Scion05tC

I would take it back to the dealership and tell them that its unacceptable for a new car to come with what looks to be water damage on the hood.

tc_408

San Jose area code

2JZ

spiderwebs... are inevitable on dark colored cars.. ask your dealer not to wash it. if they do, you can minimize the damage by doing what 408 and others did. instead of using polish the first time around, i'd recommend you use glaze instead and then wax it after. polish/swirl mark removers are usually for older paints.

but, when it comes down to it... spiderwebs are inevitable on dark colored cars.

chris0

408...thanks for the tutorials. I'll probably buy the stuff you use, mainly based on the pics of your car. but first, a stupid question...do you wax the glass, too? (told you I know nothing about washing cars.) and what's a "california duster"?

also, I've heard some talk about zaino products. looks like they have a couple of kits with everything needed. ever use zaino's? if so, what did you think?

and what do you think about machine polishers? I'm all about saving time.

sciontc_mich

yes the darker colors do show the spider web scratches.. just clearcoat for ya.. best way to remove those? something like meguairs nxt wax (aka high tech wax). it removes those spider web scratches as you wax.. even thought it works.. I like meguiars gold class wax better..

for the salesman to tell you it's NORMAL.. is a liar.. it's NOT normal.. it doesn't come from the factory that way and they obviously don't know how to wash a car.. nor really care to know.. I'd think twice about letting them wash your car.. the first time my dealer hand washed the car.. but their auto wash is messed up.. leaves scratches all over.. thankfully someone told me at the dealership not to use that..

best way to wash the car is in a shaded area and that the car is cool.. cars that are hot tend to dry the soap into the paint job.. not good.. a lambswool wash mit.. real lambswool not fake.. i picked up one at target for like $10 or so.. best car wash is the pink gel wash from meguiars.. forget the name.. it's hard to miss.. a little goes a long way.. start from the top of the car and work down.. then go for the wheels.. since they will be more dirty than the car.. then when you're done.. rinse from top to bottom.. (lower pressure sprays will leave less water droplets).. and dry from top to bottom using a nice terry cloth towel to dry it..

terry cloth towels (hand sized) are good for waxing the car.. usually I start with the hood and then the roof.. letting it all dry to a haze.. one thing to remember.. light coat of wax is more beneficial than a heavy coat.. then you buff it off.. i usually use two terry cloths.. one to remove the haze and get it shiny.. then another to detail it up to a nice gloss..

hope that helps.. and I would be there when your car is delivered off the truck.. don't let them wash your car.. do it yourself.. if you've already ordered it.. if you haven't i'd find another dealer who actually takes care of their cars..


oh and someone asked about hand power buffers? scary stuff if you've never used it before.. orbital buffers if not used right can buff the clear coat off your car.. sure you saved time alright.. but quick and dirty isn't the way to do a wax job.. if you don't have the time then wait til you do! I've seen many people using orbital buffers and their cars look like crap.. i can tell they've buffed off part of the clearcoat finish!! just go with your hand and get a nice upper body workout.. remember karate kid? wax on.. wax off.. seriously a good car wax job can give ya a good workout

Xman

Cant go wrong with the porter cable 7424. Pretty user friendly..


check out the front hood...all done by the PC cable 7424 with 1Z MP, Klasse AIO, and Klasse SG: https://www.scionlife.com/cgi-bin/re...es&nh=12&mh=1#

However, when it comes to applying S100 wax...definetly go with the hand application


Xman

2JZ

don't wax glass... not that it causes any damage, but i think that's what makes wipers not go smoothly across the glass after a while... plus i don't think you can really buff out wax on glass. i don't use rainx either for the same reason except on the rear window.

as for zaino product, i heard they (they, meaning the mail order stuff, not the in store products... there is a difference!) do wonders for making the car look beautiful... but it isn't wax... it's a polish so it won't protect your paint like a wax does. however, i heard that polishing a car is good enough in some areas.

as for me, i wash the car with dawn (or whatever dish washing soap) when it comes time to re-wax... use paint cleaner wherever there are stains on the paint (bird crap, acid rain, etc) then i try to apply (depending on how much time i have) a glaze/swirl mark remover and/or polish, then a coat of wax. in the winter, i just cake it on to prepare for salty roads, in the summer, i buff to a mirror shine.

i like the Meguiar's Paint Cleaner, and 3M glaze, swirl mark remover, polish, and Show-It Car wax. I find they are good enough for me. I've used an orbital buffer, but i think they suck... never had the guts to get a circular buffer... heard some stories where if you're not careful keeping the buffer moving, you might end up burning through the clearcoat.

iowagary

Quick question on using Clay... do you need it in the beginning? When I get my car from the factory, how should I wash it the first time - clay is for removing surface contamination, right? Will the car need this when it is brand new?

