Hey all,
Just curious, how long did you guys wait till you first grabbed the buffer and the wax to your brand spanking new, freshly baked, factory finished Acura???? Did you guys use anything special on it? Did you guys use the real carnuba wax or the synthetic one? Paste or liquid? Full detail wax job or a quick spray-on detailer?

Just wondering... Thank you all.

 

first, what is the condition of the paint on your brand new acura?
if it has industrial fall out and full of swirls, i'd do a complete detail.

-wash
-dry
-clay bar
-polish with machine and correct polishing compound
-wash
-dry
-sealant

if none to little swirling:

-wash
-dry
-clay bar
-wash
-dry
-wax

a carnuba wax is natural where as a sealant is man made.
the natural wax will not last as long as a sealant.

 

Clayed and polished then sealed within the first week after delivery.

Plenty of rail-dust, fallout and reasoning to do so.... prolonging it only contaminates the paint more.

 

first weekend i had it.

 

@Justnspace -- Claying mars the surface. You should always polish after you clay.... even if its with a very non abrasive pad / compound. Always match the pad to the compound.

 

1 step polish on brand new finish...

dealers dont take care of their cars.. i only know a couple of dealers here in cali that have their own parking structure to keep cars clean... unlike other dealers which park their cars outside 24/7

 

after thinking about it, I agree.

 

About a month after I got it. Washed, dried, clayed and three coats of Zaino.

 

One week after getting her home... Clayed and the used the Wolfgang Prep then Wolfgang 3.0 deep gloss sealant... Very important to leave the gloss on for at least +45 minutes then buff off... Came off very easy but what a shine... Also, no moisture for 12 hours after initial install this is the curing stage... Suppose to be good for 3-4 months... We will see..

 

In about 2 weeks, then 3-4 months after that. Just had it done again, especially after the bugs and pine sap crap down here in the dirty dirty south.

 

less than 7 days.
stripped off the oem "wax" with dish washing soap, and just applied 2 coats of zymol.
oem wax is oil based, so it came right off.
car feels so bad when the wax is 100% stripped off!

that first coat of wax was in sept 2010, lasted till mid summer this year. even thru all the car washes i got during winter to get the salt off (i have a wash pass). it's awesome when all the cars come out of hte wash, and they're dropping. my car comes out and it's pretty dry. lol

here are my babies beading water with zymol:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXy2RLclPMw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjhBbsjOGCI

 

i always do a full machine polish and seal it using a good synthetic sealant...i use 4 star ultimate paint protection....i usually try to do this the first week i have the car....

i dont bother with carnuba, it just doesnt offer up the protection or the duration that a good synthetic offers....

 

my paint was rough from day 1, from sitting outside, i even had a little paint on the roof eat away from fallout, on a brand new car. Didn't notice it till later, but not worth a repaint.

I clayed, waxed and sealed the paint

 

Check this out. Goobs of information.

https://acurazine.com/forums/wash-wax-23/new-car-care-suggestions-advice-684980/

 

My goodness... thats some serious stuff there... I think I am going to shell-out $$ for zymol this time. I have been using Meguire's NXT 2.0 for last few months, good stuff though, but nothing like your Zymol.

 

^ it's not that expensive. make sure u get the ones in a jar, and not the cheaper liquid one. One jar will last you quite a while. My friend, who's a zymol detailer, gets around 40-50 coats per jar of Creame.

Also be aware of which one ur using, match the colour of ur car and u'll get much better results.

I also hand wax (search "hand waxing zymol" on youtube, it's prob not what you have in mind!!).

 

I pretty much follow this.

I use Zaino and really like it - it's easy to use and lasts a long time. Just don't fall for the hype that you have to use every product they make on your car. After claying, I use an orbital buffer with the "All-In-One" as it has very mild abrasives to smooth out the top of the finish, then I use the #2 as a top coat. I can easily go a year before doing it again.

 

Do you guys DIY or bring the car to a shop for waxing? Then what shop would you recommend for this?
I'd like to do it too but don't know which shop to trust.

 

Check out the Wash & Wax sub forum...
https://acurazine.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=23

 

I'm a DIY'er. Had bad luck with a shop a long time ago.

 

hahaha... Teddybear, you are right, it was definitely what I was thinking. Glad I youtubed it. Thanks for the head-up.

 

Once every 4-5 years if I remember to hire someone. Otherwise I just splurge once in awhile to get the wax option at the local car automated wash.

 

I do it myself, at least twice a year. Between each of my car wash and wax, I take it to the carwash and get the best one they offer. Supposedly, it comes with shampoo, triple wax, paint sealant, tire shine and some other goodies, that is what they claim, at least, and I pretend that I believe them too. But nothing gives me the satisfaction of 2 - 3 hours of hand wash and machine wax myself.

