Please Check/Critique my New Car Detailing Process

CantHave2MuchHP

CantHave2MuchHP

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Hello all,

I have two brand new cars, a 2017 Z07 and a 2018 ZL1. They're both off the showroom and pretty much flawless, with just some factory defects. I've been researching and I've come up with a plan:



  1. Strip Wash
  2. Iron and Tar Decon
  3. Clay
  4. Re-wash
  5. Dry
  6. Light Polish with Finishing Polish (CarPro Essence probably with a Meg MF Cutting and then a CarPro Gloss pad, finish is pretty flawless on the cars being as they're new and weren't touched by anybody but they have some halo/swirling)
  7. Eraser Wipe-down
  8. Seal, Glaze, and Wax
  9. Glass sealant
  10. Hydro2 on Wheels/Calipers


How does that look? Is there anything I should add/drop any steps or switch certain ones?

Thanks guys.
 
Personally, I think you're process is overkill. Especially since you state that the finish is "pretty flawless..."

Here's what I'd do.

- Baggie Test to see if iron decon or clay is even necessary. If you feel it's necessary after your test then by all means proceed as required.
- Skip the tar decon (it's brand new - I seriously doubt it has seen any tar exposure).
- Skip the re-wash following clay (if you do the clay).
- Skip the cutting pad and go straight to the polishing pad. Again, if the finish is "pretty flawless" skip the polish step altogether.
- Skip the eraser step.
- Apply the sealant.
- Skip the glaze.
- Waxing over the sealant is definitely optional. I'd skip it too. The sealant is good enough for me.
- Glass sealant - Ok
- Hydro2 on wheels/calipers... I'm not familiar with this step so I have no comment.
 
Too many steps. Skip the clay, Iron-x should take care of anything clay would remove. Definitely skip the microfiber pad as you will induce more hazing than remove. I would not use Essence unless I am applying a coating with SIO2. If you can see some marring in bright sunlight then I would use a fine polish or an AOI to remove. No need to glaze, just seal and wax. Hydro2 is great on wheels.
 
The only other Finishing polish I have that's not Essence is by a certain brand and may or may not be pronounced Atom's Finishing Polish. I'm not against using it, it pretty much does the same job as Essence for me, I will use that instead.

I will evaluate to see about the claying. These Chevy's, specifically the Camaro, are built and sit in shipping yards/rail yards for a while before a truck/train grabs them and they are known for collecting a lot of rail dust and having those rust dots early if not removed when new.

Sounds good guys thanks.
 
Looks like a good list. Depending on your seal glaze wax step of products I would tune it a little. The decon part with chemical decon and clay I would do so you know you have a clean surface when you begins to polish. Even the wash after claying I would do too. So any residue gets cleaned off.

If I would use carpro essence I would apply a carpro cquartz product as the LSP. Since essence is a primer for those products more than a finishing polish. It can be a primer for other sio2 brands but it's a chance to take that it's compatible to them. If you are going to use essence I would not doing an 2 step polish with it. Use a polish like carpro reflect instead and do a test spot to find the right pad to use. Essence has the same abrasive in it as reflect but less of them. Then finish it with essence primer and the glosspad. Skip the eraser wipe down after essence and let it after the wipe off to let the solvents to evaporate away for 4 hours. Then apply the cquartz product of choice.

If you are going to use a quality sealant or wax I would skip the glaze and use either of them alone. The finishing polish will give you the highest gloss in your process. There are some finishing polish that leaves glossenhancer and protection behind like essence. And there is some finishing polish that leaves glossenhancer like Polish Angel esclate lotion.

What kind of LSP are you going to apply?
 
SWETM said:
Looks like a good list. Depending on your seal glaze wax step of products I would tune it a little. The decon part with chemical decon and clay I would do so you know you have a clean surface when you begins to polish. Even the wash after claying I would do too. So any residue gets cleaned off.

