sydtoosic

Optimum Car Wash Concentrate, CG Mr. Pink, CG Extreme Wash & Wax, CG HoneyDew Snowfoam... my first choice and personal favorite is OCWC.

McBrain

What is the proper way to prep your car for sealant. My thoughts:

1) Wash car with liquid dawn (to remove any previous waxes). This should be safer than using a "degreaser" - although dawn will break down grease.
2) Clay bar perhaps? For a new car, I assume I can skip this.
3) Shampoo (e.g. Optimum car wash)
4) Dry
5) Apply sealant

For subsequent washes I suspect you then just do steps 3, 4 with possibly a gloss agent or something?

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

It depends on the current condition of your paint and your expectations. If the vehicle has swirls and scratches, it would also need to be polished.

1) Wash the car. Do not use dawn! Contrary to popular belief, it is not a good product for car washing. If you want a product truly meant to help remove previous wax, check out Chemical Guys Citrus Wash.

2) Do not assume a new car is not decontaminated. I have yet to encounter a new car that does not need at least light decontamination. I use CarPro Iron X to remove bonded Iron contaminates immediately after washing, and then I would use the baggie test to determine if you need to clay.

3) I am not a believer that you need to re-wash after claying, but if you like to do that, then go for it.

4) At this point, you would machine polish the car if needed. (you may need to rewash after polishing)

5) Apply a sealant like Menzerna Power Lock

-Zach

sichigo

I just got into this detailing thing. What do you guys think about topping 1 coat of Blackfire Wet Diamond Sealant with Menzerna Color Lock Carnauba?

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

I see no real benefit in that. BFWD is a fine sealant on its own.

sichigo

Thanks for the tip. One last question, any product you recommend for restoring faded exterior trim pieces? for example moonroof trim and the plastic trim piece behind the windshield wipers.

Rogarven

What a great thread! Thanks , zmcgovern!

PondScum

All of the companies that make the silicon-based paint coatings (Optimum, Gtechniq, CarPro, 22ple, etc) either sell a variant of their paint coating as a permanent trim restorer (for instance, Gtechniq C4 Permanent Trim Restorer and Cquartz DLUX), or recommend their paint coating for use on plastic trim (Opti-Coat for example).

I put some Gtechniq C4 on the plastic trim of my wife's IS250C four months ago and it still has the appearance of new plastic (it was slightly faded before). I haven't applied anything to it since then. This is the first product I've tried that has lasted long to legitimately claim "permanence". Old-style trim restorers showed fading after a month and were gone a month later. I imagine the other coating-based trim restorers work just as well as C4.

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

^Very good info:

Here are some links to various trim restoring options...

Solution Finish Black Trim Restorer

Gtechniq C4 Permanent Trim Restorer

22ple VR1 Plastic and Trim Restorer

Black WOW

phungy

zmcgovern4, I'm picking up the car in about 3 weeks so I've been reading multiple threads.

Here is what I've learned and correct me if I'm wrong:
1) clean car with chemical guys citrus wash
2) Iron X
3) check to see if clay bar is needed
4) opti-coat 2.0
5) sealant/wax not needed but okay to apply

I'm also looking into applying clear bra myself.

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

First - make sure your dealership knows NOT to touch or prep your vehicle! Be very clear that you do not want them to 'detail' it or even wash it.


Second - your process is a good start, but You will need to machine polish the vehicle after claying, then follow up with CarPro eraser (two or more times depending on the polish you are using). Then you can apply opticoat.

If you are looking to top the coating, I would recommend CarPro Reload or CarPro Hydro2.

AORC11

Thanks for posting this. I want to get the black fire wet diamond seal.

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

Happy to help