New car treatment advice

waraf

Hi all,

I'm a complete novice when it comes to detailing but I'm taking delivery of a brand new car sometime in the next 10 days. Has anyone got any particular advice for what I need to do to a new car please? (not sure if the colour is relevant but it's black).

Thanks a mill

P.S. I'm not a perfectionist when it comes to this kind of stuff, I just want to protect the paint finish and keep it looking shiny.

Curran

Get yourself...
- A good wash mitt
- Two large buckets
- Good shampoo, pH neutral
- A microfiber drying towel

Wash the car regularly, using the Two Bucket Method, drying with the microfiber drying towel. Doing that alone will keep the paintwork fresh.
Adding protection will enhance the finish and help protect the paintwork
- A good wax or sealant, and apply it every few months

Other than that, a few other things that you might consider to keep it looking very well without being too much of a perfectionist, but keeping it looking as though its well looked after...
- Wheel Cleaner
- Tyre Dressing
- Glass Cleaner

That will keep it looking its best - good luck with the new car - health to enjoy it!

waraf

Curran wrote: »

Get yourself...
- A good wash mitt
- Two large buckets
- Good shampoo, pH neutral
- A microfiber drying towel

Wash the car regularly, using the Two Bucket Method, drying with the microfiber drying towel. Doing that alone will keep the paintwork fresh.
Adding protection will enhance the finish and help protect the paintwork
- A good wax or sealant, and apply it every few months

Other than that, a few other things that you might consider to keep it looking very well without being too much of a perfectionist, but keeping it looking as though its well looked after...
- Wheel Cleaner
- Tyre Dressing
- Glass Cleaner

That will keep it looking its best - good luck with the new car - health to enjoy it!

Thanks a mill. I'll drop into Halfords as soon as I collect the car and go on a bit of a shopping spree!!

Curran

Just be sure that you buy some quality products as the majority of stuff in Halfords, is average; at best...certainly wouldnt call most of it detailing products!!! Soft and plush mitts and drying towels are a must!

waraf

Curran wrote: »

Just be sure that you buy some quality products as the majority of stuff in Halfords, is average; at best...certainly wouldnt call most of it detailing products!!! Soft and plush mitts and drying towels are a must!

I've seen some videos on youtube for Meguiars detailing products that seem to be ok and are available in Halfords. Any thoughts on their stuff?

Curran

They have three ranges - Enthusiast, Detailer & Professional range

Enthusiast range is aimed at the widest car care community - the type of person that just wants to keep their car washed, but dont care for much about its overall appearance - the type that will wash it once every two weeks with a sponge, or the kitchen brush, and think afterwards, sure its spotless. Some products in the range are decent, others are way overpriced for what they are, and a lot of money goes into marketing about designing fancy bottles and labels to draw your attention, rather than into making good products, at good value for money. These will be the best of products that you will see in Halfords....anything else the have will be rubbish, for the most part. Be careful around applicator pads and drying towel/chamois, they arent great

Detailer range is for people with an interest in detailing - products are pretty good, not the very best out there; but saved by reasonably good value for money as they are available in bulk sizes with good dilution ratios - wont see this in Halfords

Professional range is all their polishes, pads, etc for doing machine polishing / body workshop type detailing.


Personally, I shop elsewhere, but if you are savvy, and know what is and isnt good quality with regard to detailing, then Halfords can be OK to shop in, as they often have 3 for 2 offers, but you have to have experience in what is quality. You could pick up a microfiber cloth and think its quality as its Meguiar's branded, but a few months later, understand what quality, really is. Same goes for wash mitts, drying towels, etc. The waxes will be OK, their Wheel Cleaner and similar products will do a decent job, but dont dilute, so false economy etc, as I said, being savvy, there are a few products that are good.


In summary, there is better out there, but not available in Halfords, though it will be the best stuff Halfords have!

DraganGTD

This is a good place to shop.

http://www.detailingshed.com/

Hope it helps

waraf

Curran wrote: »

In summary, there is better out there, but not available in Halfords, though it will be the best stuff Halfords have!

DraganGTD wrote: »

This is a good place to shop.

http://www.detailingshed.com/

Hope it helps

Great. Thanks guys.

Curran

DraganGTD wrote: »

This is a good place to shop.

http://www.detailingshed.com/

Hope it helps

Thanks! I shop there too :P

biko

waraf wrote: »

Has anyone got any particular advice for what I need to do to a new car please? (not sure if the colour is relevant but it's black.

Well done for thinking about this immediately.
Prevention is best approach to making your paint last and shine.

vectra

Curran wrote: »

stuff in Halfords,

Nope
Start properly and you will be better served.
Do as Curran said below

Curran wrote: »

Get yourself...
- A good wash mitt >>> THIS ONE

- Two large buckets >>>> THESE

- Good shampoo, pH neutral >>>> My personal Favorite

- A microfiber drying towel >>>>>>> THIS ONE never ceases to amaze me with the amount of water it soaks up


- Wheel Cleaner >>> excellent stuff


- Tyre Dressing>>>>>> This Lasts years and literally no sling from it.

- Glass Cleaner>>>>> THIS does it for me.

That will keep it looking its best - good luck with the new car - health to enjoy it!

Good luck with the new car.

waraf

vectra wrote: »

Nope
Start properly and you will be better served.

Good luck with the new car.

Excellent, thank you very much. If it's not too cheeky, could I ask you if you have any recommendation for wax or sealant please? (although I'm not quite sure what the difference is between wax and sealant)

Curran

Waxes generally look better on darker cars as they give a nice 'wet look' appearance. Usually a little less durable than sealants.
Sealants generally look better on lighter colours ad they give a sharper / glass appearance.

