new car newbie questions

[vwrunner]

Greetings all,

I have recently purchased a new vehicle and want to begin a detailing regimen with it. I am curious to a few things, so please forgive all the questions.

I was wondering how long one has to wait before they can do a full detail on a car? Is there a minimum time that the paint and clearcoat needs to sit before being cleaned, polished and waxed?

With reference to cleaning, claying and polishing a vehicle; how often does this need to be done under 'normal' driving conditions? I would think that you could over do this if you were too overzealous about it.

Once a car has had the full 5-step detailing as per the recommendations made here, would you then follow a wash and quick detailer schedule until the next full detail? And how often would the typical full detail interval be? (though I guess that relates to my previous question about claying)

Thanks for any help that can be provided!

-vwrunner

[Murr1525]

1) Fresh Paint needs 30-90 days to cure. Paint on a New Car isnt not fresh. It has been baked on, and has certainly sat on a lot/truck for a few days.

2) You really cant overdo it unless you are using something very abrasive. I wouldnt want to use ScratchX every month for 6 years... But DC#1 can be used very often.

I guess I try and do a bigger deatil every 2-3 months at the most. 4 times a year sounds pretty minimal comapred to some people, though I am working by hand.

3) I use a Quick Wax pretty much every time I wash, so it extends my wax a bit. Washing every week without it would shorten the detail frequency a bit.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: new car newbie questions

Originally posted by vwrunner
Greetings all,

Hi vwrunner,

Welcome to Meguiar's Online

I have recently purchased a new vehicle and want to begin a detailing regimen with it. I am curious to a few things, so please forgive all the questions.

This is the place to get great answers!

I was wondering how long one has to wait before they can do a full detail on a car? Is there a minimum time that the paint and clearcoat needs to sit before being cleaned, polished and waxed?

No. The paint on new cars is baked-on at the factory and ready to wax when it leaves the assemble line. Here's an article with more information on why sometimes you might have to wait.

Paint Needs to Breathe

With reference to cleaning, claying and polishing a vehicle; how often does this need to be done under 'normal' driving conditions? I would think that you could over do this if you were too overzealous about it.

Once a car has had the full 5-step detailing as per the recommendations made here, would you then follow a wash and quick detailer schedule until the next full detail? And how often would the typical full detail interval be? (though I guess that relates to my previous question about claying)

Thanks for any help that can be provided!

-vwrunner

This article is about how often to clay, but the same principals hold true for cleaning and polishing and that is it depends on what your car is exposed to and how it's maintained.

Claying - How Often?

[Mike Phillips]

Here's another article you might like to check out...

Suggested Products for Taking Care of a New Car

[rusty bumper]

Welcome to the forum vwrunner.

Looks like Mike & Murr1525 have it covered.

[vwrunner]

Thanks for the help, guys. I think I will give this advice a try! Though I am sure I will be back several more times with questions.

-vwrunner

[vwrunner]

Hey all,

I have a follow up question on the cleaning stage and recommended cleaning products. What are the differences between ScratchX and Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner ? While my car is new, it does how some dealer installed swirls, at no extra charge to me. I want to choose the best product that will fit my need, I'm just not sure about the differences between the two. Thanks for the help!

-vwrunner

[Murr1525]

Deep Crystal #1 is a very mild chemical cleaner. It will not remove swirls.

ScratchX is about the stongest cleaner you can use by hand, with diminishing abrasives, and it will remove swirls very well, and very safely.

You can use ScratchX on the entire car, or just as a spot treatment. Then, once the swirls are gone, either use something milder like DC#1 in the future, or on the rest of the car you didnt ScratchX.