New to detailing...Need your advice

[abhi]

Hello,

I'm totally new to car care & detailing. I just got Honda Accord EX-L with Navigation. I should say which color then you can advice me properly.
It's Silver color & comes with Alloy wheel. Doesn't list on manual what kind of Alloy wheel. It's not shining like chrome.

My question is how do I start? What shampoo, Wax, Spray wax, detailer etc. I need to take care of my new car?

I need your advice on selecting the following.

1. Shampoo conditioner for car wash

2. Wax -> Which one I should get? NXT tech 2.0 or Spray wax?

3. Do I need Ultimate Quick detailer? or just get UQD & skip the wax part?

4. What I need to take care of wheels & tire? Car has ABS brakes on it so I can imagine it will get brake dust later on.

5. What I need to take care of chrome things on the car? for example: front grill -> where it has Honda logo, Side chrome beading around the windows, Trunk chrome logo etc.

6. How do I take care of glasses, windows, mirror etc?

7. I live in Seattle. You know it's raining here around the year. How ofter I should wash & wax, detail etc.

8. Should I just get all NXT products?

[abhi]

New to detailing...Need your advice

Hello,

I'm totally new to car care & detailing. I just got Honda Accord EX-L with Navigation. I should say which color then you can advice me properly.
It's Silver color & comes with Alloy wheel. Doesn't list on manual what kind of Alloy wheel. It's not shining like chrome.

My question is how do I start? What shampoo, Wax, Spray wax, detailer etc. I need to take care of my new car?

I need your advice on selecting the following.

1. Shampoo conditioner for car wash

2. Wax -> Which one I should get? NXT tech 2.0 or Spray wax?

3. Do I need Ultimate Quick detailer? or just get UQD & skip the wax part?

4. What I need to take care of wheels & tire? Car has ABS brakes on it so I can imagine it will get brake dust later on.

5. What I need to take care of chrome things on the car? for example: front grill -> where it has Honda logo, Side chrome beading around the windows, Trunk chrome logo etc.

6. How do I take care of glasses, windows, mirror etc?

7. I live in Seattle. You know it's raining here around the year. How ofter I should wash & wax, detail etc.

8. Should I just get all NXT products?

[Erik Mejia]

Re: New to detailing...Need your advice

1. Gold Class Shampoo or NXT Car wash both work great.

2. Get NXT 2.0

3. You don't necessarily need UQD (helps to keep that just waxed look longer) but you do need wax. There really is no substitute for a good layer of wax on your car's paint.

4. You need a tire cleaner, and some tire shine for your tires ( I like Hot Shine Tire Spray.) For your wheels you can use your car wash soap to clean them or buy a dedicated wheel cleaner for your specific type of wheels.

5. Plastic chome parts I usually spray a good coat of UQD after I wash and dry the car. I you want you can also wax these.

6. Glass Cleaner Concentrate from the Detailer line is great for this. I also love NXT Glass Cleaner.

7. You should wax at least every 2-3 months IMO. Depending on how you store and use your car this will vary.

8. You can't go wrong with any Meguiar's products.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: New to detailing...Need your advice

It's Silver color & comes with Alloy wheel. Doesn't list on manual what kind of Alloy wheel. It's not shining like chrome.

They're probably painted a color like silver and have a clear coat over them. You want to make sure about this so you don't use a wheel cleaner that will hurt the clear paint, (If that's what your wheel has), you can try to check with the dealership where you bought the car but chances are that no one there will actually know details like this, maybe... you can ask and see what they say.

You can also call our Customer Care Hotline at 1-800-347-5700 as they deal with a lot of wheel questions and they might know the answer to this question.

[abhi]

Re: New to detailing...Need your advice

I was reading forum & saw people are using UQD every day or so on their car.

If I get UQD in addition to NXT wax, Do I need to wash car before applying UQD? what happened to dust & sand that is sitting on the car if I go applying UQD after waxing two days or so?

Thanks again for your help!!

1. Gold Class Shampoo or NXT Car wash both work great.

2. Get NXT 2.0

3. You don't necessarily need UQD (helps to keep that just waxed look longer) but you do need wax. There really is no substitute for a good layer of wax on your car's paint.