There are a few factors when considering what to but; price, durability, ease of application and removal and a few others...
But 'Collinite 845' is hard to look past - its a very good all rounder!

punisher5112

Op I would recommend detailinshed.ie.

Also if I were you I would pm a certain cough cough poster here c###an....

He will look after all your needs ;-).

vectra

waraf wrote: »

Excellent, thank you very much. If it's not too cheeky, could I ask you if you have any recommendation for wax or sealant please? (although I'm not quite sure what the difference is between wax and sealant)

As Curran said.

Collinite 845 Is probably the best all rounder you can get.
I think I actually started a cult following on here with the stuff

Curran

Bad cough you have there! :P



Cough, cough!!

waraf

Thanks a million guys, you've all been really helpful. Very much appreciated

Mintoe

Before you collect new car ask supplying dealer do they sell product called "Supaguard" or other similar product. There's a professional package that they will apply properly which when you give your new car a simple hand wash and dry it will still have that cool showroom shine. I think it's guaranteed for 3 years too. I have sold cars (new & used) in a dealer that offered "Supaguard" package supplied and applied for €295 all in and the results are great and means less work than some other solutions and probably similar cost over 3 yr period. Customers who had it applied loved the simplicity of maintaining that showroom shine. I think you can still apply waxes and polishes if you still want but check with professional valeter who applies product.

Would strongly advise never to use automatic brush wash at petrol stations as they leave brush marks in the paintwork particularly on black cars.

Curran

For the 300 quid to have it applied you could bring it to someone who knows exactly what they are doing, apply a leading coating product that is proven to last more than 2 years, and buy the products needed to maintain the finish and still have a few quid left over.

Interesting reading - or searcg "Supagard" (not Supaguard) on that forum and see the opinion of people who know what they are doing!!

Mintoe wrote: »

Customers who had it applied loved the simplicity of maintaining that showroom shine. I think you can still apply waxes and polishes if you still want but check with professional valeter who applies product.

Would strongly advise never to use automatic brush wash at petrol stations as they leave brush marks in the paintwork particularly on black cars.

Customers who have it applied loved it because its better than having nothing applied to the paintwork...if they had a proper nano coating applied, they'd be far more amazed.

It frustrates me when someone recommends a product, that they dont fully know about - if you are selling a professional coating, you should at least be trained on the basics of the product, such as, if a wax can be applied over it, does it offer scratch resistance, durability, what is the best way to maintain it, etc.
Why would you apply a polish over a semi permanent coating - its supposed to protect the paintwork and remove the need to polish it. Also if its as good as it makes out, you shouldnt need a wax applied over it....that may even cause the coating to prematurely fail; unlikely, but it might do, depending on its properties.

Brush washes create the same amount of "brush makrs" or swirls on any colour...not just "particularly on black cars"; although it will be more noticeable on black cars, than silver or white for example...the silver or white car will have the exact same marks.

waraf

Thanks Curran. I did some quick googling and the online opinions I found of supagard appear to be more negative than positive overall.

I don't have 300 quid spare after paying for the car anyway so I'll definitely be doing the detailing myself.

myshirt

A lot of people recommending products they haven't even used, ever. It happens.

bbari

Agree with Curran there....

I feel like my car have better protection ( €25 worth of 845) than a 2015 X5 (BMW charged €630 + vat) ..

waraf

Well I waxed the new car with Collinite at the weekend and it really came up lovely. Thanks for all the advice lads. However it's now Monday and the car is dirty already so I'm considering washing it again today. Is it just me or does this detailing lark make you not want to drive your car on anything other than clean dry roads?? :-)

Curran

That is the exact problem we all have!!

Car is spotless; dont want to drive it. When you do, you do your best to avoid puddles, etc..momentary joy, almost endless misery :P

bbari

But it will be an effortless wash

LollipopJimmy

I like knowing the protection I have on the car will take the dirt and rain in its stride and that a simple wash will have it immaculate again.

Come on rain and muck, come at me Bro :P

waraf

Any advice on tyre dressing lads? After washing and waxing the whole car I notice that the tyres look crap (maybe because the car is black). I've done some googling and it appears that gels have less sling. Wolfs chemical black out seems to be popular so I might get some of that (although I don't know if it's a gel or not). Thoughts anyone?

vectra

waraf wrote: »

Any advice on tyre dressing lads? After washing and waxing the whole car I notice that the tyres look crap (maybe because the car is black). I've done some googling and it appears that gels have less sling. Wolfs chemical black out seems to be popular so I might get some of that (although I don't know if it's a gel or not). Thoughts anyone?

Wolfs Blackout
I swear by it.
But you must give the tyres a good scrubbing first.

Curran

CarPro PERL is very good also and is handy as it will dilute down for other uses...neat or 1:1 on tyres, 4:1 on plastics and trim, and further again if you like dressings on your dash etc.

50Cal Cammo gets good reviews also, but its one I actually havent gotten around to trying out yet...but that should change soon, as I might have a test vehicle to use soon!

vectra

Curran wrote: »

CarPro PERL is very good also and is handy as it will dilute down for other uses...neat or 1:1 on tyres, 4:1 on plastics and trim, and further again if you like dressings on your dash etc.

50Cal Cammo gets good reviews also, but its one I actually havent gotten around to trying out yet...but that should change soon, as I might have a test vehicle to use soon!

I have a test vehicle waiting here :P

Curran

HA HA!!

This is going to be a work mule, so appearance might be a bit of a mish mash of products!!