I don't mean to start another noob repetitive thread about what to do for a first detail, but my girlfriend just took delivery on an Astro Black MC yesterday and I am preparing to give it a proper bath. I have read through quite a bit of helpful info on NAM already and will continue to do so. I made my girlfriend ask the dealer what they have done to the finish and this was the reply:

[FONT='Times New Roman','serif']"I checked with our detail department and they informed me that they use a product called Pro Sol to clean the paint prior to washing it. The soap is a commercial Maguiars product and then they polish and wax it with a commercial Maguiars polish and carbuba wax. They also mentioned that it is very important to only use microfiber towels on your painted surfaces."[/FONT]
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[FONT='Times New Roman','serif'][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=2]Any suggestions on where to go from here? Should I do a Dawn wash, clay bar, wax, etc. I am looking into the Prima line and like the reviews I've read on here...may pick up the starter bundle from paradise along with some Hydro. I just don't want to fork out any money before I have a solid understanding of the proper steps to take.[/SIZE][/FONT][/FONT]

 

Dawn, claybar, remove any imperfections via Swirl/Finish if using the Prima line(skip this step if paint is flawless) and I would recommend Amigo prior to wax. The extra slick Amigo adds is priceless IMO. I just love slickness. :P

So basically;

1. Dawn
2. Claybar
3. Remove marks if any
4. Amigo-personal preference
5. Wax->Epic, then Hydro or BG

Epic needs to cure for 24 hours before the next coat.

 

Yup, I agree. Dawn wash, clay, polish if needed, Amigo, Epic, (wait 24 hours), Epic, Banana Gloss.

Then wash with Mystique and Hydro from there on. Re-BG every month or two, polish (if needed) and re-Epic 2-3 times a year.

 

I know Meguiar's products pretty well (you can tell cause I know how to spell their name, lol, most people don't!)

Never heard of a product called Pro Sol in any of their professional lines. Sounds to me it's like APC (All Purpose Cleaner).

If the cars are coming right off the ship, there really should be no reason for them to polish the paint.

Dawn should have no problem taking the Meguiar's wax off. Everybodies advice here is spot on.

Richard

 

I don't understand why you would want to claybar a new car? Wouldn't it start taking the clear coat off? Going to Classic Monday to place my order for a Clubman S. I guess I'll have to start ordering the other products though to get ready for a mid-winter detailing.

 

Clay bar doesn't take the clear coat off. You would still want to claybar a new car because some debris will inevitably have landed on the surface. Some of these debris cannot be removed by regular washing. Furthermore, it's just good practice to do so to make sure you had a clean canvas to begin with.

 

Thanks for the tips. I wasnt sure why they needed to polish it either. The car looks great and is really smooth as it is, but I'm still going to give it a good examination and will probably end up going through the whole process next weekend. I'll have to do some more research on Amigo...not sure about that.

 

Clay removes particles embedded in the clear coat. It does not remove the clear coat itself, unless you use it in a completely nonsensical way.

A new MINI very likely has overspray from the production process and contaminants from being shipped by rail and ship to the US. To check if your car needs to be clayed, place a plastic baggie over your hand, spray the surface of the car (clean) with quick detailer or water, and feel the paint. A car that needs to be clayed will have a very finely (or in bad cases, not so finely ) gritted feel to it. Check several different areas on the car - you may not need to clay the entire thing, but spot claying areas that need it is beneficial. It doesn't matter how clean my MINI is, the boot almost *always* seems to need to be clayed!

Claying your paint gives you a perfectly clean and prepped surface for wax/sealant to adhere to, giving you better durability. Not only does claying improve the look and feel of the paint, in the end it gives you a better quality result from your detailing process.

As far as polishing, a new car may be polished at the dealer. More often than not, they will use sub-par products and processes and will cause what around here we like to call "dealer installed swirls" or holograms. This summer I visited the dealership to see the new lineup and walked down the entire row of brand-new MINIs, and each and every one of them had holograms (some really bad ones, in some cases! ) and swirls, thanks to dealership "detailing".

In the future, I will ask the dealership to simply NOT prep my car before delivery. It's likely it just makes more work in the end. But those are the reasons you may need to clay and polish a brand new car.

 

Another VERY important reason to claybar: MINIs are shipped from Oxford on a train. As it moves along, the train kicks up God-knows-what and it's constantly bouncing off the lower edge of the car. If the car is new, it would be a very good idea to run a clay bar along the bottom half the of the car. I did on mine and it was pretty dirty even though I washed the bottom half as thoroughly as I could.