New Car prep for paint sealant

[brentashley2000]

I am a newbie to detailing. I just purchased a new vehicle and I want to protect the paint. Do I need to do any prep work before applying a paint sealant besides a wash and dry? Do I need to clay or polish or use IPA before the paint sealant? Advice and opinions will be appreciated. Thanks! Brent.

[nabisco shine]

Re: New Car prep for paint sealant

5 step 1wash 2 clay(you will be amaze what you pick up) 3 cleaner polish if needed if not skip 3 then go to 4 polish 5 wax or sealent or do both hopfully that helps

[brentashley2000]

Re: New Car prep for paint sealant

Thanks! Any advice on claying?

[nabisco shine]

Re: New Car prep for paint sealant

buy the kit only costy about 20 bucks spray quick detailer on car the pancake the clay and slide the clay with no pressure

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: New Car prep for paint sealant

You will find the more you get into detailing. The key is in the prep work.

Congrats on your new car.

[Murr1525]

Re: New Car prep for paint sealant

My favorite quick detail is:

1. Wash - Gold Class, 2 buckets, quality towels, sponges.
2. Clay if needed (will be the first time)
3. Cleaner/Wax or ColorX (I prefer ColorX)
4. Wax - Nxt 2.0, etc

[Michael Stoops]

Re: New Car prep for paint sealant

Read through the 5 Step Paint Care Cycle for the full rundown on the hows and whys of paint care.


With your new car, or any car for that matter, what you need to do depends on what sort of condition the paint is in. Even new cars sometimes need a fair bit of TLC and many cars we've seen on dealer lots and in showrooms need a LOT of help the day they come home.

Wash and dry the car thoroughly and then start your evaluation, which is essentially a two step process. First, feel the paint with your bare hand. Dont' be shy, touch it. Lightly run your fingertips over the paint when it's clean and dry. If it feels at all rough to the touch then you have above surface bonded contaminants and claying is in order. If it feels as smooth as glass then claying won't gain you anything.

The second part of the evaluation is visual, so you need really good light. Pull the car out into direct sunlight and look at the paint in such a way that the sun is reflecting directly into your eyes. A pair of sunglasses can help with the glare (which can be distracting at best, almost painful at worst) and better reveal any swirls or fine scratches and other below surface defects. We've got some good images in the 5 Step thread showing what to look for. If you find this sort of defect then a liquid paint cleaner is the way to go. If you see just a few randomly scattered, very light swirls then you might want to forgo this step until the problem becomes more apparent. And over time, it will.

This sort of evaluation should be done every time you wash the car, but what needs to be done prep wise is totally dependent on what your evaluation shows you. You don't have to do these prep steps every time you wax the car, only when they need to be done.