TullyMN >> You must not love your Acura..... j/k buddy....

 

It was definitely what I was NOT expecting. Forgot to put "not" in my original message.... I am tired, should call it a night....

 

Zymol "crushed smurf goo" if you're looking for something you can pick up at the store. It's about 3x more than most other wax, but it goes on easy, comes off easy, and leaves a lasting shine.

If you're hardcore, look up the Zaino Bros stuff online. Their multi step process (which includes a claybar, that is probably overkill on a brand new finish - claybar is more for pulling crap out of the clearcoat from weather, road debris, etc) - but follow their forumla and your car will pop.

I had a red S2000 that I bought the Zaino bros kit for, and took trophies at every show it was entered into on the shine alone. It's expensive, but it's worth it.

Invest in a decent random orbital polisher. Invest in tons of bonnets, and wash them in the washing machine by themselves when you're done - you can usually re-use the terry cloth ones several times, and even the applicator bonnets wash up well a few times.

Wax it on an overcast day, or in the garage, you need it to cure properly; never out in the sun.

Take your time, and stock up on q-tips, to get the resin out from bodylines.

**Clean your rims up really well and wax them inside and out too. Most of the brake dust comes off with the hose on future washes, and definitely helps protect them from the winter salt spray.

 

2003 CL in 2010. 85k miles. Garage kept, but weather driven in Cincinnati winters. Look at the shine down the side.

Zymol waxed



2007 TL-S in 2011

Zymol waxed

 

I disagree with your comment that Zaino is expensive. A $12 bottle of Z2 will last me a couple of years, and I have three cars and two motorcycles. It takes very little to do an entire car. And as I said in my earlier post, you don't have to use all the steps they tell you to use.

 

ONe bottle at a time, okay, maybe not too bad.

I think the 3 step kit I bought a few years ago was $120 shipped or something.

Individually, they're probably fine as well, but if you use them as designed, WOW what a shine.

 

if you really want to know how to care for your cars appearence, move over to the wash and wax forum....you will find all the legit info you need...pro advice that is....the real deal

 

I wax my cars on average twice a year. I like using Meguiar's products.
I use Meguiar's cleaner wax.
Then for maintenance I use Meguiar's Ultimate Quik Wax.



[CENTER][LEFT][LEFT]

 

My routine is wash weekly, 2 bucket system which is changed twice per car. After each wash I spray CG quick wax which gives it a near hand wax shine. Early spring I wash it a couple times, clay bar if needed then apply 2 coats of CG jetseal and one coat of Pete's 53. Once done I remove any residue from the gaps and clear bra and then apply quick wax over top. I also do this in the early Fall to winterize. Rims I apply 2 coats of CG wax 3-4 times a year as needed. I waited a couple weeks when I took delivery for the first detail but my car had been sitting for awhile so the paint wasn't fresh.

 

so in general are you supposed to do in this order?
Wash/clean > clay > Wax > sealant?

 

No. NEVER top a wax with sealant, always the other way around and remember to give the sealant at least 12 hours (preferably a full 24) to properly cross-link before applying wax.

At present my SF has one coat of Blackfire Wet Diamond topped with two rounds of Collinite 845IW. I'll clay it, buff it with a white pad and some finishing polish on a RO come spring but for now, it's just dirty all the time.

 

Think of it this way...

1. Once you clay the car, it removed all the junk off the paint, so now you must make the paint look great.
2. Use polish on the paint to bring out the luster.
3. Once you've brought out the luster of the paint, you want to keep that luster, so you seal it.
4. Then you want to protect the sealed paint, so waxing it gives it the protection it needs.

 

Here a step by step write up on winter prepping my car. Warning 150+ pics......
https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-tsx-photograph-gallery-144/my-winter-prep-warning-150-pics-839105/

 

If you clay correctly and buy the right clay depending on the condition of your car, you should never mar your paint.

 

A wax and a sealant do exactly the same thing .. protect the paint .. they just do it in different ways and one lasts a lot longer than the other.

You don't need a wax after the sealant ... people do it to change the look/depth of the sealant gloss. Matter of fact a lot of the time the wax people use over a sealnt has cleaners in it and will remove some of the sealant.

 

wash 2 bucket
clay and use QD with it
blower to dry
compound (depends) polish(blackfire) depends on whats needed
wax(megs nxt 2.0)
next morning wipe down with QD

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/6747740...in/photostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/6747740...in/photostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/6747740...in/photostream

 

Lot of terrible shops out there. I'd say about half the details I do involve fixing something another detailer, the dealer or a body shop did.