my car? It is a daily driver but is garaged at night in a well insulated, protective garage. It's exposure to the elements is generally out in a parking lot for 8 hours sitting while I work about 5 days a week.

Also, as someone mentioned marring and to use ColorX as a remedy. I want to make sure that I'm correct in my idea of marring. Is it fine scratches that appear circular when seen in the light? If so, in my initial application would I do Claying, Cleaner, Polish, ColorX, then NXT?

Thanks for everything guys!

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Fresh paint and complete noob.

I have yet some more questions to ask.

I just got a very, very small chip in my paint.

In the right hand column of the forum homepage there's a box called, Popular Tags, in this box you'll find the words, Touch- Rock-Chip and you can click on those words and they will take you to a list of threads tagged with those words with information on rock chip repair.

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/tags.php?tag=Touch-up+Rock-chip

Nutshell version, clean the area, apply a tiny dab of touch-up paint and you're done. You can make touch-up paint as complicated as you want but you usually don't get more and better results with more and more complications.

Also, I decided to go the way of Clay, cleaner, polish, wax. I was planning on applying those in that order on Sunday. After that I wonder though, can I apply any product at any time as I desire and as is necessary? Can I do them in any order as I see necessary

Here's the order,
Wash
Clay
Clean
Polish
Wax

It's also covered here,

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2409

Also, as someone mentioned marring and to use ColorX as a remedy. I want to make sure that I'm correct in my idea of marring. Is it fine scratches that appear circular when seen in the light? If so, in my initial application would I do Claying, Cleaner, Polish, ColorX, then NXT?

Thanks for everything guys!

Marring or Micro-Marring is something that 'can' happen on some paints when you're machine cleaning and polishing. Since you're working by h and you shouldn't have any problems with micro-marring as long as you're working clean and everything that touches the paint is clean, soft and gentle. (wax applicator pads and wipe-off cloths)

Have fun!

[Joe Cool]

Re: Fresh paint and complete noob.

Marring or Micro-Marring is something that 'can' happen on some paints when you're machine cleaning and polishing. Since you're working by h and you shouldn't have any problems with micro-marring as long as you're working clean and everything that touches the paint is clean, soft and gentle. (wax applicator pads and wipe-off cloths)

Have fun!

I do believe that the sponge I used has already caused some of this on my vehicle. It isn't horrible but the paint can look rather spidery when in direct highlight. Would Color X solve this issue? Would it be applied right before wax?
Thanks a whole lot for your help.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Fresh paint and complete noob.

I do believe that the sponge I used has already caused some of this on my vehicle. It isn't horrible but the paint can look rather spidery when in direct highlight. Would Color X solve this issue? Would it be applied right before wax?
Thanks a whole lot for your help.

To remove any below surface defect you need to remove paint, you need to remove the paint surrounding the defects so the highest portion of the paint is level with lowest portions of the defects you're trying to remove. This means you have to remove paint and that's where polishing paint becomes an art form that requires not only products that work but the human elements of care and passion not to mention skill and experience.

ColorX contains diminishing abrasives so it 'can' remove paint. If it were me I would invest in a DA Polisher because as so many hundreds of thousands of people have learned, the human hand cannot outperform the machine when it comes to removing paint or in other words when it comes to removing swirls and scratches especially out of a clear coat paint system.

My next option would be to wait till new products are shipping and use one of our new products as they are phenomenal.

See the link on the homepage to our last Thursday Night "Open Garage".

ColorX can theoretically work to remove below surface defects but in my garage I would tend to reach for M105 first and if you don't have that then get a dedicated paint cleaner like ScratchX.

Seriously though, you would be better off to wax the paint and leave it alone until new products come out or you buy a machine. If you're going to be serious about maintaining a show car finish and then moving up to machine polishing or waiting for some of our new products to start shipping will make your life a lot easier.