I'm picking up a new MCS next month and have declined the delears kind offer of 'Seal and Protect' for £300, preferring to do this myself. Am I best trying to pick up a Diamondbrite/Supagard kit from eBay or buying a good quality sealant/wax (I'm thinking Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection or Meguiars NXT Tech Wax)?
I assume that before applying any of the above, I'll need to wash the car,despite only driving it 4 miles from the dealers to home.
As the car is brand new will I need to polish it prior to applying a wax/sealant?
Surely there's no need to clay it?
First of all well done on saving yourself £300 it really is not worth it. Also much better products on the market than Diamondbrite and Supagard.
Personally I would ask the dealer not to touch the car at all. Take the car home wash it and yes the car will need to be clayed, polished then waxed.
As it is a new car go for a fine grade clay such as Sonus Green or Fine PolyClay.
Lots of choice of polish but from what you have already mentioned here is what I would recommend,
Autoglym Super Resin Polish with Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection.
or Meguiars Deep Crystal Step 1 - Paint Cleaner with Meguiars NXT 2.0 Tech Wax. You could use Tech Wax on it's own but adding Step 1 beforehand will improve the end result a little more.
If you wanted to spend more Dodo Juice Lime Prime with one of the Dodo Juice waxes.
Have a look here at many of the different waxes, Best Car Wax Collinite is very good too.
Hi,
Unfortunately no such thing as a 100% new car no matter what you buy..
I've seen vehicles such as Aston Martin, Porsche delivered covered in swirls etc.
No amount of claying or hand polishing will remove swirls - it's a job for someone skilled in using a machine to achieve the right results.
Just getting from the factory to the dealership your MINI will have picked up all sorts of contaminants, pollution, rail fallout etc and the dealership will mostly likely slap on whatever sealant they are using (to make a few extra £'s) straight over the top!!
This is after they've used a sponge to wash it (having just done the wheels on a car across the lot and not even changed the water in the bucket) and inflicted swirls onto your new car paint-work - I've seen it happen with my own eyes.
Personally with it being a new car I would get a professional detailer to prepare the vehicle for you so you start off from an absolutely perfect point - not uncommon for them to even to visit the the dealership on your behalf these days - it should actually cost you less than the sealant packages on offer and the results will be 100 x better - the paint will look better than when the car rolled off the production line..
By way of an example here's my recently purchased S (05 plate), fully detailed once in my possession by Nathan at Cambridge Mobile Car Detailing and Valeting by Cambridge Autogleam - the link at the bottom shows the process involved.
Modern products are very easy to use and super durable - if you start off on the right foot it's so simple to keep your car looking good. I'll now maintain this finish myself maybe returning to Nathan once every 18months or so to remove the odd mark here and there that cars pick up just from being used. Mini Cooper S
Professional detailers also tend to be very passionate about what they do (unlike the miserable minimum wage guy at the dealership who has 6 other cars to do today) and will happily advise you on products and technique to keep your car looking good once their work is finished.
Never heard of it do you have the spelling right, is it Meguiars Clay Bar???
That is the only one I can think of that comes close. Anyway as I said in the above post Sonus Green or Fine PolyClay work well.
Using clay requires specific technique and the addition of a lubricant as it is after all an abrasive medium........having said that it certainly isn't rocket science.
Rather than just coming on the forum and offering the pointless statement - "I used x,y,z and it was rubbish" how about you share some information in regards to exactly what you used, how you used it and what it apparently didn't do..
[quote=Sooper Rob;3443770]Never heard of it do you have the spelling right, is it Meguiars Clay Bar???
quote]
yea thats the one. in dyslexic
I used it exactly how i was directed according to the box and i even asked a friend of mine who is a professional valleter. and it didnt get my paint work 'as smooth as glass'
I have also been recommended this paint protection. My gut feeling is that I don't really want anyone putting any form of abrasive on my new car. If paint protection is such a good idea, why doesn't BMW do it on all cars - even as a BMW option. Presumably, there is some risk/sdown-sides to the process. So far as pricing is concerned, my research indicates the sealant costs about £45 (to do outside and inside) and there is probably 3 hours of labour. I have been quoted £245, so given BMW labour rates, I guess that is about what I would expect.
One of my friends got a thing done on his car called scotch guarding. I think it is sort of the same idea as what you mentioned in the first post. It looked well at the start but now it is starting to fade and is making the laquer and paint come off on some areas on the car.
I would recommend as many people have already to take the car home, clay it using a fine clay and then polish and wax it. Will be better in the long run
Sorry but there must be some problem either with your technique or the results you expected to achieve.
Clay is used by professional detailers the world over on every single paint correction detail they perform - it is an essential step of the process, it's only role to remove bonded contaminants from the paint..........it is not a polish, does not remove swirls etc.
Then again, maybe you've got a "faulty" clay bar?
Probably best to return it full a full refund
i went for the dealer protection only because its covered for 3 years inside and out and they ask you that if you trade it because its classed as an extra selling point
Superguard et all are not some sort of magic formula protection..
They are just a sealant like any other and can be quite easily removed with a strong detergent.
Consider also the poor application in the first place - be realistic, no dealership is going to take the time to do this properly, it's all about maximizing profit.
I recently saw a new M3 where they had applied the sealant over dust and left the car covered in small milky spots - that's a £60k car!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I would not expect the sealant the last more that 12 months and would really like to see someone actually get a warranty claim on it.
As for resale - I can see it adding all of about £1.50 to the re-sale value - just another bunch of bull that salesmen will give customers in the hope that they'll make extra money.
I had no complaints when i picked my car up it was nice & sunny and i spent 45 mins inspecting the car for marks and could not fault one bit i spent 25k on mine so whats a couple more hundred, at the end of the day if it only last 12 months then in goes a warranty claim i have the T&C so i know whats covered and what not but each to there own
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