Doing It Right The First Time

[PinoyBoy]

I bought a brand new Honda Fit Sport on april 2012, and I want to do it right this time. My past 2 cars have been neglected: no wax, automatic car wash, swirls everywhere, makes me sad looking at it. So far the only worthy things in my arsenal is DP Rinseless Wash & Gloss and Meg's Ultimate Wash and Wax Anywhere. There's a strict restriction in my community and I can get fined ALOT if caught doing traditional wash; rinseless and waterless wash is what I do. I have Meg's Smooth Surface Clay Kit on the way. I don't know what paint cleaner or prep I should do before applying the sealant, so far I might go with Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner, any other suggestion? I also don't know which sealant to use, please help me out on this also. I don't see the need for polishing as it's a brand new car. I will do everything by hand. I don't want to spend that much money on something I'll use maybe 4 times at the most in a year.

My plan is:
1) Washing: DP RW&G
2) Clay with Smooth Surface Clay Kit
3) Use Meg's Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner
4) I don't know what sealant I will use.

[Murr1525]

Re: Doing It Right The First Time

Are there any defects?

If all is in good shape, I would look at:

1. Wash
2. Clay
3. ColorX
4. Wax - Nxt 2.0 or Ult. Wax

[PinoyBoy]

Re: Doing It Right The First Time

Some swirls, but not enough (for me) to justify using any abrasives by hand. It's also coloured white, so it's abit harder to find swirls. From what I've read, ColorX is a filler and is harsher compared to DC Paint Cleaner. Also, I'm looking for something that's mainly a cleaner so the sealant will bond better to the paint. I've been thinking of using NXT2.0, but I'm still not 100% sure on it. What I like about the NXT2.0 is that I can buy it locally compared to my other choices.

[ffboy]

Re: Doing It Right The First Time

You can also try SwirlX, colorX is still a good option. If a cleaner is what you're after, swirlX may be worth a try. It can be strong enough to remove swirls vs. deep crystal paint cleaner. Swirls can be put in by the dealer itself, with the way they wash/buff the cars swirls are bound to be present on many brand new cars. NXT 2.0 is a good megs product, and should go well with your white car. It's no longer the best meguiar's sealant, that distinction now goes to Ultimate wax.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Doing It Right The First Time

Congrats on the new car, and kudos for wanting to keep it looking great right from the start.

In our experience with the Honda Fit, the paint has always been incredibly delicate so you don't want to use anything harsh or aggressive on it, and working by hand it's actually extremely easy to get overly harsh, mostly due to finger pressure points through an applicator, etc. Now, we have not worked on a 2012 Fit so it's very possible that the paint has changed, but being that yours is white it will be, as you mentioned, more difficult to see swirls and other defects. This is a huge benefit when dealing with potentially very delicate paint, but you can still haze it up and kill the gloss if you're overly aggressive.

That said, in our experience with very delicate paints they tend to respond extremely well to ColorX. Your assertion that ColorX is a filler and "harsher" than DC Paint Cleaner is only partly right. "Harsher" is sort of a harsh term ( ) and we prefer the term "aggressive", and it is indeed more aggressive than DC Paint Cleaner. But DC Paint Cleaner is primarily a chemical cleaner and, well, we don't make it any more. As to it being a "filler", that's not entirely accurate either. ColorX is basically just a strong cleaner wax, and just like any other wax (or sealant for that matter) that you apply to your paint, it's going to leave something behind. This is the nature of any protectant you apply to your paint - you are intentionally leaving something on the paint. And doing so means the very real potential for at least some level of "filling". But on really delicate paint, the mild cleaners in ColorX can do wonders for light defect removal without creating any hazing.

Another great option would be to use Ultimate Polish, which is also very mild yet contains a lot of polishing oils that can add a lot of gloss to the finish. You can then easily apply NXT Tech Wax 2.0 or Ultimate Wax to finish it all off.

[PinoyBoy]

Re: Doing It Right The First Time

Thanks for the recommendations and clarifications everyone. The paint's condition is a 9 out of 10 (10 being perfectly perfect), so I'll just go with the Meg's A12 Cleaner/Wax and top it off with the recommended NXT wax 2.0. From my readings, it's good on white paint and is the least abrasive/aggressive of the bunch. Just wondering, how much whole car applications will a 16oz bottle of wax last?

So my quarterly/seasonal process will be:
1. Wash with DP-RW&G (or a better product if I get another one)
2. Clay with Smooth Surface Clay Kit
3. Use cleaner/wax A12
4. Top it off with NXT 2.0 (or whatever I'll come across with)

And inbetween these quarterly/seasonal details will be washing and using a quick detail or Ultimate Wash & Wax Anywhere.

For future reference, here is the order of abrasiveness of Meguiar's cleaner
waxes, as stated by Mike Phillips; from least aggressive to most aggressive:
Meguiar's A12 Cleaner/Wax (Consumer Line - Maroon bottle)
M20 Polymer Sealant
ColorX
M06 Cleaner/Wax (ColorX, M06, M66 are all very close, would put M06 and ColorX on the same par, M06 can be applied by rotary, that is the major difference)
M66 Quick Detailer
D151 PRC

[Murr1525]

Re: Doing It Right The First Time

I think a bottle will probably get you a year or so. Longer for the final wax because you will use less.