Brand New 2014 Kia Cadenza - Clayed and WOW, What a difference!

[Coach]

Hello. New member here from Southern NH.
I just took delivery of Kia's new full size flagship car. The Cadenza. It's in Aurora Black. This is a red, gold, blue metallic flake black paint. I really like it a lot.

Today I took the first step in taking the Cadenza from a very nice looking car to fabulous. I spent about 3 hours meticulously claying it. I'm shocked at how much a difference claying makes with a brand new car! The difference in clarity of the reflections is so noticable and striking. No more time today. But hopefully tomorrow I will apply Ultimate Liquid Polish and then apply Ultimate Paste Wax using my DA machine. Before the end of the week I intend to apply a top coat of Gold Class Carnauba Plus. Can't wait to see the final results.

*** One Question...
Since I must drive early tomorrow morning about 40 miles round trip, should I again wash then use Spray Detailer to make sure there's absolutely nothing on the finish before I apply ULP with the DA machine?

Coach

[davey g-force]

Re: Brand New 2014 Kia Cadenza - Clayed and WOW, What a difference!

Welcome!

It's great to see you're so happy with the results. Just wait till you apply UP and UW - it will take it to the next level.

Yes, you should ensure the surface is clean before polishing / waxing. Whether that's by doing a traditional bucket wash, rinseless, waterless or using a QD would depend on just how dirty/dusty the car gets.

Again, welcome and be sure to look around for tips on how to maintain your finish once it's corrected.

[The Guz]

Re: Brand New 2014 Kia Cadenza - Clayed and WOW, What a difference!

Welcome. Post some pics of the Cadenza. This is a nice car offered by Kia.

Davey said it just right. Depending on how dirty it is you can use a rinseless or QD. You could use Ultimate wash and wax anywhere as a waterless. The wax in it will be roemved by ultimate polish but the surface will be clean.

[Coach]

Re: Brand New 2014 Kia Cadenza - Clayed and WOW, What a difference!

Thanks to both Davey and Guz. Confirms I was on the right track.
Already invested in maintainers once the sealer and wax are applied.
Unfortunately no garage here. But its amazing how good a job the California Duster does.

[MTLian]

Re: Brand New 2014 Kia Cadenza - Clayed and WOW, What a difference!

Definitely the nicest car I've ever seen from KIA. I find I rarely have the time to wash my whole car and then buff certain areas. If you want to quickly clean an area that has been clayed before, I like to use isopropyl alcohol. I dilute 70% rubbing alcohol at 1:4 ratio to bring it to 15% concentration. It makes a great spot cleaner in preparation for buffing if the section has been thoroughly washed and clayed recently (past 24 hours or so).

[The Guz]

Re: Brand New 2014 Kia Cadenza - Clayed and WOW, What a difference!

Thanks to both Davey and Guz. Confirms I was on the right track.
Already invested in maintainers once the sealer and wax are applied.
Unfortunately no garage here. But its amazing how good a job the California Duster does.

Just be careful with the california duster. It can scratch and swirl your paint if not properly used and cleaned. I have one somewhere collecting dust. For light dusting you could use a quick detailer and for heavy dusting I would use a waterless wash product like ultimate wash & wax anywhere. On a daily driver that sits outside 24/7, fighting dust is a losing battle. As long as you properly wash/rinseless wash/waterless wash you will be good.

Also since you are doing this outside it is typical to work by panel. For example wash the hood, clay it, polish it and wax it. Continue to do this until you are done. Remember you want to work smarter and on a clean surface.

IPA is commonly used but I wouldn't bother with it. I would wash the area and proceed with correcting.

[KIA HYBRID]

Re: Brand New 2014 Kia Cadenza - Clayed and WOW, What a difference!

my Kia is the same color and it 1 nice color of black...I will be following your post on the care of the color black..

[imacarnut]

Re: Brand New 2014 Kia Cadenza - Clayed and WOW, What a difference!

Congrats, please post some pics!

[billddrummer]

Re: Brand New 2014 Kia Cadenza - Clayed and WOW, What a difference!

Congratulations and welcome to the forum!

Looking forward to pics!

[Coach]

Re: Brand New 2014 Kia Cadenza - Clayed and WOW, What a difference!

Thanks for the feedback.
So far I have:
- Clayed
- Applied Ultimate Polish with DA machine
- Applied Ultimate Paste Wax with DA

I intended to top the UPW with Gold Class Carnauba Plus Paste Wax. I didn't get that done yet because it is my daily driver and I needed to drive about 500 miles this weekend in early morning and evening highway driving. Just got back tonight and have about 5000 bugs splattered across all front facing surfaces. (That will be tomorrow night's task!)

Anyway, the UP and UPW provided a really deep wet looking black finish. That's great!!! But, to be honest, I'm somewhat disappointed in the reflectivity. It's good but not great. I think the car's paint has some wavy/orange peel effect that probably can't be remedied, especially on the sides.

The July 4th holiday weekend is here soon. I will thoroughly clean and get that Gold Class Carnauba Plus applied over the weekend.

Then, pictures. I'll post the good, the bad and the ugly (hopefully no ugly when I'm done).

Have a good and hopefully SHORT workweek everyone.
Coach

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Brand New 2014 Kia Cadenza - Clayed and WOW, What a difference!

Welcome to MOL, Coach!

Congrats on the new car - it sounds like you're making really good progress getting it all dialed in. Regarding the orange peel you're seeing in the paint, sorry to day that's just the way it goes these days with factory paint regardless the brand. Unless you spring for an extreme high end luxury car that has been sanded and polished at the factory (expect to spend six figures for such a car, and that first number is likely NOT a "1" ) you're going to have orange peel to some degree. We've seen plenty of German luxury cars loaded with it, and some domestic sedans with surprisingly little, but they all have it. Unfortunately, for the most part you're going to have to live with it as the only real way to remove it is to remove a lot of paint. More paint than you can safely remove from a factory finish without compromising the UV protection in the paint.

Oh, and for those of you thinking of spending a couple hundred grand on a new car in order to get one with very limited orange peel, keep in mind we often see these leave the factory with sanding marks, pigtails, and other defects that need correcting. Nice, huh?