Protecting that new-car shine

The closest place to me that does ceramic lists trucks starting at $1600.
That's definitely out of my range, but if I can do it myself it would be worth it.

 

You can. It's not rocket surgery. It's just labor intensive to prep the paint before applying the coating.

 

Since it's new, now will be the easiest time to do it I would think.
My first step should probably be asking the dealer if they put anything on it.

 

Unless you paid for it they likely didn't put shit on it but some DISM. Dealer Installed Swirl Marks. If I wanted to make sure nothing was on the surface I'd wipe it down from end to end with a paint prep after you wash it and clay bar it. then polish it with a polish that contains no fillers or silicones. Wipe it down again with paint prep and then apply your coating. Do all of this out of direct sunlight. Work in a well lit garage space.

 

Go check out ammonyc on YouTube. Larry's a successful detailer and goes in depth (sometimes too far) into proper maintenance of your paint, windows, wheels, interior, etc. He has a line of products that are great too, but some might be a little overpriced.

 

Just don't fall for the stupid 2 bucket method. All you do is end up with 2 buckets of contaminated water. It's pointless.

Most of the other information he provides however is good stuff.

 

My buddy just paid like $5k for color correction and ceramic coating on his new Tesla. That's like, an actual mid-level paint job's worth of money. I totally get whats involved, but christ...

 

In terms of not worrying about it, our black 'Vette gets washed with whatever cleaner happens to be under the kitchen sink - Dawn, Lysol, Murphy's, etc.
The paint has taken on a nice but faint smoky patina, along with all the nicks and chips from road debris. Goin' on eleven years, it's not worth spilt milk to fret about it. Already replaced the windshield due to being sandblasted by road debris. Wax ain't gonna prevent or cure what's happened to the paint, but a nice clay/polish job would bring back a better than factory gloss while showing all the imperfections from wear-n-tear. What's the point?
When/if it ever gets a respray, I'll prolly do Ducati's Monster Dark...love that finish.

As it has to do with interior cleaners, etc., screw that shit. I've tried a few of the leading products and all it ends up doing is getting cloudy, chalky and plain dull. That, unlike prolly all the fans of those products, does not encourage me to use more of it. Soapy water and rinse, applied with a microfiber rag, has worked well enough.

Same with the tires. Fuck that Shinola shit. If Michelin wanted their tires to be glossy, they'd make 'em that way.

All the vehicles get this same level of care, tho' the Honda does get a hand-buffed coat of Spray Polish and Cleaner after a wash which might be done with S100 or HondaBrite...depends how dirty it is.

Been considering trying a hand-buffed coat of WD on the cars after washing. Yes, WD40...or maybe some Ballistol, but that shit's pricey. What's it gonna hurt, other than my elbow?

 

We aren't talking paint correction every time it gets washed. Every couple years is plenty. You don't need a full car wrap but some coverage in the high impact areas doesn't hurt. The IS-F has a partial on the front. The truck and the Volvo don't have anything on them and they are really no worse off than the IS. That being said the Volvo took a rock to the windshield on the wife's trip to the airport on Thursday. That will be 2 windshields for the year.

 

Did some googling about where to go for paint correction just out of curiosity...
Found this article interesting so figured I would share it.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kbraue...ng-in-your-brand-new-cars-paint/#3f77904d6b8a

Ride safe,
AAron

 

You’d be surprised how much shit is on it when it’s new. Mainly dust and debris from the rail car, but also crap that accumulates during storage.

 

No doubt. Read the article I linked I was surprised that even Bentley’s and Ferrari’s come with a ton of paint issues.

Ride safe,
AAron

 

I use this for my Viper. Super easy to use.

 

Thanks for this post. I've been looking for a place to take the wife's car and we live in Holly Springs...

 

that's exactly what my buddy said with his. i never bothered to actually pay attention to that ever, and/or just accepted that factory paint would have some peel and other imperfections, some companies better than others. would be super nice to have an actual wet-gloss-perfect reflection car without having to pony up $10k for a show paint job, but rather just a wet-sand and protective coating. i dunno what my pricepoint is for this to where i'm all good, $5k seemed steep... that article talking about $1500 for color correction and $1500 for ceramic coat seems more palpable.

i was more surprised about that Ferrari than anything. i thought Ferraris were still getting some ungodly something like 120 hours of hand wet sanding each or some shit before shipped? i don't remember where i heard that from, but that's what i've assumed since basically i got into hooking up cars in HS. the paint in that article looked godawful. i'd kill somebody if i had swirls and peel on a $300k car straight out the box.

i've wetsanded a car before... i've done worse things in my life, but that was up there as far as tedium. i'd pay the $1500 to have somebody else do it these days haha.

 

Ceramic coat and full wrap almost everything should be no more than $2k. Front exposed wrap + ceramic should be no more than $1500. This assumes major paint correction is not required.

Negotiate!

 

I think your car is featured on their facebook page. Looks nice.

 

And I was? No. As fucked up as the paint gets from everyday use, times eleven years, yeah, maybe a little work's needed now and then but, as I said, wax won't prevent the nicks, chips and scratches...so, again, what's the point? So it looks good for a day? Pfft, what, are you sellin' it? Centerpiecin' it in your living room? It's a fucking car. Drive it.
Full wrap allows you to take a Porsche-priced paint job through the auto-wash, use a foam brush, single bucket, whatever...you ain't touchin' paint with a full wrap, nicks/chips/scratches are highly reduced and who wants to respray ($$$$) a car that's 10+ years old?

 

UV protection is built in, on quality tires, at least. If they see more parked time than miles before they're used up, cover 'em.