Do I need to polish a brand new car before ceramic coat? Any specific coats for white cars?

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dannieboiz

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The car is 2 weeks old, Pearl white, today, I decided to foam washed it, then clay the whole vehicle then put a coat of Meguiar's Ultimate Liquid Wax on it. I did the work in the garage with a bunch of florescence lighting above and did a walk around and found no swirls.

Although it looks clean, no swirls, no blemish it only look "new" but it doesn't look "wow" you know what I mean? Thinking about using cquart on the car on the next round. Do I need to do any polishing if the paints look good? It got one wash from the dealer before delivery and a couple washes by me with gentle care each time.

Before ceramic coating I'm thinking about

Wash
Clay
Ceramic coat

do I need any step in between?
 
I am sure someone with more knowledge that myself will come along. I would always polish before coating, polishing will give you that WOW. It will gloss it up, and kind of clean the surface. I would recommend Wolfgang Finishing Glaze, as its more of a very fine polish. It what I used prior to coating as like yours, my car had a few very mild imperfections. Polish will amp it up IMO.
 
BTW, Welcome to AGO, and what kind of new ride did you get?
 
Before ceramic coating I'm thinking about

Wash
Clay
Ceramic coat

do I need any step in between?
Click to expand...

Yes, you will probably want to use something like CarPro Erasure to wipe down the panels and ensure they are free of anything that would prevent the coating from bonding to the surface.

Having said that:
This question comes up often and when it does, it usually causes a stir, as there are two camps.
Camp 1 = always do some form of correcting
Camp 2 = If the swirl finder light doesn't find anything, proceed to prep and coat.

Camp 3 is a hybrid of 1 & 2 = Here is where it gets tricky. Usually there is some random scratch... you could just spot polish those. However the argument of "uniformity" comes up. I prefer to have uniformity.

Also, one could argue that if you clay too aggressively you may cause some marring, and thus polish after.
If you use a fine poly clay and good lubricant, you should be fine.

The real answer is "Inspect the paint" after you've done your wash decontamination process.
Using a light, sun works best (and it's free), or other swirl finder light of choice, carefully inspect the paint. If you find nothing, proceed to prep and coat.

If you are going to use CQ, you can always go over the vehicle with CarPro Essence.
CarPro Essence Xtreme Gloss Enhancer 500 ml

This is (for lack of better terms) an all-in-in-one which will work nicely as a prep stage for coating.

Hope this helps.
 
I'd do a test spot on the trunk lid/hatch and tape off the area you are polishing. Once you remove the tape you'll be able to see a 50/50 split of polished vs unpolished areas and whether there's a noticeable difference. If so then just keep right on going. If not you can stop (or finish the rest of the trunk lid/hatch for completeness if you're OCD like me). I think this is the only way to truly know IMO.
 
I just bought a new White BMW and before it even hit the road I Iron X, clayed it, then polished with Essence before 2 coats of Cquartz. BMW paint is usually pretty clean from factory, so I used some light clay and pulled almost nothing off the paint. But the Essence really made the car pop. Really glad I did that.
 
((Although it looks clean, no swirls, no blemish it only look "new" but it doesn't look "wow" you know what I mean? ))

With what you said above---

Yes, you need to polish.

Tom
 
Not polishing is like taking a shower and not washing your feet, thinking the running water and soap will clean em........
 
I'm firmly in the, "polish it first" camp.

Not long ago I detailed my mother-in-laws brand new white pearl car and hit it with an AIO that contained mild abrassives. Despite only being about two months old there was a noticeable difference in the car when I was done. The paint was much "whiter" and had that freshly fallen snow gleam to it that wasn't there before. The swirls were nearly non-existant, but simply deep cleaning the paint and polishing the surface made all the difference. Go over the car with a mild polish will give you "wow" you're looking for.
 
I always polish prior to coating! Even a swirl free finish can be improved and on top of that you're cleaning the paint better to help ensure proper bonding.


Brand new Hellcat with no swirls, before and after polishing. (Extreme example)



 
.


Yes.


Don't try to coat paint that has not been properly prepped.

I've been polishing paint for years now and I'm telling you straight-up, nothing comes close to freshly polished paint to maximize the shine and gloss but to also 100% insure that the paint surface is surgically clean and prepared to accept the coating.


