OK, my 911 will not pull a horse trailer, so we took advantage of the great prices and bought a 2008 Ford F150. Color is a metalic, clear coated cream white.

Any special rules for a new vehicle? I really need to detail this. At least a claying is needed, as the finish does not even feel very smooth.

Thanks!

 

No special rules for a new vehicle. Just go through the three steps I call Trinity: Clay, Polish, and Wax on the exterior. This will clean everything up and put a nice better-than-new look to the exterior along with protecting the paint. As far as the interior goes, I usually clean and condition everything. This way you're starting on the right foot and the proper foundation is laid.

 

I really think that the claying process is the most important on a new car. Obviously the other steps are very important as well, but with a new car claying is very necessary.

Especially now, with as long as some cars tend to sit on the lot, they get covered in bonded contaminants. So really take your time when you clay the car, and make sure that you remove contaminants from all the surfaces. Do the lights, the glass, even the wheels. You will be surprised how much you can remove.

Follow that up by polishing the car to get the surface in the condition it should be in, especially for a new car, and pick an LSP that suits your color. If the truck is white, I would recommend something like 1Z Glanz Wax. It is super durable, and will add a nice level of gloss to the paint surface.

 

Thanks very much. This is going to take a while--a lot more surface area on this thing!

 

Jon,

use the same process you used on the c4s

 

Thanks all. Just thought I should check. Years ago I really screwed up a repaint (nothing expensive, however!) by cleaning too soon. However, the repaint was a local job, not factory.

 

How did you do that? Just curious what you did.

 

Well, I am from a small town in Northern MN. My father had one of our cars resprayed to give to my brother. This was, of course, at a small garage facility--no other choices. The car was painted, looked pretty good, and we brought it home. I was assigned to clean it a few days later to hand-over, and my choice of drying towels (never heard of microfiber at the time) scratched the relatively fresh paint all over. In retrospect, we could have buffed this out, but we had not heard of this at the time either.

Sidenote: My brother has a great sense of humor. Several years later the car was totaled (no injuries). His comment to me was "finally got those scratches out."

Thanks again for all the tips! (Expect more questions too!)