Newbie with brand new car

[Ned250]

We bought a brand new 2013 Audi A6 last week. I'm a total newbie to this hobby, but I've been drawn to it after poking around here for a week or so. The amount of shine y'all can get out of your cars is astonishing. If I can get anywhere close to what you guys can do, I'd be a very happy camper. A black A6 with this kind of shine would be one sexy machine!

My question is - where do you start on a brand new car? I've been reading a lot of articles here, and most seem to be geared towards restoring. If you had a brand new car that's less than a week old, what would be on the top of your list of things to do?

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Hi Ned,

Welcome to Autogeek Online! :welcome:

My question is - where do you start on a brand new car? I've been reading a lot of articles here, and most seem to be geared towards restoring. If you had a brand new car that's less than a week old, what would be on the top of your list of things to do?

I have not been able to update my article list with all my articles, the below being one of them written just for you.



How To Detail Your Brand New Car by Mike Phillips


The above article walks you through everything you want to do with your brand new car including how to inspect it for swirls, water spots and scratches and also to see if the paint needs to be clayed.

Even though the car is new to you it's been a while since it was pushed out of the assembly line plant and often times all kinds of damage can have already occurred.


Click the link above and give it a thorough read-through. I also include an article right below it I think you'll find helpful.

Glad you joined, I think you'll find this forum exacly how another new member described it here,

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/introduce-yourself/59183-hello-autogeek-nation-ca.html


When he wrote,

And your tone with newbies gives us the confidence that we can create a great look with our daily drivers.

We all started in the same place and that's knowing nothing and this forum makes it a practice to help others to be successful in their garage no matter what their skill and experience level.

 

[CM8 6MT]

Welcome aboard!

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

We bought a brand new 2013 Audi A6 last week. I'm a total newbie to this hobby, but I've been drawn to it after poking around here for a week or so.

The amount of shine y'all can get out of your cars is astonishing. If I can get anywhere close to what you guys can do, I'd be a very happy camper.

A black A6 with this kind of shine would be one sexy machine!

I'm likely going to have a similar car at my upcoming Detailing Boot Camp Class, it's a 2008 Audi S8 in black and it has the normal swirled out finish.

Stay tuned because if I do get this car then I make it a practice to walk through the steps we use to take a diamond in the rough and turn it into a glistening gemstone often times with absolute newbies doing all the procedures.

I just created the link to the pictures and comments thread here,

Pictures & Comments from January 2013 Detailing Boot Camp Class


(no pictures till "after" the class in a few weeks)



:xyxthumbs:

 

[dad07]

Wash
Decon-with Ironx
clay
inspect for defects(yes there will be some)
compound (if needed)
polish
then Opticoat.





and :welcome: to AGO!

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Here's an example of what I'm talking about, this was a brand new car as brought to Autogeek.

At the time we did this project this car only had 2000 miles on it and this is the condition it was in as purchased from the dealership.


Video & Pictures: 2012 Black Camaro Convertible - Blackfire Show Car Makeover!



And this is off a BRAND NEW CAR?
If you watched the Live Broadcast, you saw me clay most, not all but most of JUST the hood. Keep in mind this Camaro has only 2000 miles on it since purchased new. Look at all the brown crud that came off the hood using Blackfire Detailing Clay.


Where has this car been since rolling out of the assembly plant?
Anyone want to guess what the brown stuff is?

It left looking a lot better than when it came in...

:xyxthumbs:

 

[Alumniprodetail]

I worked at valley Honda of aurora/Naperville in their detail center. This is a high volume dealer so there is always 500-1000 cars in their lots. Some cars would sit for a long time before they were sold. On slow days we would wash the cars with shammies that sometimes were abused. It was common to see cars being delivered that I presumed could use a good clay bar or even a good correction... Especially the black ones. Just bc the car has less then 50 miles does not mean the paint is perfect by any means.

 

[Ned250]

Wow thanks for the quick feedback. I have a ton of learning to do. After seeing the how to video on checking for swirls, I'm afraid I've already seen a ton of swirls on the trunk. I'll have to go out in the sun tomorrow to confirm. I thought it looked odd, but thought it may have been just the 'grain' of the metal. :doh:

And WOW at the camaro!!

 

[RMM]

:welcome: to AGO!

The A6 is black? Full-time job!

 

[Ned250]

Oooof, my baby has 356mi on it and it's swirled just as bad as that camaro was. Seemingly every square inch has some swirls or light scratches to it.