Curious...

haihengh

thanks for the info.

can someone actually give me a detail instruction about wash, clay, and wax. like how to apply them on the paint, what material need to use when applying, any specific trick to apply them to get the best result, any specific area need to pay attention on, and what can/can not do.....

sorry I may be asking too much. I am newbei and tC is my first brand new car, I do want to keep it nice and clean as long as possible.

2JZ

no. no contamination really on new cars. of course, you can go super **** and do it anyway in case there's rail dust on them (when cars are transported by train, sometimes the metallic dust from the tracks and train wheels get on the car) but there's not realy need to do that.

a few tips:

1. Don't wash in direct sunlight. I know it's going to be hard to do so, but try not too. water and soap dry up as you wash the car in direct sunlight and leaves water/soap spots. not kosher. if you absolutely have to (i like washing my car on clear days too) then wash a panel at a time while constantly rinsing with water. you can get rid of water spots after you're done by using ONLY 100% cotton terry or microfiber towels to DRY the car (yes, very important to dry the car). Only really good way to wash a car on a sunny day is to use the mr. clean auto dry system, which uses a filter to de-ionize the rinse water, therefore leaving no water spots... but i found it to be a bit clunky to use.

2. Again, ONLY USE 100% cotton terry or microfiber towels to wash/dry/wax/whatever. i've found cotton terry to be most user friendly since the pile in microfiber towels tends to clog with dirt too easily. look at the packaging and make sure it says 100% cotton terry. polyester scratches. i heard that towels not made in USA sometimes aren't 100% even when they say so, but that might get too **** for some people.

3. DEFINITELY GLAZE/SWIRL MARK REMOVE/GLAZE/WAX in the shade! i don't care how you do it, pull into a garage, set up a tent... the chemicals are wet in the bottle and when you apply they are supposed to slowly dry to a haze before you buff the surface, but sun with bake them on and leave a residue that's hard to take off.

4. make sure you have enough time to do everything. i usually wash and dry in about 30 to 45 minutes... i carefully wash the body but windows don't have to be cleaned so meticulously. if you use windex to clean the windows of water spots or whatever, spray on the towel/paper towel first... windex takes off wax. If you Glaze, then you HAVE to wax so keep that in mind... otherwise the glaze will evaporate. you can get away with polishing without waxing but you'll just give the paint nice gloss and no protection. Bottom line is, if you have no time, just wax. otherwise go the whole nine yards.

5. take your time and don't get frustrated. when you do this for the first time, you'r egoing to think you're fu-cocking up the paint. you probably are , but it's going to be on a such a minute level so don't sweat it. you'll feel it in your mind more than actually doing damage.

6. don't do it too often. you might actually end up hurting it more than helping. i wax maybe three times a year at most: before winter to protect from road salt, in the spring to recharge the finish, and maybe again in the summer since it's hot and may wear the wax off faster. all in all, if it's a daily driver that's the best you can do. any more will just be redundant.

2JZ

an addition to number one, you can use detailing spray (3M Gloss enhancer, Eagle One detailing spray, etc) to take off water spots after drying, but only after you've waxed it once already. detailing spray is a kind of wax that recharges and cleans the existing wax, so don't do it before you polish or something.

also, use glaze for new car paint. swirl mark remover and polish are typically used afterwards when you wax again. i just got my car two weeks ago and i glazed and waxed the car. i plan to use glaze one more time maybe (in about three months or until the water stops noticably beading) and then switch to swirl mark remover/polish (typically same thing, just the swirl mark remover takes out more swirlies obviously).

clay bar is also used for not brand new cars. like i said above, i plan to glaze again and will probably use the clay bar before that whole process to make sure i get most of the contaminates out.

you can find tons of stuff on the internet about the proper use of clay bar, glaze, polish, and wax. this is what i've learned from pros, friends, and the internet and it has worked well for me... you should do some research of your own too!

naztyTC

i have used zaino for the last 3 years this is by far the best stuff i ever used shine is incredable heres the link if you want to know. http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc

iowagary

My problem with Zaino is that I've never used it and they offer so many damn products I have no idea what to get. What do you use? Also, they offer "polishes" instead of "waxes". I want my car to look good, but I'm also very concerned about protecting it. Will this polish protect the paint and clear coat from dirt, the elements, little rocks, etc. the way wax would?

tc_408

Better Car Car has several tutorials from washing to waxing.

Autopia is a great forum about detailing, has a lot of information about diffrent products.

naztyTC

aif you want more info pm dont want to bore everyone here :D it protects fine 3 months now and my car still beads like i did it yesturday a