New car detailing - your thoughts please!

[berb_uk]

I have been thinking about the detailing/finish/protection of the paintwork on the new M3 Convertible I'm going to be receiving - basically I'm a complete newbie! I would like to get your thoughts on the following please:

-Prep/Detailing done by the dealer before delivery day. Should I let them do what they usually do? Another member I spoke to in this forum is going to get their dealer to just jet-wash the car.

- Prep/detailing carried out by a specialist dealer. Do you recommend that I do this? What materials/services should I look out for? How can I distinguish between good detailers and bad detailers as there seems to be lots of them around. What work should I make sure gets done on the first detail. Any particular products that you recommend?

- Also what are your thoughts on 3M Clear Bra vs. Virtual Shield (I think that's what it's called)? Covering a car in this way to avoid stone chips etc. doesn't seem common here in the UK but it has indeed started to come up. Can you notice the film over the car? What areas are usually covered? How much does it cost? Is it worth it? Does it affect the colour of the car? Can you wash it properly afterwards or in a particular way? How does this fit in with prep/detailing for the first time? HOw many days after the first prep/detail or after delivery do you recommend this to be done.

Any thoughts very much appreciated.

Thanks.

[Leg]

I didnt let my dealer touch it and had the Swissvax man round to do a full day on it straight away.

I'll now maintain it with Swissvax and other products myself.

From what I have seen those films yellow after time, with AW, I didnt fancy it. Rather get the front resprayed when needed.

[MDCTFTW]

I'm going to do the first detail myself also at least on the outside.

www.chemicalguys.com - give them a call and they'll get you what you need for a new car. Great guys to deal with.

I'm going to do the following when I get mine:

- Wash
- Clay
- Jetseal109
- 50/50

Hopefully there's no need to do a polish.

[Davinhci]

I'm going to do the first detail myself also at least on the outside.

www.chemicalguys.com - give them a call and they'll get you what you need for a new car. Great guys to deal with.

I'm going to do the following when I get mine:

- Wash
- Clay
- Jetseal109
- 50/50

Hopefully there's no need to do a polish.

thanks i will check them out.

[ersin]

Here's a question not too far off topic: if you plan on getting a clear bra should you wax the car first? I can't recall, but I think I remember somebody saying that you should not wax it and that the alcohol that they use to install the clear bra will take the wax off anyway.

[DonM3]

Leg - I thougth I read on your delivery thread that you got the stealer to jet rinse it only?

[Davinhci]

Leg - I thougth I read on your delivery thread that you got the stealer to jet rinse it only?

yeah i think i read that as well.

[MDCTFTW]

Hmmm ... I didn't research about bras. I'm going to pass on that I think.

[AutoFinesse]

Either do it your self or get a pro to do it for you, i would not let the dealer touch it personally, they use contracted companies that employ very inexperienced staff that are paid to get them out the door as fast as possible, we see some shocking examples of swirls and paint defect straight from the dealer, to remove swirls can take a lot of man hours and that costs, prevention is far better than cure ;)

[berb_uk]

Thanks guys. This is what my BMW agent said the process they use is:

1.Remove any plastics and protective materials used by BMW for delivery of the car.
2.Use a light de-greasing soap which is applied by spray and then washed off using the jet wash.
3.Leather car down
4.Apply standard car polish and glass polish and remove
5.Hoover inside of car

If the vehicle is getting the paint protection then all the exterior body parts are protected and the interior carpets are sprayed with the scothguard interior protector.

In either situation we don't use sponges on new cars and the polish or paint protector is applied with a specialist cloth supplied by the manufacturers and then removed with lint free cloths to finish of the process once it has had the required setting in time(approx 2-3 hours).

[fmquadri]

dont let the dealers touch the car!! I got my jet black extra special with swirls/scratches AND etched hard water spots.

been doing what i can to remove/hide/mask the swirls, but i might still have to take it to a specialist to have it properly polished.

[inmotion]

there is a guy in the UK I believe that charges $10k to detail a car - that's USD. Complete waste of money I think

[AutoFinesse]

Thanks guys. This is what my BMW agent said the process they use is:

1.Remove any plastics and protective materials used by BMW for delivery of the car.
2.Use a light de-greasing soap which is applied by spray and then washed off using the jet wash.
3.Leather car down
4.Apply standard car polish and glass polish and remove
5.Hoover inside of car

If the vehicle is getting the paint protection then all the exterior body parts are protected and the interior carpets are sprayed with the scothguard interior protector.

In either situation we don't use sponges on new cars and the polish or paint protector is applied with a specialist cloth supplied by the manufacturers and then removed with lint free cloths to finish of the process once it has had the required setting in time(approx 2-3 hours).

And that right there is why you should not let the dealer touch it :thumbdown they jet wash it then leather it down lol :confused0068: please dont let them do it to such a nice car :bow:

[L~R~G nor cal]

there is a guy in the UK I believe that charges $10k to detail a car - that's USD. Complete waste of money I think

Yes, his name is Paul Dalton.

As far as new car detailing I would do the following.

Paint:

1. Take off all plastic stuff that is used to ship the car
2. Give it a good wash with a quality soap.
3. Clay using a light clay
4. Polish (If you need to correct the paint you will need a machine and a professional. If you are going to do it by hand just stick to a cleaner wax. I have never used the stuff, but a lot of my detailing friends like Zymol HD)
5. Seal (This is going to give you all the protection) This is a sealant
6. LSP (LSP=Last Step Product) This would be your wax

Interior:

1. Take off all plastic stuff
2. Clean all leather
3. Protect and condition leather
4. Clean all frabic
5. Protect all frabic
6. Polish the trim
7. Clean and protect all glass
8. Clean and protect all plastics like parts of the door and the dash

If you need recomendations on products feel free to shoot away. I too would never let a deailer prep my car.

Thanks,

Jared

[inmotion]

I do let my dealers prep my cars for delivery. I don't like it, but I don't want to have to deal with issues such as scratches or damages on the car. These are things I wouldn't see when I am picking the car up if the car's dirty.