It's amazing to me how beautiful the car looks, yet after learning just a tiny amount of info (SO FAR!) from here I'm seeing there's a ton of room for improvement.

How cold is too cold to clay? We're renovating the garage and won't have room to do it inside.....

 

[rms64]

It's amazing to me how beautiful the car looks, yet after learning just a tiny amount of info (SO FAR!) from here I'm seeing there's a ton of room for improvement.

How cold is too cold to clay? We're renovating the garage and won't have room to do it inside.....

I'm a newb too but it surprises me and makes me lol just a bit because I catch myself looking at other peoples cars and seeing the classic "swirled up mess" and think...sheesh....

Hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong here but I'd think "as cold as you can take" (as long as it's warmer than freezing) would be ok to clay - just make sure you have some good microfibers to wipe up the lubricant with.

Enjoy!

:xyxthumbs:

 

[jhodges]

I'm a newb too but it surprises me and makes me lol just a bit because I catch myself looking at other peoples cars and seeing the classic "swirled up mess" and think...sheesh....
:xyxthumbs:

:iagree:

 

[BobbyG]

:welcome: To Autogeek Online Ned! rops:

After all the replies I read I think a hello and welcome aboard is all the advise I can give! rops:

 

[Ned250]

It's refreshing to see so many cool customers here. So many forums are littered with trolls and just down right negative people. Big thumbs up to AGO!

I've been studying and trying to come up with a plan and a shopping list. I haven't done this before, so I need just about everything... My wife is going to love this. :buffing:

As I noted above, I've already inspected the car and found swirls galore. So the next step is to clay the paint. I've seen Iron-x suggested quite a bit here, but there's something that spooks me about using it on the paint. Maybe I'm being overly cautious and y'all can talk me out of my paranoia, but I think I'm going to skip Iron-x and just go straight to claying the car.

When we bought the car I got over zealous and bought this Mother's kit. I wish I had found AGO before buying that, but it is what it is. Is there anything in there that I should stay away from? I hope at least the clay and spray detailer (I think) is good enough to clay with.

I'll start by taping off a small section of the trunk and testing the clay to make sure I know what I'm getting myself into. Will regular masking tape or that blue painter's tape work?

 

[Andr3wilson]

It's refreshing to see so many cool customers here. So many forums are littered with trolls and just down right negative people. Big thumbs up to AGO!

I've been studying and trying to come up with a plan and a shopping list. I haven't done this before, so I need just about everything... My wife is going to love this. :buffing:

As I noted above, I've already inspected the car and found swirls galore. So the next step is to clay the paint. I've seen Iron-x suggested quite a bit here, but there's something that spooks me about using it on the paint. Maybe I'm being overly cautious and y'all can talk me out of my paranoia, but I think I'm going to skip Iron-x and just go straight to claying the car.

When we bought the car I got over zealous and bought this Mother's kit. I wish I had found AGO before buying that, but it is what it is. Is there anything in there that I should stay away from? I hope at least the clay and spray detailer (I think) is good enough to clay with.

I'll start by taping off a small section of the trunk and testing the clay to make sure I know what I'm getting myself into. Will regular masking tape or that blue painter's tape work?

IronX is perfectly safe and a very choice in your case a good choice. Quite often new cars during transit can get heavily soiled with contaminants. IronX breaks them down and makes it safer (less of a chance of marring).

As far as your mothers kit, I can promise you the quick detailer as a clay lube, the clay, shampoo are all great and don't feel bad for purchasing it!

I am not too sure about the other products; hopefully someone on here can chime in here!

As far as tape, paints tape is perfectly fine. I use the blue 3M one because it seems to be a little stronger.

Now would you want to machine polish to remove swirls??

For a wax you need to pick one that suits the cars colour for the best affect. Which colour is it?

Btw welcome to AGO!

 

[sasson]

Wellcome to AG! Great place... ( BEST Place ) for car detailing, Detailers, And Just for fun! =)

 

[AudiFL]

Hi Ned250,

I am also a newbie too and an owner of a 2013 Black Audi Q5 which is just two week old. With all the ton of info in AG and the help of other members specially I was able get mine done.

Here is the link with some photos and the products used. :xyxthumbs:

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/59241-2013-phanton-black-audi-q5.html

Edgar

 

[Espyone]

Welcome! You have come to the right place. There are many pros that can give you great advice.

