New Car First Wash Critique my plan

[04lss]

Hi All,

last night i picked up a brand new camaro LT1 in Summit white. Right off the truck. I was able to stop the dealer from "Detailing" (aka scratching) so its kind of grimy and gross.
I am going to do the first wash tonight or tomorrow. In theory i should be the first person to touch the paint since it left the factory. Im operating on the assumption under the grim the paint is flawless. (until given evidence otherwise) With all of that said. Please critique my technique. I know this is a pretty basic thing to ask (and ive read the Section in Mikes book) but I want to start off on the right foot with this one.

1. Pressure wash the car
1.5 apply bug remover to the front bumper
2. Foam cannon with Griots car wash soap(pre soak)
3. Hand wash using the 2 bucket method. (Chemicical guys wash mit)
Start at the top, straight lines, windows next hood, trunk, then sides
4. wheels with Adams wheel and rubber cleaner along with tire and wheel brushes)
5. pressure wash to rinse
6. Hand dry starting with the windows then top down
7. Griots 3 in 1 ceramic spray wax, followed by tire shine

I will hit the door jambs with a generous amount of waterless wash later.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Looks good to me. Very careful approach.

Me? I always do wheel and tires first so I don't have water drying on the car while I get them if I were to wash the car first.

Plus I like to get the hard, icky part over with.

 

[JDGolden]

Looks good to me. Very careful approach.

Me? I always do wheel and tires first so I don't have water drying on the car while I get them if I were to wash the car first.

Plus I like to get the hard, icky part over with.

This, every single time.

Congrats on the new Camaro!

 

[04lss]

Looks good to me. Very careful approach.

Me? I always do wheel and tires first so I don't have water drying on the car while I get them if I were to wash the car first.

Plus I like to get the hard, icky part over with.

Thanks for the feedback! Ill post a before and after. Gotta do some research on ceramic coatings.

 

[fly07sti]

Sounds good to me and I definitely agree on wheels/tires first.
Might want to add some iron remover to your process though if you can.

 

[04lss]

Sounds good to me and I definitely agree on wheels/tires first.
Might want to add some iron remover to your process though if you can.

I plan to clay it in the near future. Once i figure out which long term ceramic coating i want (gyeon, Blackfire, etc) For the moment i just want the dirt off, and some protection on.

 

[3ismagic#]

1) For a first wash I would definitely do at least a chemical decontamination if not also a mechanical one (e.g., clay bar).

2) I wouldn't assume the paint is flawless. After a thorough wash and decontamination I would inspect the paint and see it is needs any correction, even if it is just in certain areas.
3) after correction or if it's not needed I would wipe it down completely with a panel wipe (i.e, carper eraser, any IPA solution) to strip away oils or residues from the factory/polish.
4) then I would apply the paint protection of your choice. My choice would be Gtechniq Crystal Serum Light topped with ExoV4.

 

[vobro]

Since this sounds to be a stop gap process before you lay down the ceramic in the future, if you find the car difficult to dry because there’s no protection on it spray a quick detailer or use the 3n1 on the car while wet. I went thru the a similar process when I bought my Silverado and due to lock downs just starting I was going to wait until I could polish and apply coating, I found the paint to be really grabby and hard to dry.

Congratulations on your new ride, the LT1 is a solid buy

 

[2black1s]

I'll throw in my 2-cents...

Like others have already said, do the wheels and tires first.

Next, Consider just using a hose rather than the pressure washer. Pressure washers are for blasting old paint off of houses and cleaning stains out of concrete... Just my opinion. They can be used for washing cars if you use some common sense and keep the tip far enough from the surface, but I don't see much advantage over the garden hose. And the garden hose gives you the opportunity to do a final flood rinse that will make the drying process easier.

Once the car is cleaned and dried, do a baggie test and a visual inspection for rail dust. Rail dust, if present, is pretty easy to see on white. If the baggie test or visual inspection are fails, then consider claying at a minimum, and possibly a chemical decon (although I'm not the biggest fan of chemical decons as I've seen damage and staining in some cases).

