New Member; Need Advice on Treating BRAND new Paint

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kodobuff3

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Hey guys,

this is Michael and I am brand-spanking new to AGO. Just wanted to take the time to say hello and thank you for all of the incredible knowledge and expertise on this site! You guys are truly a godsend to anyone new to the detailing world.

To the point now: About 4 weeks ago I picked up my brand new 2014 Mazda 3 Sport in their silver variant and have completed the following:

1. Turtle Ice Gel Car Wash with Simoniz Sheepskin Washmitt
2. Meguiars Smooth Surface Clay Kit (What a difference this made!)
3. No Polish
4. Mothers SynWax

However, I am curious as to what a New Car really needs... How do I know what steps to add into its first treatment? The paint seems to be in pristine condition; however, I am wondering if I need to go ahead and purchase a DA and polish her up the next time I detail her? Does she really need to be polished?

Thanks for all of your advice so far! (I've been lurking around for a while before I finally decided to take the plunge and register here).

Cheers!
 
Welcome.

I'm pretty sure you'll be a lot busy reading Mike's recommendation above.

What I can advance for you is to get a swirl finder light. After washing and drying the car, you'll inspect the finish looking for flaws, like swirls, scratches, holograms, etc.

Here are some example of what you may find during inspection:

Holograms, but also swirls:
kia-spaw1.png


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Swirls, Holograms and Waterspots staining (not same car as above)


This is the same hood after polishing (same car above)


Deep scratch that remained after polishing (same car as above):
depois2_com_luz.png



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You may also inspect the paint for flaws putting the car under the sun:
Capo.png


When it's defined you'll need to polish the car, you may start doing some tests until finding the least abrasive method needed to take care of the defects you're facing (same car as above)



-----

Brand new 2014 BMW with only 200km on it. Needs to be polished?

More inspection under the sun
rear-trunk-glass.png


After polishing, it's interesting to inspect results under the same light condition (same car as above):


Notice above I've always polished the glass to remove waterspots and protected it using glass coating.

This is the hood of the same car above (BMW 320i), after polishing (sun inspection):
hoodsun2.png


That said, unless you inspect the paint properly you will not know if it needs to be polished (odds are it needs). If you don't assess your method (test spot), you'll also not know what kind of polishing procedure will be required.

-----


The examples above used dark colored paint to better illustrate the defects. They are the same in any color, but can be difficult to spot on lighter colors.

However, they can be removed and the paint will look much better independent of the color you're working.


Some defects on silver:


After polishing (same car as above)
c280s-9.png


I have many threads on silver cars, there you can take a look at more in depth defects examples.


I recommend you to read a lot and study a lot before doing anything. Here, you are covered.

Wish you best of luck,

Kind Regards.
 
Thanks guys.

I've scrutinized the paint job under direct sunlight and have not seen any holograms, spider webs, marring or swirls. So far, I've been happy with the finish. Besides it not being as "punchy" as it could be. Another factor is that I don't have the money to spend on a G100 or G110 or a Flex counterpart. So not much I could do at this point anyway.

Cheers



Sent from my XT1058 using AG Online
 
Oh ... I almost forgot!

One last question. I've been reading a lot that you MUST use a DA to polish... But if, say, one has not the budget to purchase one, what method may one employ to obtain satisfactory results by hand?

Cheers!

Sent from my XT1058 using AG Online
 
Elbow Grease would be my best tip.

You don't have to use any machine at all, however if you're willing to work on recent clear coat finishes, it'll be much more labour and much less results when working by hand.

Also, the best you can do by hand will be sub-par when compared to polishing by machine because when you use your polisher you can get much more even and effective results, in considerable less time.

Can you still work by hand? Sure. I do that all the time where my polishers won't fit. But there are small areas.

Is it 'at least the same' than working by machine? No, sorry. Unless you're applying wax and glazes. For correcting defects over an entire finish, machine polishing all day long.

Can it be done? Yes!, again. Read back the Elbow Grease part, and be brave!

Good luck.
 
do you NEED one? No
will it make your life 100x easier? - Yes

so do you NEED one? - honestly yes. lol just messing...kinda
Many people will def understand you might be on a budget and you have other prioities at this time and a DA just isn't in the mix currently, where are you located? I have seen many members offer their assistance



Nice Mazda, I have the 2013 sport (wish I had the 14).

Check out the article by Mike that he posted up there, will def help you!
 
Welcome.

Fortunately for you, silver is just about the easiest color to live with; minor swirls and scratches don't show up like they do on a dark colored vehicle.

As others have already said, you do not absolutely need a polisher; it just makes polishing easier. You do not have to buy a Flex, Rupes, or even a PC; some here use the Harbor Freight DA which can often be purchased for under $50.

The only thing different I would have done in your initial detailing would have been to add a iron decontamination step using Iron-X.
 
where are you located? I have seen many members offer their assistance



Nice Mazda, I have the 2013 sport (wish I had the 14).

Check out the article by Mike that he posted up there, will def help you![/QUOTE]

Thanks for the tips. I am in Guelph, Ontario. And thank you! I love my new baby. Had an 07 Pontiac G5 sedan so definitely a good upgrade lol



Sent from my XT1058 using AG Online
 
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