Again welcome to the matrix. It has begin, where you will see car paint in a different view. LOL

 

[Ned250]

IronX is perfectly safe and a very choice in your case a good choice. Quite often new cars during transit can get heavily soiled with contaminants. IronX breaks them down and makes it safer (less of a chance of marring).

As far as your mothers kit, I can promise you the quick detailer as a clay lube, the clay, shampoo are all great and don't feel bad for purchasing it!

I am not too sure about the other products; hopefully someone on here can chime in here!

As far as tape, paints tape is perfectly fine. I use the blue 3M one because it seems to be a little stronger.

Now would you want to machine polish to remove swirls??

For a wax you need to pick one that suits the cars colour for the best affect. Which colour is it?

Btw welcome to AGO!

Thanks for the tips. Glad to hear the Mother's kit is OK. I can be impulsive with stuff like this, so I was regretting not looking into it further.

I worry about not getting the Iron-x completely rinsed from all of the nooks and crannies of the car, namely the edges where the doors or hood meet the car. Can it do damage if it dries to the paint?

I have been jonesin' to get the PC 7424XP for a few days now and will likely pull the trigger on it soon . So yes, I'm 99% sure I'll be attacking this with a DA! I haven't pulled the trigger yet as I'm still studying which pads, polish, etc I need to get with it.

The car is black - no idea what polish I should get or if I need to get it. The Mother's kit came with their 'Reflections Car Wax', 'Spray Wax', and 'Top Coat'. I'd love to save some $ and be able to use these, but willing to scrap them if there are better options out there. I don't want to cut corners because I was trying to save a few bucks.

 

[Andr3wilson]

Thanks for the tips. Glad to hear the Mother's kit is OK. I can be impulsive with stuff like this, so I was regretting not looking into it further.

I worry about not getting the Iron-x completely rinsed from all of the nooks and crannies of the car, namely the edges where the doors or hood meet the car. Can it do damage if it dries to the paint?

I have been jonesin' to get the PC 7424XP for a few days now and will likely pull the trigger on it soon . So yes, I'm 99% sure I'll be attacking this with a DA! I haven't pulled the trigger yet as I'm still studying which pads, polish, etc I need to get with it.

The car is black - no idea what polish I should get or if I need to get it. The Mother's kit came with their 'Reflections Car Wax', 'Spray Wax', and 'Top Coat'. I'd love to save some $ and be able to use these, but willing to scrap them if there are better options out there. I don't want to cut corners because I was trying to save a few bucks.

Well I ironX cars quite a bit. As long as you give a thorough rinse, it should be ok. I havent had trouble with it yet. But be careful if youre doing it outside, if the sun dries it on the paint, you may be in trouble.

I can tell you right now, get the Griots Garage 3 DA. It has more power than the PC and is overall a nicer machine.

Now your audi has a ceramiclear clear coat. In the production world, there are three different types of clear coats you will come across

Carbon - Rarest and most expensive, only the ZR1 has it to my knowledge. Debatably the hardest, but not in my experience.

Ceramic - Most new cars are switching over: all Mercs, audis, and new fords got it. This is an extremely hard clear coat and takes a lot of muscle to get swirls out

Acrylic - The most common and out of the three the softest clear coats. Cars like Toyotas, dodge, etc. have them.

Now for the ceramic clear coats, I would hands down go with the Menzerna Polishing line. I have seen quite a few people complain that the Megs and Optimum lines dont have enough cut to pull swirls out.

For your car I would:
PF2500 - on a white or an orange pad
followed by
SF4500 - on a gold jeweling or a red finishing pad

If you have super deep swirls, try IS1500 or FG400, followed by SF4500.

SF4500 is not a glaze or a filler, it is a nano polish, and out of all of the polishes on the market, makes the glossiest finish (91 Gloss Units @ 60 degrees).

For waxes, the mothers ones are made for all colours, fairly generic. You will find they might not last as long as other waxes out here and their water repellency is not going to be nearly as good as others.

How much are you willing to spend on a wax? Under $100 for a black car, you should go with CG Black Wax, or Pinnacle Souveran Paste Wax. Over $100, I will be honest with you, skip everything you see on the site here, and go straight with Swissvax Onyx or Shield. Swissvax hands down make the best waxes in the world and its the only premium waxes I will use, if you want more info on them, PM me!

As far as cutting corners, I have tried in the past, it is cheaper to get the best now, and skip buying cheap stuff, and then realizing you need high quality stuff.