New Car Protection

[Brad777]

I just bought a pearl white 2014 Acura MDX with ~3000 miles on it. Previously used by the dealer finance person for a couple months prior to my purchase. Point is that it is a couple months old. While the paint is near perfect, I would like to give it some protection to ensure a long, glossy life. Start to finish, what is recommended to seal and protect it?

BTW, it is a knock out, beautiful car. I will share pictures shortly.

Thanks,

-Brad

[MTLian]

Re: New Car Protection

Most definitely opti-coat by optimum. http://www.opti-coat.com . It is like a second layer of clearcoat. I would probably get a professional to do it, since the paint should be absolutely flawless before the application.

once the car is opti-coated, you can use Meguiars m105/m205 combo and your favorite waxes to enhance the look. If you get your car professionally detailed, chances are the detailer will be using meguiars products to polish and prepare the paint.

[The Guz]

Re: New Car Protection

New cars can have there defects. Especially if the dealer washed it. You will be able to tell when it is in the sun.

Opt-coat was brought up and it is a permanent coating. It is just like anything else. Meaning you compound and polish the car first to remove all defects. Then you follow with either an IPA wipe or carpro eraser. And finally opti-coat. If you do it the way as stated up above and put opti-coat on first, you have sealed in those defects permanently. M105/M205 will not be able to remove them once coated. Plus M105/M205 may remove the coating. It is recommended to have a professional do it if you have never coated a car. Also once the car is coated there is no reason to top it with anything. It is not needed and it will not stick to the coating. All you need to do is properly wash it. I believe it is ok to clay opti-coat. You would have to double check with the manufacturer.

If you are looking to do this at home by yourself, then the first question is are you going to do it by hand or by DA polisher? A DA will give better results.

If you are looking to stay with Meguiar's products, then I would pick up a clay kit, ultimate compound, ultimate polish and either NXT 2.0 or ultimate wax (since you are looking for protection). Ultimate wax is the longest lasting wax currently offered by Meguiar's. It is always recommended to clay first. The baggie test will let you know if you need to clay. It is also recommended to do a test spot first with the least aggressive product. For example you would start with ultimate polish. If that works then you proceed to waxing. If you need more correction then you would go to ultimate compound then ultimate polish and then waxing.

Another option is to clay it, followed by white wax, wait 12 hours, apply a coat of ultimate wax.

As an owner of a white car it can be hard to spot defects. You have to look at it in the sun at various angles to really see them.

[C8N]

Re: New Car Protection

My understanding of opti-coat is that it takes a few days for it to fully harden... even months depending on the climate. Supposedly, it gets harder day by day as it dehydrates. My guess is that if you take your polisher with M105/205 relatively soon (like a day or so) after opti-coating, the potential exist to compromise its integrity. You may want to check with Optimum on this as it is only my guess. However, I should mention that according to Optimum, they did say that the initial hardness will be on par if not better with OEM clear. Hence, correct the paint prior to apply opti-coat.

To the OP, I agree with Gus in that if this car was a demo car, more than likely it was washed more than once by the dealer lot boy with improper wash methods and I would venture out to say that it is less than flawless. Especially on a white car, defects are somewhat hard to see and my guess is that the dealer probably applied some sort of a glaze to mask the defects during the delivery prep. I would give it a month or so for this glaze to wear off.

My recommendation is not to opti-coat it right away without polishing first as you will be sealing in the defects that are potentially present.

[MTLian]

Re: New Car Protection

The guys above basically reiterated what I originally said: the paint has to be flawless before you opti cthat's why I recommend a pro application. Unless you are a very seasoned detailer, it's hard to know when the paint is perfect. You might think it is clean and nice at a glance but it can have some minuscule scratches that are only visible under certain lighting conditions. Obviously, you don't want to put a permanent sealant of these imperfections so you have to be 100% confident that you have a perfect mirror finish before opti coating.

For washing, I recommend getting 2 grit guards and two 5 gallon type round buckets; one bucket should be used for soap and the other for water and rinsing dirt of your mitt to avoid contaminating the soapy water. I use microfiber wash mitts, I also recommend getting a fee of those. Claybar kit is an absolute must also. I'd get some high quality microfiber towels for buffing and spot cleaning and some of meguiars waffle weave towels for drying.