Prep my brand new car

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CleanCarGuy

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Hi guys, just took delivery of a 2014 Honda Accord Sedan. Alabaster Silver Metallic.

They ran it thru an automated "touchless" wash prior to delivery. The car looks fanstastic, no scratches or anything (although difficult to see on Honda's silver)

Anyhow, will do its first prep this weekend.

Was thinking of doing the following.

Wash
Decontaminate with Iron X
Meguairs Clay
Wash/Rinsh thoroughly
Polish with Menzerna 4500 (black LC pad on 7424xp)
Collinitie 476 (applied by hand)

My question is, should I be using a DA with the Menzerna 4500 on a brand new
car. I know the 4500 is a final polish, but should I be using this on brand new clear coat? I dont want to eat into clear coat. Again, upon inspection, there arent any scratches or holograms

Just wondering if I should skip the Menz 4500 after claying and go straight to the Collinite 476.
 
The cut is very minimal to none. The 4500 will really bring out some shine. Do it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I think your process sounds perfect. Yes you should use a DA with Menzerna 4500 on a Black Pad to enhance the gloss of the paint.
 
A light polish is definitely beneficial... even on a new car that was not destroyed by the dealership. It may not be too dramatic of a difference on silver paint, but when you're done it will surely look amazing, so I would take the time to do a quick polishing step.
 
Thanks, looks like I will include the Menzerna 4500 with my 7424xp.

Once Im done claying and ready to polish, what speed should I set my 7424xp on
for the Menz?
 
I just bought a brand new car also.
After proper prep work I polished it using my PC using a Lake Country 5.5" flat finishing pads for most of the car with the Meguiar's 205.
Came out nice, then applied Wolfgang Paint Sealant, Done:)

Mine had defects , on the bad areas , mostly on the hood I use my PC, white LC pad and some Wolfgang Uber.

My car was unlike yours due to swirls.
IMO a DA like the PC7424XP is the way to go on a new car.
 
HateSwirls said:
I just bought a brand new car also.
After proper prep work I polished it using my PC using a Lake Country 5.5" flat finishing pads for most of the car with the Meguiar's 205.
Came out nice, then applied Wolfgang Paint Sealant, Done:)

Mine had defects , on the bad areas , mostly on the hood I use my PC, white LC pad and some Wolfgang Uber.

My car was unlike yours due to swirls.
IMO a DA like the PC7424XP is the way to go on a new car.
Click to expand...


Thanks, what speed did you use on the PC7424 when you applied the polish?

This weekend is calling for picture perfect detailing weather. Upper 70's, sunny with low humidity.
 
CleanCarGuy said:
Thanks, looks like I will include the Menzerna 4500 with my 7424xp.

Once Im done claying and ready to polish, what speed should I set my 7424xp on
for the Menz?
Click to expand...

SF4500 tends to perform best with a firmer pad and moderate speed so that the abrasives can break down properly. I like using it with a white polishing pad on speed 3-4 beginning with moderate pressure for 2-3 passes, then finishing with little to no pressure for 1-2 passes.

It is a very oily polish, so I would recommend an IPA or Eraser wipedown (or two... or three lol) after polishing.
 
zmcgovern45 said:
SF4500 tends to perform best with a firmer pad and moderate speed so that the abrasives can break down properly. I like using it with a white polishing pad on speed 3-4 beginning with moderate pressure for 2-3 passes, then finishing with little to no pressure for 1-2 passes.

It is a very oily polish, so I would recommend an IPA or Eraser wipedown (or two... or three lol) after polishing.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. You've been very helpful. What's the point of polishing a brand new car (which i want the paint to reveal more gloss), when Im going to wipe away the polish with an IPO wipedown? Wouldnt that just defeat the entire purpose of polishing with the Menzerna 4500 in the first place?
 
If doing it correctly, you can compound your car several times and still have a good amount of clear left. A finishing polish will remove a minute amount of clear(if even measurable). I would use SF4000 with a DA. Plus, SF4500 is very oily. No thanks.

CleanCarGuy said:
Thanks for the reply. You've been very helpful. What's the point of polishing a brand new car (which i want the paint to reveal more gloss), when Im going to wipe away the polish with an IPO wipedown? Wouldnt that just defeat the entire purpose of polishing with the Menzerna 4500 in the first place?
Click to expand...
SF4500 is not a wax. It's an abrasive polish that's used to remove minimal defects and bring clarity to the paint. When you wipe it off, you're revealing the shine you worked for. You're definitely not wiping away the shine. After you're done polishing, you'll want to do an IPA wipedown to ensure all polishing oils are removed so the wax(after polishing) can bond to the paint properly.
 
CleanCarGuy said:
Hi guys, just took delivery of a 2014 Honda Accord Sedan. Alabaster Silver Metallic.

They ran it thru an automated "touchless" wash prior to delivery. The car looks fanstastic, no scratches or anything (although difficult to see on Honda's silver)

Anyhow, will do its first prep this weekend.

Was thinking of doing the following.

Wash
Decontaminate with Iron X
Meguairs Clay
Wash/Rinsh thoroughly
Polish with Menzerna 4500 (black LC pad on 7424xp)
Collinitie 476 (applied by hand)

My question is, should I be using a DA with the Menzerna 4500 on a brand new
car. I know the 4500 is a final polish, but should I be using this on brand new clear coat? I dont want to eat into clear coat. Again, upon inspection, there arent any scratches or holograms

Just wondering if I should skip the Menz 4500 after claying and go straight to the Collinite 476.
Click to expand...