4. You need a tire cleaner, and some tire shine for your tires ( I like Hot Shine Tire Spray.) For your wheels you can use your car wash soap to clean them or buy a dedicated wheel cleaner for your specific type of wheels.

5. Plastic chome parts I usually spray a good coat of UQD after I wash and dry the car. I you want you can also wax these.

6. Glass Cleaner Concentrate from the Detailer line is great for this. I also love NXT Glass Cleaner.

7. You should wax at least every 2-3 months IMO. Depending on how you store and use your car this will vary.

8. You can't go wrong with any Meguiar's products.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: New to detailing...Need your advice

Quick Detailers, which are a category of products used to mist onto the paint and then wipe off, are for removing,

• Light Dust
• Fingerprints
• Smudges & Smears

Sooner or later if you want your car clean you have to "Touch" it, either by wiping it with a quick detailer or washing the car. Which method you choose to touch your car is up to you.

If you car has more dirt than what you would classify as "Light Dust", that is light dust, not a film of dirt, then you should wash it.

Hope that helps...



While Quick Detailers are a category, we also offer a product called Quick Detailer that is a Mist and Wipe product, note the spelling of both uses of the words quick.

[Derrick]

Re: New to detailing...Need your advice

first i would like to say hello and welcome to MOL. When it comes to the color of your car remember most of the time you are working on a clear coat so the color does not matter because you are actually working on a clear paint. Unless you have a single stage which you can determine by taking some paint cleaner like scratchX and apply in little test area and look at your pad, if it is clean then you have a clear coat but if you have removed color pigment then its a single stage.

1. i personally like nxt or gold class car wash
2. use the nxt 2.0 not the spray wax, a pray wax it simply used as a wax booster. used by itself will still get you shine and protection but the protection is not near what you will get from the paste or liquid. to maintain protection with a spray wax you will have to continually reapply probably bi weekly dependy on what the car is exposed to.
3. UQD does not take the place of a wax but instead helps maintain it between waxing to remove fresh contaminents and restore that just wax look. not to menchon UQD has a great water beating affect
4. for wheels it depends on what the wheels are made of. take a look at the different cleaners that megs offers from hot rims, they have chrome cleaner, aluminum, and all wheel cleaner. as for the tires use a product like super degreaser ( diluted ) to clean and scrub them then i like to use megs tire foam folled by megs high gloss tire gel.
5. i like hot rims chrome polish
6. i like nxt glass cleaner
7. you should wash whenever your car gets dirty to keep off contaniments and i tend to wax about every 2 months or so but thats me and also you can keep from having to wash as often if you use a product like UQD to keep the car clean.
8. the products you use are up to you. find something you like and stick with it. nxt does offer allot ofvery good products though

[Mike Phillips]

Re: New to detailing...Need your advice

Please don't post questions twice.

We're going to merge this post with the first version you posted today.

Thank you.

[abhi]

Re: New to detailing...Need your advice

Thank you very much for the advice!!

if the color is single stage, then what should I use? different products?

Where should is do the single stage test? It's brand new car I just got so you understand, my love with the car

Thank you again!

first i would like to say hello and welcome to MOL. When it comes to the color of your car remember most of the time you are working on a clear coat so the color does not matter because you are actually working on a clear paint. Unless you have a single stage which you can determine by taking some paint cleaner like scratchX and apply in little test area and look at your pad, if it is clean then you have a clear coat but if you have removed color pigment then its a single stage.

1. i personally like nxt or gold class car wash
2. use the nxt 2.0 not the spray wax, a pray wax it simply used as a wax booster. used by itself will still get you shine and protection but the protection is not near what you will get from the paste or liquid. to maintain protection with a spray wax you will have to continually reapply probably bi weekly dependy on what the car is exposed to.
3. UQD does not take the place of a wax but instead helps maintain it between waxing to remove fresh contaminents and restore that just wax look. not to menchon UQD has a great water beating affect
4. for wheels it depends on what the wheels are made of. take a look at the different cleaners that megs offers from hot rims, they have chrome cleaner, aluminum, and all wheel cleaner. as for the tires use a product like super degreaser ( diluted ) to clean and scrub them then i like to use megs tire foam folled by megs high gloss tire gel.
5. i like hot rims chrome polish
6. i like nxt glass cleaner
7. you should wash whenever your car gets dirty to keep off contaniments and i tend to wax about every 2 months or so but thats me and also you can keep from having to wash as often if you use a product like UQD to keep the car clean.
8. the products you use are up to you. find something you like and stick with it. nxt does offer allot ofvery good products though

[Derrick]

Re: New to detailing...Need your advice

I usually use the same products i recommended on single stage paints as well. for the test spot i use the inside of the door where the hinges are for my test spots.

