Do new cars need Polished/Waxed?

Visorfett · Feb 24, 2008

Not long till I get my brand new Panda, Ive always washed and waxed my cars religously. But its my first new car! Do they come polished and waxed from the factory?

Should I give it the full polish or am I being stupid!
Its not the shine I am after, but the protection.

AndyH · Feb 24, 2008

I picked up my new Bravo 3 weeks ago, It had good coat of wax on it
but Ive still given it a proper coat today, I used a new wax from Autoglym
called "High Definition", Its quite expensive but WOW what a shine!

thepottleflump · Feb 24, 2008

Yes you still need to wash and wax a new car just like any other! Unfortunately the scientists still haven't invented self cleaning/polishing paintwork yet.

I didn't think Autoglym's High Definition Wax was available yet. At £40 a pot it ain't cheap but I'll probably go and buy some anyway, hopefully it'll be good!

Visorfett · Feb 24, 2008

"Yes you still need to wash and wax a new car just like any other! Unfortunately the scientists still haven't invented self cleaning/polishing paintwork yet."

I know you have to wash it!

Just wondered if it will require a wax straight away or whether its done before i get it!

thepottleflump · Feb 24, 2008

Visorfett said:
"Yes you still need to wash and wax a new car just like any other! Unfortunately the scientists still haven't invented self cleaning/polishing paintwork yet."

I know you have to wash it! Just wondered if it will require a wax straight away or whether its done before i get it!

I wouldn't count on it. I bought a Fiat from a dealer in Surrey and it looked like they use scourers to clean their cars.

I reckon a full wash, clay, polish and wax is a good way to start with any car.

Visorfett · Feb 24, 2008

Probably right. I will give it a full polish and wax.
Never used clay before. Do you think I will need it?

wolfracepunto · Feb 24, 2008

I dont see the point of claying a brand new car!

rossoschumi · Feb 25, 2008

Unfortunately there's a good chance that the dealer 'valeters' will have imparted a fair few swirlmarks on it, so in that respect you might need to either give it a mild hand polish (with something like AG SRP, followed by your wax/sealant of choice) or even get a pro to machine polish it (all depending on how severe it is and/or how fussy you are about perfect swirl free paint).

T-Jet 120 · Feb 25, 2008

I didn't wax/polish my GP until a good month after picking it up, the wax from the dealers stayed on and gave it a fantastic shine.

Andy Monty · Feb 25, 2008

wolfracepunto said:
I dont see the point of claying a brand new car!

I do even a new car has contaminants bonded to the paint although a car is "new" there is a high chance its sat in a compound for several months..

Claying is "easy" there are many different types but i can recommend Bilit Hamber Auto Clay

http://www.elitecarcare.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=27&products_id=91

This doesn't need a "special" lubricant all you need is a plant sprayer filled with water and is a very fine none aggressive clay but works well...

then for a polish I'd use Autoglym super resin polish if you look round some small motor factors still have some 1 ltr bottles for the price of 500ml..

at this point you can go 1 of 2 ways a synthetic sealant Such as Auto glyms Extra Gloss protection or a wax... although if you time you can use EGP then a wax over that to give the car real protection

As for the wax this will be argued till the cows come home but for Durability Look at the Collinite range for a light coloured car there is Auto Wax No. 476s and for dark cars there is Collinite #915 Marque D'Elegance

http://www.elitecarcare.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=66&products_id=400

http://www.elitecarcare.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=66&products_id=402

hope that helps...

this is also a good read if you've not seen it before

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=4637

RnRollie · Feb 26, 2008

hi,

I normally live in the Barchetta section

, but i've got a question...
i've done a search, but couldn't find too many references/answers to teflon vs carnauba

Personally i have a preference to finish off with a carnauba based wax (mixed with elbow grease

)

But i see that more and more detailers/valetting services tend to finish off with a teflon coating... Now, i can apppreciate/believe that teflon has some better/different qualities as far as protection agains the elements is concerned then carnauba.

But there is also the finished "look" , apparently carnauba is better for a deep gloss on "dark" non-metallic colours like red , blue, green, ... and teflon should give a better "shine" on lighter metallic colours like grey, silver, ...

But apparently, once you've used teflon, it is not easy to go back to carnauba wax... (without a lot of efford)

So, there is the question... what is "better" (on a silver) Barchetta? Carnauba wax or teflon based "wax" ?

Opinions, experiences please

Thank you.

Andy Monty · Feb 26, 2008

Its not hard to remove synthetic sealants just polish it with Super resin polish... Or wipe over it with body shop wipes...

then again there is nothing wrong with putting wax on top of a synthetic sealant..

for more info Rollie have a look on

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/index.php

for all you want to know and probably too much to take in

thepottleflump · Feb 27, 2008

Visorfett said:
Probably right. I will give it a full polish and wax.
Never used clay before. Do you think I will need it?