If I would use carpro essence I would apply a carpro cquartz product as the LSP. Since essence is a primer for those products more than a finishing polish. It can be a primer for other sio2 brands but it's a chance to take that it's compatible to them. If you are going to use essence I would not doing an 2 step polish with it. Use a polish like carpro reflect instead and do a test spot to find the right pad to use. Essence has the same abrasive in it as reflect but less of them. Then finish it with essence primer and the glosspad. Skip the eraser wipe down after essence and let it after the wipe off to let the solvents to evaporate away for 4 hours. Then apply the cquartz product of choice.

If you are going to use a quality sealant or wax I would skip the glaze and use either of them alone. The finishing polish will give you the highest gloss in your process. There are some finishing polish that leaves glossenhancer and protection behind like essence. And there is some finishing polish that leaves glossenhancer like Polish Angel esclate lotion.

What kind of LSP are you going to apply?
Click to expand...

Great reply, thank you. You confirmed my reasoning by all the steps that I laid out. I was surprised by how much I was already told to skip.

Anyways, I know that the CQuartz or any Ceramic Coating really is the way to go but I'm not ready to do that yet. If anything, I'll try that on my daily first. I have a variety of choices as an LSP. Either Reload, Hydro2, Paste Sealants (Adam's and other brands), and some show car paste waxes. Since these cars will be garage queens and our summer season in Michigan is only about 4 months, I was leaning towards using the Wax/Glaze on them for the gloss and glow since I won't need to combat much road wear, salt, etc.. I was told that keeping a base layer of a stronger sealant would help with durability and I know that the Adam's paint sealant, which I may use, works really well when it's topped with wax.
 
rlmccarty2000 said:
Too many steps. Skip the clay, Iron-x should take care of anything clay would remove. Definitely skip the microfiber pad as you will induce more hazing than remove. I would not use Essence unless I am applying a coating with SIO2. If you can see some marring in bright sunlight then I would use a fine polish or an AOI to remove. No need to glaze, just seal and wax. Hydro2 is great on wheels.
Click to expand...

Iron-X will not take care of anything Clay would remove. It is good practice to do both, especially on a new car, or if it fails a "baggy test". Iron-X will not remove bonded surface contaminants. He should Iron-X first, then Clay if needed.

OP, just because that vehicle is on the showroom floor, does NOT mean its anything close to flawless. The detail shop at the dealer prepped that vehicle and I'm sure its anything from flawless. Put that vehicle under proper lighting and access the damage.
 
CantHave2MuchHP said:
Great reply, thank you. You confirmed my reasoning by all the steps that I laid out. I was surprised by how much I was already told to skip.

Anyways, I know that the CQuartz or any Ceramic Coating really is the way to go but I'm not ready to do that yet. If anything, I'll try that on my daily first. I have a variety of choices as an LSP. Either Reload, Hydro2, Paste Sealants (Adam's and other brands), and some show car paste waxes. Since these cars will be garage queens and our summer season in Michigan is only about 4 months, I was leaning towards using the Wax/Glaze on them for the gloss and glow since I won't need to combat much road wear, salt, etc.. I was told that keeping a base layer of a stronger sealant would help with durability and I know that the Adam's paint sealant, which I may use, works really well when it's topped with wax.
Click to expand...

Essence can be topped with reload and hydro2 and you get a longer longevity from them. Maybe would have clarified that I meant carpros LSP. But since it's they are garage queens I second you that a great wax is a good choice. So go with the combo you prefer on your cars. But switch to a finishing polish instead of essence. Reflect is quite versitale as with a coarse cutting pad you can cut out p2500 sanding marks as Sonax Perfect Finish or EX 04-06. It's hard to say what kind of cut that is needed when not knowing the defects on the paint and the hardness of it. Inspect the paint under good lighting and the sun. If it's not so much of defects you may only need a finishing polish and a polishing pad. If you need to use a microfiber cutting pad I would do a 2 step and use a finishing pad to the second step. It can be good to have a medium cut polish at hand if you don't get the cut you are satisfied with from the polish. Sonax Cut and Finish and Menzerna p2500 is a good ones. The test spots is your friend here to dial in what works on your car. Go with the least aggressive and wipe it off with eraser and inspect. When dialed in polish the paint and when finished wipe down with eraser to let your LSP bond as good as possible.
 
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