:)
 
RaskyR1 said:
I always polish prior to coating! Even a swirl free finish can be improved and on top of that you're cleaning the paint better to help ensure proper bonding.

Brand new Hellcat with no swirls, before and after polishing. (Extreme example)
Click to expand...

Great before/after shots. Its quite obvious there was something on the paint that was obscuring its gloss. Did you determine what that was? Is the before shot pre or post clay? Almost looks like overspray.
 
Coating on a white car

Here's what a white car looks like, after it's been washed. The last time I coated the entire car was at least 6 months ago and probably longer. The hood was re-coated because I tested a polish on the hood and after the test I went ahead and re-polished the entire hood, chemically stripped it and then coated it. but the rest of the car has not been touched except for washing for at least 6-8 months.

Coatings retain a glossy or glassy appearance over time as long as you wash the car CAREFULLY. And that is the secret to maintaining the coating, washing often and washing CAREFULLY.


Coating_White_Paint_01.JPG


Coating_White_Paint_02.JPG


Coating_White_Paint_03.JPG



I dare say this kind of gloss would not be there with a normal wax or even paint sealant.



:)
 
I know I gave a generic answer before, however, the proof is in the pudding... I typically will "level set" new vehicle and polish before coating:

https://www.autogeekonline.net/foru...2017-chevy-silverado-new-car-prep-detail.html

https://www.autogeekonline.net/foru...2016-mustang-eb-prem-pp-new-vehicle-prep.html

https://www.autogeekonline.net/foru...16-corvette-stingray-new-car-prep-detail.html

And this was supposedly "prepped" by the dealership before delivery:

https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/99614-2013-cpo-cls550-lsn-auto-detailing.html

The Stingray, EB Mustang, Silverado were all brand new..
 
evo77 said:
Great before/after shots. Its quite obvious there was something on the paint that was obscuring its gloss. Did you determine what that was? Is the before shot pre or post clay? Almost looks like overspray.
Click to expand...

Thanks!

Every Hellcat I've done (as well as other detailers I know) have all looked this way. My new Ram also has this look to the paint and I've done a new A7 with the same issue. Others have posted Ford trucks and even new Mustangs with it as well. Not sure what it is exactly, but it resembles "dieback" and is cleared up with moderate polishing, some more severe ones required wet sanding.
 
dannieboiz said:
...then put a coat of Meguiar's Ultimate Liquid Wax on it.

Before ceramic coating I'm thinking about

Wash
Clay
Ceramic coat

do I need any step in between?
Click to expand...

IMHO, since you have already applied a "synthetic polymer" LSP you will have to polish or at a minimum use a chemical paint cleaner to prep your paint if you now want to use a paint coating. Claying the paint or using a polishing oil remover such as CarPro Eraser is not enough to remove the existing LSP.

White is a color where it is very hard to see scratches, but even a brand new car will benefit from polishing. CarPro Essence was mentioned earlier in this thread and would be a good choice to use especially if you are going to use a CarPro Coating. Adjust your steps to: Wash > Clay > CarPro Essence/or other Polish > Ceramic Coat and you should be fine...
 
Thanks for all the responses....

can I use something like Meguiar Ultra finishing polish?

I think I'll be working on my wife's nissan leaf this weekend since it's been a few years since we did anything to it. Wash, clay, polish, rub with 50/50 alcohol water mix then ceramic coat?
 
Hammer77 said:
I am sure someone with more knowledge that myself will come along. I would always polish before coating, polishing will give you that WOW. It will gloss it up, and kind of clean the surface. I would recommend Wolfgang Finishing Glaze, as its more of a very fine polish. It what I used prior to coating as like yours, my car had a few very mild imperfections. Polish will amp it up IMO.
Click to expand...

Hammer77 said:
BTW, Welcome to AGO, and what kind of new ride did you get?
Click to expand...


Thanks Hammer, we traded our S550 in for a Volvo XC90, family is growing and needed a 7 seater. :(

Thanks for all the responses....

can I use something like Meguiar Ultra finishing polish?

I think I'll be working on my wife's nissan leaf which is also pearl white (can you tell we like white cars?) this weekend since it's been a few years since we did anything to it. Wash, clay, polish, rub with 50/50 alcohol water mix then ceramic coat?
 
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