After years of waffling, I have finally pulled the trigger and ordered a new MINI. Its an MCS Mayfair in Hot Chocolate with a Black roof and a Toffee interior.

I have instructed the dealer not to wax it when it arrives. Just what routine should I employ on my new baby? Should I PC it, or just claybar it? If I PC it, just which pads and products should I use?

I have the Detailer's Paradise pad and polish package, and suppose I can add other items if I really need them. I also have Mystique, Epic, Hydro, and several Zaino products including, 2, 5, 6 and 8. I even have Meguiar's #26, if that helps.

Basically, I want to know what to do make it look its best on the first try.

 

Congrats on getting your first PC. Your question is a good one.

I will offer you this:

1.) If a brand new car was washed by the dealership and has lots of scratches and swirls in it, does it matter that it's a brand new car?

2.) If a brand new car is taken through a car wash and gets swirled out, does it matter it's a brand new car?

3.) If you decide to give your brand new car a treat by hiring a $25 detailer to wash and wax your car, and you find buffer trails and holograms in it from his buffer, does it matter it's brand new?

Hope you understand where I'm going with this because I hear this all the time. "My car is brand new or I've only had it for 6 months", etc.. It doesn't matter how old or new it is, it matters what condition its in.

Do you need to polish a brand new car? Depending on the dealership the answer could be Yes, Maybe, or No.

You will want to wash and clay the paint and put on a good wax for sure. A PC can help you wax your car if you're using a product like Epic. Banana Gloss is hand applied only so the PC won't help. Hydro is hand applied as well, so the PC won't help either.

Down the road, the PC can help you polish out easily swirled out things like A or C pillars as well as paint. Your black roof will show the swirls the most. Invest in a lot of high quality microfibers like the Prima Monster Fluffies.

Identify the problem first, then decide the best course of action.

Btw, Meguiar's #26 (High Tech Wax) is a liquid carnauba wax. Prima Banana Gloss is superior to #26 and much easier to apply. Instructing the dealer not to wax the car is fine, but they will likely still wash the car and that is just as bad.

Check out my writeups in the free but now defunct Alliance articles here on NAM.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.com/alliance

Richard

 

yah, dealer waxing is only part of the problem. they will swirl it when they wash the car and then again when they dry it.

so, polishing sounds like a good idea if there are swirlage.

 

What does "PC" mean? Just curious, because I like to claybar and wax my R53, etc.

 

It's short for the Porter Cable Dual Action Random Orbital Polisher. Makes polishing and waxing easier and faster than by hand in a very safe method unlike what a high speed buffer could do in the same inexperienced hands.

 

Thats a mouthful.

 

Just received our new Camden 1 week ago. Spent yesterday on the exterior starting with a wash, followed by clay bar. I then took a good look at the paint and could see swirls, minute scratches etc. Took out the tape and taped everything off got the PC with Finish and a white pad, did a sample section to see if that would correct the problem. It did! I finished off with Epic and it looks awesome! I used the Griots 3" for the small sections and that worked well also. I'm sore and I don't know how OG does this for a living, but it was worth it!

 

OG is not human therefore he can do this kind of work day after day. Either that or he knows a pharmacist with some really good pain killers.

 

Haha! Shhhhhhh! Don't spill my secrets!

I just finished off a black BMW Z4M..let's see, I put in a total of 15 hours so far. Should be able to finish it off tomorrow in another 2 hours. It's flawless now! The look of freshly polished paint is just soooooo gorgeous!

 

if onyl ur close ot me, my car need yr expertise...

 

Thanks for the response OG. I think sometimes I try to make all of this too complicated. I was looking for some mystical reason to use the PC when the only real reason is common sense. I should use it if it needs it, or if a particular product benefits from mechanical application, and that's all. Thanks for reminding me of that.

You also gave me my first and doubtless only opportunity to correct you on something related to car care. My Meguiar's #26 IS a carnauba paste wax. They don't seem to make it that way anymore, but it is still available online.

What do you think about #26 over Epic? I've never tried a hard paste with a PC. Any tips? Or should I just not do it? #26 is reputed to be best with dark colors, and Hot Chocolate should qualify on that score.

 

Haha no problem!

re: #26
Haha well you know what? We are BOTH correct. I didn't realize that #26 is available in both liquid and paste form. When I was using #26 a few years ago, I used this one, never seeing the paste version.


http://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-Hi-Te.../dp/B0009KNOT0

#26 like all carnauba waxes will help darker colors glow. They do this by adding a "yellow tint" to the paint that causes the color to glow warmer. You can simulate this with a paint editing application. Take a photo and turn up the yellow channel and you'll see the image get warmer.

You can certainly use #26 paste after Epic. Let Epic cure for a day before applying #26. Because it's in a can, you'll need to use an applicator. It's pretty hard to get the wax out of the can and onto a polishing pad. It's possible but not practical, so that's why liquid waxes are preferred for PC use by pastes are for hand use.

For me, I'd much rather use Prima Banana Gloss because it's easier, faster, and looks fantastic.

Richard

 

we all know it's not just blackwow he's growing in the back.

 

#26 paste no longer appears on the Meguiar's website, so it may well be out of production.

I think you may have just given me an excuse to order some more Prima products, but it looks like you are out of black and white pads. Do you expect them soon?

 

I always pick my new car's up in the morning so I can spend the day "fixing" the damage done by the dealer. When you drop your car for service put a big DO NOT WASH sign on the dash or you will be back to square one.

 

yah, that's a good idea. definitely place on dash when you take the car in.

 

I've got a truck load of white pads arriving today. I missed yesterdays shipment. I have lots of black pads in stock, think my site is confused!

I'd get the Banana Gloss since you
already have Epic and you will be set!

Richard

 

Swamped today, but will order soon. Thanks!

 

no problem! Pads arrived about 30 min ago. I got samples of 3" and 4" pads too. I plan to carry the same pads in smaller form too once I test these out.

Re: swamped
I can't get to my laptop to update the inventory until later tonight. Can't do it from my iPhone..grrrr.

Richard

 

Good to know you will have the 3" cause the Griots orange pads felt a lot stiffer than the white DP pads I was using on the 6". Everything worked out good I think because I didn't work the 3" as long as the 6". ( If that made sense? ) But I would like to have same pad to same pad consistency.

 

Yeah I hated that too. But that's why I wanted to test these out before commiting to stocking them. In my hands I have identical density Prima pads in 3" and 4" sizes. They are the CCS type however which are not my first choice. I will have to see if I can get them in flat with the same sizes.

Stay tuned for pix and more details!

Richard

 

I would like the CCS pads if they didn't fling so much!

 

I'm happy to report that if you've got a Metabo SXE400 3" polisher or the Griots mini polisher that these 3" pads work just as effectively for polishing small areas as the bigger pads. I was using the Griots 3" pads and felt they weren't very effective on paint. Great for polishing metal though! I will be stocking these in a few weeks.

 

OG - you're using it wrong. the 3" orange griot's pad does very well for polishing paint in small areas.

in fact, it's scientifically better than metabo... so i heard... or not.

jokes aside, the griot's 3" orange pad does work very well.

 

Updating soon?