An Easy Info-Graphic Courtesy of Autogeek

Here's an easy to read info-graphic courtesy of Autogeek.  Outlining the basic process dependent on vehicle condition.  Enjoy!

Brand New Car Prep

So you have that brand new car that just came home from the dealer.  Now what? Unfortunately most dealerships are time based when it comes to auto detailing, that means more cars in and out means more money.  Well with detailing patience and attention to detail is key, so you can see the issue here.  What this leads to is sub-par products being used, towels being re-used that aren't effective in the first place and would strike horror to anyone who takes a look at the paint under a high power light.  More often than not when you sign those papers you're getting an unintended option, the dealer installed swirl option, or DISO.  Now I don't blame most dealers for this because I believe they just don't know the damage they are doing, but I implore you when taking delivery or having your car serviced that you request your car not be washed.  You can even download and print out placards for your rear-view mirror in big bold print.

Moving on though, what do you do with your new car?!  Well I've outlined steps on what to do and also provide you with options on different ways of protecting your new car.  Now like any regular car wash start with the wheels.  Now overall barring extreme environmental factors a simple rinse, gentle agitation with brushes like Wheel Woolies (which are fantastic), if you need a dedicated wheel cleaner congratulations because there are numerous but for simplicity's sake I recommend 1z Einszett Colourtec.  I would next move on with a solid foam gun pre-wash such as Chemical Guys Honeydew.  This will allow all of the extra and loose dirt to wash off reducing any chances of marring, scratching, etc...  Next is a simple car wash dependent on the condition of the vehicle will determine if a 2-bucket wash or rinseless wash is required.

(Optional) Now this is where we go more in-depth because the car has been transported across large distances, more often than not it is done by rail.  What traveling by rail allows is iron particles to embed in the paint that won't be removed by regular washing.  Here is where we can use a product called CarPro Iron-X just spray it on, you can also work it in with a sponge if you desire, and watch it do magic.  Let it sit for 5-10 minutes (I recommend making sure it is cool out when doing this to avoid spotting), and then rinse off, you will see red/purplish marks as you rinse it off where the product has bonded with iron particles and removed them from your paint.

After using Iron-X we can move on to claying, pretty standard, ensure you cover each area until it feels smooth (use the baggie test for reference).  Check the link down below or post a comment below if you absolutely have any questions.

 Polishing is the next step.  Unfortunately this is where it gets murky.  Why?  Because every car is different, paint reacts slightly different between cars and wildly difference between makes and colors.  This is where the least aggressive mindset comes in to play.  You don't need or want to jump straight to wet sanding when a light finishing polish will do.  So using common sense and having a few variety of products allows us to effectively do this.  What this means if you're car is absolutely scratched and swirled like it was ran through a car wash a dozen times, using a light finishing polish and light cutting pad probably isn't the best idea and you likely want to start off with something mid range. So since paint varies here are a variety of options, here's this handy chart I made.

Cutting Pad	Aggressive Compound	Medium Polish	Finishing Polish
Wool	Meg’s M101	Meg’s M205	Menzerna SF4000
Microfiber	Meg’s M105	Menzerna PF2500	Menzerna SF4500
Cutting	Menzerna FG400	HD Adapt	Sonax 3/6
Medium	Wolfgang Uber Compound	Meg’s D300	HD Polish
Light	Optimum Hyper Compound	Optimum Hyper Polish	CarPro Reflect
Waxing		Sonax 5/4

Now I realize this can still be confusing, specifically with pads and which polishes to choose.  All manufacturers use different color schemes with pads so it's not easy to say X pad will be Y color.  Personally I find a microfiber cutting pad from Meguiar's followed by a light pad from Uber either green or blue gives great results on most paint.  With polishes you don't need to have an entire collection of the above, more often than not you can adjust your pad choice to make a specific polish to work.  The internet is also a great resource because you can likely find a paint correction thread on your specific car and color combo and read on what previous detailers have used effectively.

After polishing is compete a simple CarPro Eraser or IPA wipedown ensures the paint is bare, you can also go with a simple wash if you desire as well.  Followed by a thorough inspection under sunlight and artificial light source of your choosing.

Lastly protection.  How do we protect this piece of work we just spent hours and hours over.  Well what are your options?  Do you prefer to protect it and forget it?  Or do you enjoy heading out to the garage every month or two and washing and waxing your car?  If it's the first, go with a long-term coating such as Opti-Coat or CQuartz.  If you enjoy waxing and sealing your car, choose a viable wax or sealant like Chemical Guys Pete's 53, Sonax Net Shield, Menzerna Power Lock, Blackfire Midnight Sun, Blackfire Black Ice, etc...

Well that's all for now! I'm sure as I go through this I'll remember more and edit this as well as add pictures once I get my car in.

Once again thanks for reading post any comments and questions below and I'll get back to you as soon as I can!


