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I love the way this car looks. Less then 40 hours old. I refused to pay for the $700 at the dealership to get a paint protection. What should I use to maintain the exterior? What brand name is recommended? Thanks for any advice!

 
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just read the posts here in detailing

 
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I like using meguiars, their products are very good. The best tip I can give you is always make sure your sponge is clean. If your sponge hits the ground, throw it away! I keep my sponge when not in use in a tupperware countainer. I also wash my car in one direction and not in a swirling motion, thus helping to prevent swirl marks. Owning a black makes me very ****(**** meaning "picky") about my car and how it is washed. I could go on for hours...............but I won't!

 
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Wax it on a weekly to monthly basis. NEVER NEVER NEVER use a brush wash. It scratches the clear coat and you will never know till you see light reflect off it. Just wax and dont be stupid and you will be fine.

 
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undercoat your dang car, that's all i have to say. most detailers will do it for you for around 80-100 bucks or you can diy.

 
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The car comes undercoated from the factory. There is no need to get any other undercoating done. Just read the posts and you will find plenty of usable information here. If you have any questions please post new topics only.

 
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Use meguiars products except for their clay bar. This is what I usually do on my blue coupe.

1. Wash the car with Gold Class car wash
2. Feel the surface, if you feel any drag or rough spots (you will), and the surface is not smooth.
Use mother's clay bar to pull contaimnates off the surface so it is smooth. I did not like meguiars clay bar because
it is too soft, leaves clay on your paint and their clay bar dries up quick and gets hard.
3. If you see scratches or swirls than I would use either Meguiar scratchX or there clear coat surface prep or maybe even their fine cut cleaner
4. Next I would apply one of Meguiars polishes like there deep crystal polish or show car glaze
5. Apply more polish for dark color cars like ours but wait awhile before applying more after you have removed the first coat.
6. Finally wax to protect your finish with Gold Class Wax or Hi tech yellow wax.
7. Use a finishing buffing pad with a buffer to bring out the shine better and to remove any residue and oily film you may encounter.
8. Wheels I use Meguiars all metal polish and for the tires I use Black Magic's Blue tire Tint
9. Windows I use Stoners Invisible glass with either a cotton terry towel or micro fiber towel and maybe even newspaper.


I only do all these steps once every 2-3 months. In between I wash every 2 - 3 weeks and use quik detailer.

It is alot of work but it is worth it because everything comes off easier and the surface of your paint will be smooth not just glossy and shinny. Most people don't use clay bar and just seal in all that stuff you feel on the surface which makes it harder to get out.

I'm just crazy when it comes to cleaning cars I spend 5 or more hours in detailing my car or other peoples car and I have Meguiars dual action polisher to speed things up. Dark color cars like ours is always hard to get perfect and will never eliminate or hide all the scratches.

I use the Meguiars pro products beccause they don't leave that white residue.

 
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<< The car comes undercoated from the factory. There is no need to get any other undercoating done. Just read the posts and you will find plenty of usable information here. If you have any questions please post new topics only. >>



undercoating is an option you can get added on, but it does not come with the car from the factory.

 
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its basically essential to keep a coat of real wax on ur car... not the garbage they offer in the car washes... real stuff that takes time and effort to apply to your car. Honda says 2x a year... most people on this site seem to subscribe to 'monthly'... or maybe every 2 months.

Many people on this board suggest meguiars products and I agree with them because they give great results.

Oh and a suggestion from me... stay away from automatic pressure washers (ie: touchless)... we've heard enough bad news about the ones that have huge brushes that touch your car... but the major bad thing about the touchless ones is they usually strip your wax. Stick to the handheld carwashes so you can control how much power goes against ur car... and always, always thoroughly wash the scrub brush before touching it to your paint... either that or bring your own wash mitt or something.

 
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I wash mine every week. I wax it every week too. As long as the wax you use does not cause buildup or anything like that it's fine. Mine hasn't been washed in a month and it looks like [IMG]i/expressions/moon.gif[/IMG]

 
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<<

<< The car comes undercoated from the factory. There is no need to get any other undercoating done. Just read the posts and you will find plenty of usable information here. If you have any questions please post new topics only. >>



that is bull sh-t i don't know where you heard that, undercoating is an option you can get added on, but it does not come with the car from the factory. Don't post this kind of stuff unless your'e absolutely sure you know what your'e talking about. >>



Sorry to inform you on this but all new cars come with Factory undercoating. I used to work for a few car dealers and dont tell me I am wrong, because I am right. So dont you open your mouth unless you know what your talking about.

 
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<<

<<

<< The car comes undercoated from the factory. There is no need to get any other undercoating done. Just read the posts and you will find plenty of usable information here. If you have any questions please post new topics only. >>



that is bull sh-t i don't know where you heard that, undercoating is an option you can get added on, but it does not come with the car from the factory. Don't post this kind of stuff unless your'e absolutely sure you know what your'e talking about. >>



Sorry to inform you on this but all new cars come with Factory undercoating. I used to work for a few car dealers and dont tell me I am wrong, because I am right. So dont you open your mouth unless you know what your talking about. >>



well my 2k1lx didnt, and most of the ones i looked at didnt, and the ford focus i used to have didnt have undercoating either, and also with my ford escort, honda accord, none of these had undercoating on them when they were bought. didn't mean to be insulting, but i know that my car did not have undercoating on it when i bought it. Maybe it was just the dealership u worked at, but they dont put undercoating on your car unless you request it and pay for it here.

 
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What brushes are you talking about in a touchless carwash? I thought touchless meant they used pressurized water and air and that's it. Touchless meaning nothing actually touches the car... Do you mean the old school washes with the rollers and all that?

 
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Thanks for the tips! I used the Maguiar 3-Step plan. It's been a week and already dusty.. I guess time to do it again.

 
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"well my 2k1lx didnt, and most of the ones i looked at didnt, and the ford focus i used to have didnt have undercoating either, and also with my ford escort, honda accord, none of these had undercoating on them when they were bought. didn't mean to be insulting, but i know that my car did not have undercoating on it when i bought it. Maybe it was just the dealership u worked at, but they dont put undercoating on your car unless you request it and pay for it here. "

I'm pretty sure the undercoat the car from the factory, the dealership is trying to screw you if you buy the undercoating from them, they are actually charging you for something already done... Just because they try to sell it to you doesn't mean you don't already have it. They are after a profit you know. And if the car isn't undercoated from the factory then you can evidently do it yourself for well under $100.

 
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Wax on... Wax Off....

 
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<< "well my 2k1lx didnt, and most of the ones i looked at didnt, and the ford focus i used to have didnt have undercoating either, and also with my ford escort, honda accord, none of these had undercoating on them when they were bought. didn't mean to be insulting, but i know that my car did not have undercoating on it when i bought it. Maybe it was just the dealership u worked at, but they dont put undercoating on your car unless you request it and pay for it here. "

I'm pretty sure the undercoat the car from the factory, the dealership is trying to screw you if you buy the undercoating from them, they are actually charging you for something already done... Just because they try to sell it to you doesn't mean you don't already have it. They are after a profit you know. And if the car isn't undercoated from the factory then you can evidently do it yourself for well under $100. >>



well i dont know how it is there but here cars do not come with undercoating, i'm sure about that. and when i say undercoating im talking about the black plastic/rubber gritty material. only thing i can think of is if they're required to do it where u live because they use road salt? but road salt is not used here in washington.