Suggested products for taking care of a new car!

Suggested products for taking care of a new car!

The below suggestions were compiled in a reply to a common question asked here on Meguiar's Online by people who have,

Purchased a new car
Had their car professionally detailed to Like New Condition
Have restored their car's finish to Like New Condition often times through information they have learned here on Meguiar's Online.

The thread can be found here,

Help in detailing 2005 Acura TL

Regardless of the type of car you're working on, the suggestions included below will work for anyone working on a car in excellent condition to start with. If you're working on a car in neglected condition by hand, then check out this article,

How To Remove Swirls By Hand

If you're working on a car in neglected condition using a dual action polisher, then check out this article,

Using the G-100 to remove swirls with the Professional Line

~~~~~~~~
Begin article
~~~~~~~~

Originally posted by NOISEMIAMI
Newbie here, need some help on choosing detailing products I'm a little confused. Just bought back in February the 2005 Acura TL anthracite (charcoal dark color) with camel interior. Which products would you use?

What I'm going to do is list some products and you can pick and choose which ones that you think you would like the best. First off, get yourself a COLOR=blue]Grit Guard Insert[/color] to insert into your wash bucket, this will enable dirt to fall to the bottom of your bucket where it will be trapped, preventing your from re-introducing dirt removed from one panel to another panel.

We spend a lot of time on this forum helping people to remove swirls and scratches, in a perfect world, you wouldn't put swirls and scratches into the finish in the first place and a Grit Guard will help you to do this.

As for a car wash soap, our top shelf car wash would be our Gold Class Car Wash Shampoo & Conditioner,

NXT Car Wash is also very popular.

To actually loosen and remove dirt, what's best is personal preferences, but Meguiar's offers an number of premium quality solutions you can check out here...

Car Washing Tools

Same goes for drying the excess water off the car...

Car Drying Tools

After you've stocked up everything you'll need to wash and dry the car, the next thing you'll want to do is evaluate the car's finish with both your eyes and your sense of touch. If after washing and drying when you draw the palm of your clean hand across the horizontal surfaces and feel little tiny bumps, this is an indicator of above surface bonded contaminants, yes, even a brand new car can need claying, you'll never know till you inspect.

If you do discover tiny little bumps on the finish then you'll want to clay your car's finish first and foremost as having contaminants on the finish will interfere with everything else you'll want to do to the finish.

For claying, check into Smooth Surface Clay Kit

Either after you've clayed your car's finish, or established that it doesn't need claying, then you move on to the next steps in Meguiar's 5-Step Paint Care Cycle. Each step consists of a process and a category of products to perform a specific function to your car's paint. you don't have to do all the steps, it's kind of dependent upon the condition of the finish and also how car crazy your are.

For example, if you car's finish has no visible swirl, scratches or oxidation, then you don't need to use a paint cleaner.

Another example would be applying a pure polish, you don't' have to apply a pure polish, but for darker colors it really adds a lot of richness of paint color as well as clarity and gloss.

If after washing and drying your car your visual inspection in bright light reveals swirls and scratches, (Yes, even new cars can have swirls, it's called the Dealer Installed Swirl Option, or DISO), then you'll want to use a paint cleaner like either Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner for very light cleaning, or ScratchX for removing swirls and scratches.

After the cleaning step, you can then apply a pure polish to really increase the gloss and richness of color of your car's paint, for this an easy product to use that works great is Meguiar's Deep Crystal Polish

For a product like this, you simply apply the product, work it in gently and then remove and move on to a new section as Meguiar's polishes don't have to dry and actually shouldn't be allowed to dry, simply apply, work in and then remove.

After polishing the entire car, (Remember this is optional), the apply two thin coats of your favorite wax. Any of the below would be great choices, you'll have to decide which one is right your car and and your eyes by pretty much asking others what they think and then trying a few out for yourself.

NEW NXT Generation Tech Wax Paste
NXT Generation Tech Wax
Gold Class Clear Coat Car Wax
#26 Hi Tech Yellow Wax

All of the above waxes need to dry before removing them, to help you understand when a Meguiar's wax is ready to dry, use the Swipe Test

How to tell when a Meguiar's wax is ready to remove - The Swipe Test

To apply Meguiar's paint cleaners, polishes and waxes, you can use either of the below...

High-Tech Applicator Pad
Even Coat Applicator

To remove any of the above products, Meguiar's recommends premium quality microfiber polishing cloths or clean soft, plush 100% cotton towels. To help you with this, Meguiar's offers high quality solutions...

Supreme Shine Microfiber
Ultra Plush Super Terry

Remember, two thin coats always provides a more uniform appearance with more uniform coverage for protection. Once you have all of this done, then you can maintain these results with a mist & wipe quick detailer, like either of these...

NEW NXT Generation Speed Detailer
Quik Detailer

To restore that just waxed look, you can use either of these...

Quik Wax
NXT Generation Spray Wax

Here are two how-to articles that show you how to use spray waxes...

Using Meguiar's Even Coat Applicator to apply NXT Spray Wax
How to Get Great Results Using Meguiar's Spray Waxes

The above should point you in the right direction as to the tools and product you'll need to properly maintain the exterior of you new car. We can also offer some suggestions for maintaining the interior also...

Hope this helps...

Announcement