Can't tell if you have used a DA before. Possibly not DAT polishes either? I might recommend M205 on a white polishing pad. On a brand new car, probably 4 passes and you're good.

I took delivery of my 2013 Accord in December 2012, so I wasn't able to get it detailed and sealed until spring. I used Megs Ultimate Compound the first detail. Since then I only need to use M205 or SF4500 to buff out fine scratches from washing/drying. I polish twice per year. Almost have to if you don't use a coating on soft Honda paint.
 
Before you buff out the entire car be sure to do some testing first. See this article,


How To Do a Test Spot



Menzerna SF 4500 is a ultra fine cut polish, so it has even less cut than a fine cut polish.

I'd use a polishing pad if you have swirls to remove otherwise any softer pad with such a NON-aggressive polish might not remove the swirls and scratches. You will find this out when you do your Test Spot.


As for stripping the oils off the paint, if you're using a wax or a synthetic paint sealant, read the directions for what the manufacturer recommends. If they say to apply without chemically stripping then apply it.

I've never walked out into a garage the next day after detailing a car to find the wax or sealant has slipped off the car and piled up on the floor surrounding the car because it didn't bond to the paint.

Plus most methods of chemically stripping paint like IPA and such can cause marring. You would only see this on black and dark colored paints but it happens on light colored paints too you just can see it.

I document this here,

Hologram Free with a Rotary Buffer



Also, this article walks you step-by-step what to do and the order to do it. There's videos to watch and links to more info...


How To Detail Your Brand New Car by Mike Phillips


Enjoy your new car and enjoy detailing it, don't turn something that's really quite simple into rocket science.


Miscible and Immiscible - Wax and Paint Sealant Bonding


Sheldon explaining Quantum Physics to Penny on the Big Bang Theory
molculesbonding.jpg




:)
 
CleanCarGuy said:
My question is, should I be using a DA with the Menzerna 4500 on a brand new
car.
Click to expand...

Won't hurt anything and it will remove any fine scratches or marring you can't see with your eyes plus perfectly prepare the paint for the Collinite 476.


CleanCarGuy said:
I know the 4500 is a final polish, but should I be using this on brand new clear coat?
Click to expand...

If it were my brand new car that would be the minimum polishing work I would do before sealing the paint.


CleanCarGuy said:
I dont want to eat into clear coat. Again, upon inspection, there arent any scratches or holograms
Click to expand...

This polish is so non-aggressive you really don't have anything to be worried about. It should be the least of your concerns.

Do tape-off any black plastic trim first or anything else you don't want to get polish and wax residue on.


CleanCarGuy said:
Just wondering if I should skip the Menz 4500 after claying and go straight to the Collinite 476.
Click to expand...


My rule of thumb is to ALWAYS do at least one machine polishing step after doing any type of mechanical decontamination and this would including claying.


:)
 
CleanCarGuy said:
Thanks, what speed did you use on the PC7424 when you applied the polish?

This weekend is calling for picture perfect detailing weather. Upper 70's, sunny with low humidity.
Click to expand...


I used speed 5 with slow arm speed , used just enough pressure to keep the pad turning.

I only use speed 6 when it's really needed.
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
How did it turn out?


:)
Click to expand...

Hi Mike, thanks for the tips. Wanted to thank you prior to the weekend. Well, the weather was indeed gorgeous. 79 degrees with low humidity. The Car came out fantastic !!! Instead of using a black pad, I went with a Blue finishing LC pad. Also, I did NOT use an IPA to remove the polishing oil. I took a moist terry towel and wiped down the entire car prior to waxing. See steps below.

Washed with Meg's Shampoo
Iron-X
Washed Again (to remove Iron-X)
Clayed (using Meg's claybar)
Polished with Menzerna 4500 (used blue LC finishing pad with 7424xp on speed 3)
Hand waxed using Collinite 476s
Interior was dressed up Einzett Cockpit

Thanks to everyone. Car came out superb.
 
Looks good.

I'm not sure how you broke down SF4500 properly with a PC on speed 3. Unless you worked it for a very long time. Thoughts, Mike?
 
ZL1 Mark said:
I'm not sure how you broke down SF4500 properly with a PC on speed 3.

Unless you worked it for a very long time.


Thoughts, Mike?
Click to expand...


Ha ha... I just typed something related to this already this morning, from this thread,


http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...t-full-detail-need-advices-2.html#post1122430




lonye said:
Sorry for this newby question baut, How can I know if a worked the polished even when it was dry? I really read a lot, but its a bit difficult to remember when polishing, or at least at my first time polishing...
Click to expand...


It's not as big a deal as some make it out to be. Take my word for it and this is especially true when using high quality compounds and polishes, not the low quality stuff.

Keep it simple...

Spread your product out over the area you're going to work using a slow to medium speed.

Turn the speed up the the 5-6 speed setting and then start making SLOW overlapping passes using a crosshatch pattern with medium downward pressure on the pad.

Use firm downward pressure but the pad should always be rotating. If it's not rotating it's not doing anything.
​



If you make 5-6 passes using the above technique whatever is going to break down will have broken down and thus there's no reason to be concerned about whether or not the abrasive have broken down. Especially with the polishes you're using, they are for the most part "Bubba-Proof".​

There you go...


:)
 
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