New car detail procedure?

[TheWanderer316]

I will be receiving a new car in a couple days and i was told it is best to detail it right away. I was planning to wash with shampoo plus, clay, wax with NXT 2.0. I also have the show car glaze, would I need to use that on a new car? Is there anything else I can do to it?

[Murr1525]

Re: New car detail procedure?

If it was me, I would

1. Wash
2. Clay
3. ColorX or Cleaner/Wax
4. Nxt 2.0

And of course insist that the dealer does not wash or touch the car at all.

[darthkir]

Re: New car detail procedure?

Hi,

I have just started working on my new car too, this is my first time detailing a car. Started with a wash with the NXT car wash, followed by claying, and now in the middle of cleaning with Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner. And since my car is light color, I was told that I dont need a polish, and will later finished with 1 or 2 layer of NXT wax.

[Andrew C.]

Re: New car detail procedure?

What was meant by not needing polish is that you probably won't see a noticeable difference, but the polish would never hurt.

[searle]

Re: New car detail procedure?

On a new car, paint cleaner (DC1 etc) should not be initially needed, but wont hurt. After clay/cleaner, on a dark or red car, I used glaze/polish even right from the start. As previously indicated, glaze wont really help a white car but wont hurt either, you just wont see a real difference.

If you are going to use a polish/glaze (any many never do), best to do it after a plain cleaner and not a cleaner/wax or else the polish oils just end up on top of the wax.

SwirlX is a cleaner, but it also has polish oils build in so you do both clean+polish steps at the same time. ColorX is cleaner+polish+wax, an All-In-One product. Like you, I tend to wash+clay+cleaner(SwirlX), and then since I have a red car I also apply M07 show glaze. Like you, I top it with NXT-2.0, but then for my 2nd wax coat I use #26 in the summer (for wet-look depth), and/or another NXT-2.0 in the winter. If I had a white or light car, I would always just use 2 coats of NXT-2.0 since that gives white cars the maximum glassy reflection look.

So, my complete semi-annual detail ends up being:
1) two-bucket wash with grit-guards (important to minimize swirls)
2) light clay, with LOTS of lubricant
3) light paint cleaner (not needed on totally new car)
4) polish/glaze
5) NXT-2.0 sealant/wax by hand (or #21 by machine)
5b) if possible let polymers cure for 12 hrs (1-2 hours minimum)
6) Ultra-Quick-Detailer dust removal then 2nd coat of NXT-2.0 or #26 carnuba
x) weekly wash and Ultra-Quick-Wax booster-wax

Sounds like a lot, but time-goes-by when you are having fun...

For my wifes car, wash then clay then ColorX. Gives 90% of the result with 10% of the time. And, she is extremely happy with the result.

[TheWanderer316]

Re: New car detail procedure?

Thanks for the info everyone. Hopefully I will be getting the car today and will be spending the rest of the day/night detailing it. Just one question, will i notice any difference if using the show car glaze on grey metallic?

[Murr1525]

Re: New car detail procedure?

You may... wont be as drastic as on something like black.

If you dont have a lot of time, you can save it to try in the future.

[TheWanderer316]

Re: New car detail procedure?

Also, the car is coming with flat black stripes. Should I tape them off when I apply the wax/polish?

[Murr1525]

Re: New car detail procedure?

Well, if you are working by hand, you may be abl to be carefull. Just depends how comfortable/carefull you think you can be.

[searle]

Re: New car detail procedure?

If they are painted stripes (unlikely) you can probably proceed as normal. If they are vinyl stripes then you need to be careful, probably doing them by hand and applying/wiping in their direction and not across them (to avoid lifting parts of them). See the current thread pinstriping and search for "pinstrip" and "stripe" through the forums.