Get a new car off on the right foot

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prb2

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Just purchased a new Ford Edge Limited with the white platinum tricoat metallic exterior. I've washed it and put some Menzerna Power Lock Polymer Sealant on it in anticipation of warmer weather. I would like to do what is appropriate work for a new car (shouldn't need polishing and can't see any blemishes in the surface at this point) but I'm not sure what that would include. I've been using ONR on it to keep it clean and have a QD to spot clean. Should I wash it to remove the current protection, clay bar, sealant and wax? I've always used a professional to detail my last vehicles but want to do this one myself. Any suggestions would be appreciated.



Paul :buffing:
 
I just bought a brand new car. I clayed it and polished it then put an LSP on it. I posted a thread with pics and you wouldn't believe the amount of contaminants it

pulled off. Polishing it gave a very nice shine to the paint in preparation for the LSP.
 
Congrats on the new car! I would use a very light polish with a Black pad. Or a paint cleaner. I would definitely clay as hoyt mentioned above.
 
Appreciate the suggestions. What grade clay did you use. I've got some fine clay and ultra fine clay. I'll need to pick up some polish so any suggestions are welcome.

Paul
 
I would think the fine clay would be good.
I am working from the assumption that the rail dust on it is pretty bad, this could be wrong on my part.
Generally new cars are pretty bad with it, you might have been a car carrier only transit from the manufacturing plant to your dealer.

If you prefer Menz products, you can give PO85RD a try for the polish on a black pad.
PO85RD is a very light cut, high gloss polish. I like it better than Menz 106 myself.
106 is a bit more aggressive and is marked as having the same finish on it.

Don't know if you have some polishes already, could be you have something that will do the same thing ( low aggressiveness high gloss finish ).
 
I don't have any polishes at this point (and no random orbital buffer or pads either) and I'm not married to any particular brand. I've bought a couple things to get me through till I have a good idea what I'm going to do, but that's as far as I've gotten. I can't speak to the amount of rail dust on the car. While I don't see anything obvious, that doesn't mean it's not there. I can afford to buy a few things to do the job properly, but was looking for suggestions from people who have been there. Usually it saves a few bucks and a lot of frustration.

Thanks

Paul
 
I'm in the same boat as prb2 with my new BMW. I bought a car that was already on the boat to the US and live in the NY area. I think the cars are dropped off in NJ so it would have been a truck ride instead so I don't plan to use anything for rail dust. I don't own a random orbital (yet) so Mike Phillips advised that if there is minimal issues with the finish PO85D would be a good idea if cleaning by hand or with rotary.

Just looking to get off on the right foot.
 
Thanks for the replys. At this point it looks like I need to prep the surface by washing, claying, using some type of finish polish (or very light abrasive polish, especially if the clay leaves any scratches) and then seal/wax accordingly. I guess my only other question is whether there is anything between the polish process and the sealant/wax process (maybe just rewash with something like ONR)?

I appreciate the input. I have read a lot of Mikes articles and have enjoyed them. Sometimes my heads spins from all the products available so if anyone has any thing else to add, I'd love to hear about it.

Paul :buffing:
 
Between polish and wax I use diluted IPA ( isopropyl alcohol ) for a wipe down to make sure I got everything.
I use a 15% IPA to 85% water ( I use distilled from the store for this ).

Last free shipping sale I got some of the CarPro wipe down to try.
You can read the IPA wipe down / soft paint threads here to make up your own mind if a purchased product or diluted IPA is what you want to use.

I do this to check to make sure I got the defect out, don't want to get "done' and find out the next wash my eyes were playing tricks on me with polish in the defect.
Then again I have old eyes, you might not have that problem ( yet :D )

I like PO85RD on a Flex with a black LC VC pad, never tried that by hand. I have done PB PorPolish by hand, and it works well. Mike says 85RD works by hand, go for it :xyxthumbs:
do take the advice on the MF gloves. I got a 6 pack a long time ago, and down to my last set, they work wonders on holding on to Mf towels and foam pads. Onc eI trash them up a bit from getting product on them, I turn them inside out, and use them for polishing parts on the motorcycle with nitrile gloves under them.

Maybe take a look at the sample section in the AG store.
The PBMG products are offered in ~ 4oz sample sizes. Get one or two of the polished and give them a try.
Poorboy's also has a sample section on their site, but it is 7 "kits" of product for samples for sale ( they are logical, bug squash with APC & QD or Polish, glaze, LSP combos ).

- I never saw that article on the gloves linked through the URL above.
I was reading it and trying to figure out what Mike was polishing from a car with the gloves. I actually laughed out loud when I saw the finished product. Looks great.
 
Sounds good . I'll look up the threads you mention and give them a read. I'm putting together a list of things that I figure I'll need to move ahead with this. I've got a pair of very old eyes myself so I know what you mean. Lighting is definitely on that list. I think I feel a purchase coming on. :laughing:
My grandson is over this weekend and one of the great things about this is he is enrolled in 'auto body' class at the local tech school. Painting seems to be his specialty so he's been interested in finding out what happens to the paint after it leaves the shop. Graduates next year so we've got some time to work on this together.


Paul
 
I also recommend the wash, clay, use a non-abrasive paint cleaner, then use your favorite wax or sealant. During this process you will be able to fully evaluate the paint and then later do any correction if you want.
 
Hi Paul,

Congratulations on the new car and the best of luck! :props:

While it seems logical that a new car should be near perfect coming from the dealer it's almost never the case.

It's common today for most business to higher the cheapest labor and their concern is about cost and not experience or quality. Many times I've heard folks tell dealers not to wash or detail their car when it arrives as they'd do it themselves.