If you do clay, then inspect the paint for any marring caused during the clay process and polish if necessary. White is pretty forgiving in this sense so there's a fair chance you can skip the polishing. But if it were me, I'd polish anyways as every new car I've ever bought has had some minor imperfections that polishing will take care of. Plus by polishing you will learn where every dust speck or other flaw(s) are for your own information going forward.

Apply your 3-in-1 and enjoy the new car!

 

[Jayfro]

Another vote for Iron Decontamination...

I like to do it before the wash so it doesn’t fall off with the car being wet.

Congrats on the new car!

Jay


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[04lss]

Since this sounds to be a stop gap process before you lay down the ceramic in the future, if you find the car difficult to dry because there’s no protection on it spray a quick detailer or use the 3n1 on the car while wet. I went thru the a similar process when I bought my Silverado and due to lock downs just starting I was going to wait until I could polish and apply coating, I found the paint to be really grabby and hard to dry.

Congratulations on your new ride, the LT1 is a solid buy

It was one of 2 in the state at the time. If there is a need to polish or correct, i plan to do that step later. The reason i am working on the assumption of flawless paint is because i want to treat it like it is, until i know otherwise. (a man can dream). I definitely plan to do the whole 9 yards on it.

 

[PaulMys]

It was one of 2 in the state at the time. If there is a need to polish or correct, i plan to do that step later. The reason i am working on the assumption of flawless paint is because i want to treat it like it is, until i know otherwise. (a man can dream). I definitely plan to do the whole 9 yards on it.

In that case, your process is fine.

Just remember that while white is very forgiving, it will also be the first to show any iron contamination.

 

[JDGolden]

In that case, your process is fine.

Just remember that while white is very forgiving, it will also be the first to show any iron contamination.

Very true, my wife’s car is summit white and I was chemically decontaminating it with 100 miles on the odometer.

 

[Prange]

If you can, try to get the ValuGard ABC to decontaminate. It was back ordered when I needed it a few months ago, so I did it the hard way.

 

[vobro]

It was one of 2 in the state at the time. If there is a need to polish or correct, i plan to do that step later. The reason i am working on the assumption of flawless paint is because i want to treat it like it is, until i know otherwise. (a man can dream). I definitely plan to do the whole 9 yards on it.

Sometimes it gets lost here but make sure too enjoy your ride, 455 hp should put a smile on your face

 

[Coatingsarecrack]

Agree with iron decon but if this is a stop gag to coating you can wait if it’s gonna be soon. I would polish before coating. If no marring a fine polish or a paint cleaner will do.

I’m a paint coatings guy but I won some DoDo juice ShineCraft Hybrid wax and it was stunning on summit.

Nice car by the way. Welcome to the club!


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[04lss]

Agree with iron decon but if this is a stop gag to coating you can wait if it’s gonna be soon. I would polish before coating. If no marring a fine polish or a paint cleaner will do.

I’m a paint coatings guy but I won some DoDo juice ShineCraft Hybrid wax and it was stunning on summit.

Nice car by the way. Welcome to the club!


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I love the black on white look with those wheels! I hated the way white looked in the photos, dealer was supposed to be selling me a black one but messed up and had a white waiting for me. The white changed my mind when i saw it in person.

I used the Griots ceramic spray wax as a temporary protectant. Im going to use one of the stripping washes to remove it. Followed by some claybaring. The paint aside from notable iron contamination has no swirls, so the plan is decon, a super fine polish, and a long term wax spray. Probably at the end of the summer. (my next payment for the trade in already came out, and im waiting for the refund on that before i start buying stuff for the new girl)

This is my 11th white car... somehow.

 

[UncleDavy]

Looks good to me. Very careful approach.

Me? I always do wheel and tires first so I don't have water drying on the car while I get them if I were to wash the car first.

Plus I like to get the hard, icky part over with.

Definitely wheels and tires first. Another reason is that you can later wash off the yuck that splashes on the surface of the car.

 

[Kamakaz1961]

Pretty much spot on. The only thing I would do 1st is wheels. I would use a separate bucket just for the wheels. But either way, KEEP ON ROCKING!