How-To's used in this post for reference.

Rinseless Washing

Wheel Cleaning

Claying

The Importance of Claying

I find that one of the most intimidating things new people coming to detailing are afraid of is claying.  It appears dangerous, or misguidance that it could harm your paint, and just the fact that it's different.  A majority of car owners will never clay their cars and do not know the benefits and importance of it.

So where do you begin when you decide you want to clay your vehicle?  Well let's start out with the purpose of it.  After washing your car and everything looks clean and glossy you must have gotten all of the dirt of right? Wrong.  There are tons of dirty contaminants embedded in your paint, from the environment, the weather, rain, dust, dirt, salt, pick your choosing based on your environment and it's on there.  What clay or clay alternatives do is pick up your these contaminants in your paint and leave your paint feeling smooth and clean.

Now that we have the purpose let's move on to the types of clay you can choose from and there are two major categories.  Clay Bars and Clay Towels/Sponges (Same product just a different form).  Clay bars are exactly that, bars of clay, when you use a clay bar personally I use only 1/3 of a bar and return the rest to the container it comes in, add a spritz of detail spray to ensure it stays moisturized.  Another reason for splitting the bar is that if you drop it I cannot recommend it enough that you throw it away, it is not worth the risk trying to clean it and run the error of using it scratching up your paint due to embedded dirt and sand bits.  It's horrible but everyone will make the mistake at one point, I know I have at least once.

Here is what a clay bar looks like prior to using it.  Picture from Detailer's Domain , Phil over there is absolutely fantastic and will no doubt give you great advice that is completely tailored to what you need.

There are different forms of clay and grades, for most jobs the Fine grade will be more than enough. As of September 2013 Clay Magic no longer owns the patent and there are now multiple manufacturers of clay bars.  But a simple Mother's Kit which can be found at any auto parts store will work fine for those starting out.

The next form is towel/sponges, personally I use the Nanoskin Fine Grade Towel but it does come in sponge form as well.  Now why choose someone choose this over a traditional clay bar?  Well the pros are fantastic, as I said above when you drop a clay bar it's effectively ruined, well with these alternatives a simple dunk in a bucket of water and wash solution and it releases the dirt and whatever else it gets picked up.  Other pros include numerous uses, a clay towel will give you upwards of 50+ uses as compared to 6-10 out of a traditional clay bar, and the clay towel can be opened up (such as the towel measures at 12" x 12") this is great for wide open panels such as the roof, for many other sections I fold it in quarters.  The cons with clay towels are the price, the Nanoskin of Speedy Prep Towel runs in the $50-60 range.

Here is a photo of my fine grade towel, note the blue edging which denotes Fine Grade as compared to red for Medium grade.

Finally we will discuss how to clay effectively and safely.

Now the reason I recommend fine grade over medium grade is that the vast majority of cars will not need medium grade clay, and on softer paints such as Subaru and some BMW paint colors can lead to marring, which are minor imperfections not as severe as swirls and can appear as hazing in the paint.

So how do you know if your car needs to be clayed.  Well a simple and easy test is the plastic bag test, by simply running your hand over your paint inside of a plastic bag you can easily feel the contaminants in the paint.  Below is a picture showing how I personally do it.

Moving on to the act of claying itself, when claying there a few important things that you need to have, first a clay or alternative, second a clay lube (personally I've used Ultima Waterless Wash+ and Optimum No Rinse and both work great, there is also Nanoskin Glide which I've heard good things about but have not used), and lastly a good towel to absorb the clay lube and dry the paint behind it. For towels I like a waffle-weave towel, it absorbs great and since the paint is already clean a longer nap towel isn't necessary to pull surface dirt away.  On softer paints I will also follow it up with a medium weight 530gsm or so towel just to buff off any possible towel marks or smearing.

With clay bars it's important to spread the clay bar out into a rectangle that fits in the palm of your hand, avoid using your fingertips because the pressure will force holes in the clay and force you to knead it, or fold it onto itself,  more than you have to.  A 3" x 2" or so clay patty is about what I usually work with.  For clay towels on most panels I will fold it into 1/4's.  This lets it be much more manageable and do a thorough job.  See below.  You can also see the amount of clay lube I use, personally it is much better to use more than less, most clay lubes are incredibly cost effective so being sparse with it is not required.  Liberally spray the panel before gliding over it, pressure used is very light, just enough to keep the media moving.

Lastly, when using this you will actually feel the grittiness of the paint as you glide over it.  After 2-3 passes you will the clay or towel moving much more lightly and the paint overall will have a smooth feel to it.

Product Link:

Nanoskin Wash Mitt
Fine Grade Clay Bar

Clay Lube:

Optimum No Rinse
Ultima Waterless Wash


Thank you for reading, post any comments or questions below.  Thanks!