New cars do get dirty.

A good deal of time passes between the time that it exits the assembly line and when you pick it up. This is when airborne particles and dirt become embedded in the paint and muct be removed correctly...

As an example, here's what the clay looked like doing half the hood on a 3 month old Hyundai Elantra Limited....

Clay-01.jpg


Plan to spend the day and work on the basics.

Basic steps in order are:

  • Wash
  • Clay
  • Paint Correction & Polish
  • Seal
  • Wax
Mask the trim so it doesn't become damaged or stained doung the correction phase.

At the very least after the clay use a paint or pre-wax cleaner.

I would consider taking your time and polishing the finish one panel at a time. Doing it this way you won't become overwhelmed with the task.

Menzerna Super Finish PO106FA (SF-4000) is a great product for removing minor surface defects and producing a gorgeous gloss.

Once your satisfied with the finish Menzerna Power Lock is a superb sealant to protect all the hard work and keep the finish looking beautiful for several months. Give the sealant 12 hours to cure then apply a second coat for added depth and a bit more protection. Some even add a coat of their favorite Carnauba wax to give the finish that extra pop!

I almost forgot to ask; do you own a dual action polisher? If you do then great, if not then here's some information.

[FONT=&quot][/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT] I prefer to put my own package together.

Here's some great information that will help you if you need it.
[FONT=&quot][/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT] An Orange Lake Country foam pad is a light cutting pad. The White foam pad is for polishing although I've used both with Menzerna Super Finish PO106FA with great results.

Sealants & Waxes

I apply 95% of may sealants and waxes with my Porter Cable 7424 polisher. It allows me to lay down just the right amount of product when using a blue or red soft foam pad.

After a routine wash, give the finish a boost with some Optimums Spray Car Wax. This spray wax is so nice and easy to use plus it brightens up the gloss and adds more protection....
 
Thanks BobbyG and thanks everyone. Bobby, I'd have to quote your whole post to get everything that was good. I've been looking at the PC 7424xp. I don't have a random orbital yet but expect that's my next move. I thinks I've got a good sense of what I've got to do to get this into shape, but I do have one question I've never seen addressed.

What about outside temps? Right now, it's 40* outside. Tomorrow is supposed to be in the 50's. I know I can wash in this kind of weather, but what about the rest. What kind of temps are best for applications. Can you clay in these temps? Polish?

Thanks again for all the good advice. I'd like to out there right now working on it.

Paul :buffing:
 
prb2 said:
...<snip>.... I've got a pair of very old eyes myself so I know what you mean. Lighting is definitely on that list. I think I feel a purchase coming on. :laughing: ...<snip>....
Click to expand...

You might like this option.
I got a halogen work lamp stand, where the stand was beat to all get out with burnt out bulbs ( I love freecycle and CL ).

I took the light heads off the stand, and put that in recycling, replaced the lamps and made plates to mount them to the garage door supports.

I had some heavy universal PC cords that I cut the end off of, to make standard cord sets for each light head.

Holes drilled to match the slotted iron and some 5/16" thumb screws and wing nuts I am in business.
I added an arc of holes that I tapped 1/4-20 to be able to change the angle of the lamp if needed.
Front and read similar concept, hanger bolts in the header over the door for one there, and one at the front of the garage on the helmet shelf to hold a work lamp front and rear.

these are in addition to the 4 8' fl fixtures with SP35 bulbs.
I still have an old single head on a floor stand for the sides, but with these 4 above, I never have to try to move a work lamp stand with hot bulbs.

Start trolling freecycle and CL for some home owner getting rid of work lamps that have burnt out bulbs and they don't use it anymore. For the cost of bulbs and a bit of time fabricating plates to mount them, you can very easy get 2000W of lighting in a hurry.
 
prb2 said:
...<snip>...

What about outside temps? Right now, it's 40* outside. Tomorrow is supposed to be in the 50's. I know I can wash in this kind of weather, but what about the rest. What kind of temps are best for applications. Can you clay in these temps? Polish?...<snip>...
Click to expand...

Mike Phillips has a thread on the temperature range for different products.

I try to follow at least 65* F as the coldest for correcting. I generally run the garage heater to get it to 70 when I am starting, so it coasts down to ~ 65 by time I am applying LSP.
Wax, as long as length of durability is not what you are after, I have done in the 50s in the garage.

Chris & Steve from Poorboys did a test with the Nattys at 40* and it flashed straight away. I would not expect it to last too long, but if you just washed the vehicle and want to put something on it, it works fine and is quick.
 
I'll have to check Graig's List for some halogen light stands that I could pick up at a reasonable price (that might add some warmth to my garage as well). I'm also planning on changing out the incandescent bulbs with some flourescent fixtures. I don't have a heater and I think I'll have to wait for mother nature to get busy with that. I'll look for Mike's stuff on temps. That's one of the problems living in New England. Always waiting on the weather.

Appreciate the info. Everything I've gotten so far has been great.

Paul :buffing:
 
Just thought I'd post a couple pics of the car now that I've actually done a little work on it. It's not perfect, but so far I've washed, clayed (BobbyG, my clay didn't come out quite as dirty as your pic but I threw it out when I was done), sealed the entire car, cleaned the tires and sealed the wheels and put 1 coat of wax on the hood of the car. I'm still learning and the weather is just getting nice enough to spend some extra time with it. I really enjoyed the task.

Paul

Edge21.JPG


Edge11.JPG
 
Paul,

Outstanding work and even better results....:props:
 
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