[abhi]

Re: New to detailing...Need your advice

What this test is exactly for?

I usually use the same products i recommended on single stage paints as well. for the test spot i use the inside of the door where the hinges are for my test spots.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: New to detailing...Need your advice

Have Questions? Looking for Answers?
So much good, practical and helpful information in these two forums
Hot Topics
How To Articles


In the "How To Articles" link above, you can find this thread...

How To Test for a Clearcoat or Single Stage Paint Finish

[Mike Phillips]

Re: New to detailing...Need your advice

What this test is exactly for?

The test is to see if you car has a single stage paint or a basecoat/clearcoat paint.

You asked,

if the color is single stage, then what should I use? different products?

Where should is do the single stage test? It's brand new car I just got so you understand, my love with the car

Thank you again!

99.9% of all new cars have a clear coat finish, so chances are about 99.9% for sure since you own a new car that it has a clear coat finish, thus you don't kneed to do the test and you don't have to worry about working on single stage paint.

I just got Honda Accord EX-L with Navigation. I should say which color then you can advice me properly. It's Silver color

Sorry for any confusion, sometimes we answer questions so fast we skim over little details like you have a brand new car.

Clear coat paints were introduced by U.S. Manufactures in approximately 1980, earlier in some other countries...

But since your car is brand new, it has a clear coat. The difference that matters to most people between a clear coat finish and a single stage finish is usually a clear coat finish is fairly hard and this means getting swirls and scratches out of it will be more difficult than if you were working on the original paint on a 1965 Mustang, which would have had a single stage paint and these types of paints tend not be as hard as modern clear coats and thus easier to work on.

Here's a tip, take ownership of the car washing process, that is don't let a car wash, wash your car, don't let anyone touch the paint, while clear coat paints tend to be harder than traditional single stage paints, they still scratch very easily and the scratches in a clear coat finish show up as white and thus tend to cloud or haze the clear coat making it harder to see the color underneath of it.

Welcome to clear coat paint technology.

[abhi]

Re: New to detailing...Need your advice

Thank you guys!! I appreciate your help!

Questions on interior care & wheel paste.

1. Honda accord dash board has leather texture. It's not plain plastic like other car. Inside the door trim has also leather on it.

What I should use to clean, protect it?

2. Do I need some kind of paste to protect the Wheels after cleaning with Hot Rim all wheel cleaner & dry them off?


Here is my list after your recommendation. I will be going tomorrow morning to get the things.

NXT Generation® Car Wash - G12664 ..........64 oz. (1893 ml) $7.59

NXT Generation Tech Wax® 2.0 - G12718 ..........18 oz. (532 ml) $17.39
Ultimate Quik Detailer® - G14422 ..........22 oz. (650 ml) $9.99

Hot Rims® All Wheel Cleaner - G9524 ..........24 oz. (710 ml) (Spray) $6.49
Hot Shine™ Tire Foam - G13919 ..........19 oz (562 ml) $5.49
Hot Shine™ High Gloss Tire Gel - G12416 ..........16 oz. $5.99

NXT Generation® Glass Cleaner - G13324 ..........24 oz. Spray $5.49

Even Coat™ Microfiber Applicator Pads - X3080 (2 Pack ) $3.99

Hose adapter – Home depot

[Derrick]

Re: New to detailing...Need your advice

Questions on interior care & wheel paste.

1. Honda accord dash board has leather texture. It's not plain plastic like other car. Inside the door trim has also leather on it.

What I should use to clean, protect it?

2. Do I need some kind of paste to protect the Wheels after cleaning with Hot Rim all wheel cleaner & dry them off?

1. for the leather i will recommend gc leather cleaner and condition, it really makes leather look like new.

2. on the wheels alot of people like to wax them just as you would your car