Won't hurt and as Andy says it could well have picked up a fair bit of fall out sitting in the docks and in compounds etc. Def try Autoclay from www.bilthamber.com. They also do a decent wax called Autobalm, otherwise something from Autoglym is always a good bet.

rossoschumi · Mar 20, 2008

RnRollie said:
hi,

I normally live in the Barchetta section , but i've got a question...
i've done a search, but couldn't find too many references/answers to teflon vs carnauba

Personally i have a preference to finish off with a carnauba based wax (mixed with elbow grease )

But i see that more and more detailers/valetting services tend to finish off with a teflon coating... Now, i can apppreciate/believe that teflon has some better/different qualities as far as protection agains the elements is concerned then carnauba.

But there is also the finished "look" , apparently carnauba is better for a deep gloss on "dark" non-metallic colours like red , blue, green, ... and teflon should give a better "shine" on lighter metallic colours like grey, silver, ...

But apparently, once you've used teflon, it is not easy to go back to carnauba wax... (without a lot of efford)

So, there is the question... what is "better" (on a silver) Barchetta? Carnauba wax or teflon based "wax" ?

Opinions, experiences please

Thank you.

I can tell you that professional 'Detailers' do not use Teflon coatings as their LSP stage on paintwork. 'Valetors' on the other hand might well do. Don't get the 2 things confused - there's a world of difference between the services. Top detailers almost universally use a carnauba based wax (a few use sealants), but they aren't 'teflon' products.
All the top professional detailers in the UK all hang out on a site I'm a member of www.detailingworld.co.uk Go and check out some of their work on there and you'll see that carnauba wax is the LSP of choice (sometimes costing upwards of £7000 a pot

thepottleflump · Mar 20, 2008

rossoschumi said:
I can tell you that professional 'Detailers' do not use Teflon coatings as their LSP stage on paintwork. 'Valetors' on the other hand might well do. Don't get the 2 things confused - there's a world of difference between the services. Top detailers almost universally use a carnauba based wax (a few use sealants), but they aren't 'teflon' products.
All the top professional detailers in the UK all hang out on a site I'm a member of www.detailingworld.co.uk Go and check out some of their work on there and you'll see that carnauba wax is the LSP of choice (sometimes costing upwards of £7000 a pot

Rossoschumi, don't believe the hype.........anyone can achieve 90% of the results seen on detailing world if they have a day spare and a small amount of money spare. £7k wax, lol you'd have to be a complete fool to spend £7k on wax.

rossoschumi · Mar 20, 2008

thepottleflump said:
Rossoschumi, don't believe the hype.........anyone can achieve 90% of the results seen on detailing world if they have a day spare and a small amount of money spare. £7k wax, lol you'd have to be a complete fool to spend £7k on wax.

Yes as an individual you would, but for a full time pro detailer who is Zymol registered it might not be,and considering that buys an endlessly refillable pot of wax for life - there are many of my mates on there who have spent that and it's been a worthwhile investment for them as it's what they do for a living.
But I agree there's no way I would spend anything like that on a wax for personal use. My Zymol 'Carbon' I paid £40 for 4 years ago was enough (actually works out cheap when you break it down over that time span - and I've still got some left to last another 6 months).

Andy Monty · Mar 20, 2008

rossoschumi said:
Go and check out some of their work on there and you'll see that carnauba wax is the LSP of choice (sometimes costing upwards of £7000 a pot

Think how much beer that would buy :yum: i am still Baulking at the new AG High deff at £30+

im sticking with my Collinite until all the Hype that surrounds it drops and we start getting some true "reviews" of it :nerner: Well i am a yorkshire man after all

bravotony · Mar 21, 2008

new cars are usually delivered to the showroom with a 'transport wax' on to protect from the elements as said above these can sit in compounds around country for months, as a valeter i use a chemical called tfr to remove this wax, if done properly a new car shouldn't need a polish but if you feel is does dont use anything to harsh, use a really fine polish and splash the cash on this. Dont use a polish that has cutting agents ( t cut ) in it as new car paint generally remains quite soft for about the first 12 months of its life. In my eyes if you want to use a soft polish and then seal it with a good quality wax or clay then leave it for 6 months just wash it no more polishing or anything you will benefit in the long run believe me !!!!

lizzy64 · Apr 10, 2008

Crumbs ! I wash my car with a bucket of water and a squirt of Fairy liquid ! Which is probably why the seagulls ruined the paintwork. New Panda (2 yrs old) coming next week (Metallic silver ) How best to protect paintwork ?

Visorfett · Apr 13, 2008

Well, had the car a couple of weeks now and it was the first non raining weekend weve had!
Gave it a thorough polish, didnt bother claying it. will wait till Ive moved house and got a garage for that.
It looks smashing, I wont do anything but clean it for about 6 months though.

"Crumbs ! I wash my car with a bucket of water and a squirt of Fairy liquid ! Which is probably why the seagulls ruined the paintwork. New Panda (2 yrs old) coming next week (Metallic silver ) How best to protect paintwork ?"

Fairy liquid!!!!

eek no

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