First 90 days advice?

ahuimanu

thanks, I am thinking full hood too

Zipper 104

I don't know if applying wax is something you want to be doing when you're putting down film. You wouldn't want anything that might interfere with the film adhering.
I don't know what film you're going with so application could vary I suppose, but when my Xpel was done I was told to not put any wax down beforehand.....they were just going to remove it anyway. Nothing went back down after they did their prep.

104

jshare1

True maybe not wax, I know that article I liked to they topped with OptiCoat and that seems to be the going process on a few Ive seen

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RN SHARK

Cars are stressful.

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'14 SRT Grand Cherokee; '08 TL Type-S

ahuimanu

"If there are any factory flaws or defects it would just be covered up. We don’t do anything to repair those if you find some that would be up to you to take care of before it gets the rock chip guard on it."

I've only had the car for 9 days, but it id a daily driver, should I wait? Or, should I have the clear bra put on now?

Every day on the highway is rock chip probability.

cautupwitdm

Don't worry about applying the junkman process now, just make sure the shop you are taking your car to already does something similar to that process normally before applying the clear bra. That link to the article earlier was great prep to remove any dirt, swirling, etc.
Also get as much of the car protected with clear bra you can afford. Once you got your car with clear bra then you can start doing the junkman cleaning/correcting routine.

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ahuimanu

Thanks all.

I dropped her off at the shop today and talked to the owner and the technician. They'll clay bar it first, so it seems that they'll do it right.

Not getting the full hood, it just seems too flat up near the top, so I'm going up to around where the first panel stops (around 2 feet).

Can't wash her for a week afterwards, so I won't be able to give her a wash until 3 weeks of ownership.

Also, I asked that the lights get the treatment, was that a mistake? I can call and cancel that part.

The good news is these guys use car templates, so they won't be putting a razor to her.

RN SHARK

Personally, I don't do the clear bra. I figure the price of a front end re-spray and a clear bra are about equal. I've already had my front bumper and hood repainted when I bought mine used. As a bonus, now my bumper actually matches the rest of the car. Hahaha. I like to detail my cars, to get the most depth out of my paint, and I just don't think a car covered in plastic would do it for me.
People talk about "protecting the paint", but for what? For whom? If it is for you, I'd rather wash and polish paint than plastic. And I won't get crap/clay stuck to the edge of the wrap, making the line more obvious. If you wrap it for resale value, then wouldn't it make sense to remove the clear bra just before selling the car or trading it in? Yet no one does that. And after 5-10 years it will be so hard to remove, most likely etching the underlying paint in the process, that you'll have to get a re-spray anyway. Not to mention fading. My 1994 240SX had some clear bra on it that was cloudy, cracked from years on the car, was terrible to remove, and now that section of the paint looks worse than the rest of the car.
Anyway, it's all personal choice. Clear bra just isn't for me. I like real paint, the feel, and the finish I can get out of it.
P.S. I also replaced the windshield with an OEM Nissan one when I repainted my front end when I bought my car. Probably need another one as track days don't help.

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'09 6sp/Z1/PowerTrix/SPL/Swift/SRP/Whiteline/F.I.LTH&CBE/UpRev by Seb/CJM/Stillen/Ings+1/RJM/TrackSpec/Sparco/Motul/Wavetrac/Coolerworx/Verus/CraftSquare
'14 SRT Grand Cherokee; '08 TL Type-S

ahuimanu

Well, as the great William Joel once said:

"You may be right
I may be crazy
…
You may be wrong for all I know
But you may be right"

JARblue

It's about getting rid of the swirls that the dealer puts in it by hiring some know-nothing teenager to take a dirty towel and put swirls in the paint. Check out the showroom GT-R paint next time you're in a Nissan dealer. I bet it has less than 100 miles and swirls to hell.

Clay bar does not do any paint correction, but it is the proper prep method for the clear bra. They better do that right seeing how it is the very first step.

I expect you will be disappointed you did not get the entire hood. Rocks bounce and hit the flat part of the hood all the time

That is actually not good news at all. It is a sign that these guys are amateurs. As kenchan will gladly point out, the precut templates are for DIYers. A good shop will cut it off a roll so they can properly tuck all of the edges and corners. DIYers often don't have the patience or practice to do this properly, so the precut kits fit so you don't have to cut or tuck much.

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Uxi

Had the same questions, so thanks for the thread. I was going to do first wash on Saturday but all my older stuff was rather nasty so getting dirtier. Want to make that Pearl White gleam. Might have a detailer do the first cleaning, clay, and wax and then maintain it myself.

cautupwitdm

The amount of money you pay a good detailer could get you all or most of the supplies to be able to do it yourself and you'll know it's done right if you follow junkman's simple and effective methods.

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Uxi

Good idea. And helps you learn your car and appreciate the beautiful curves of the Z, as well. Is Meguiars stuff considered good? I'm combing the FAQ.

JARblue

Meguiar's is not bad. It's where I started, but I have moved on to other more expensive products for various reasons. But it's not so much the products as it is the technique. See Junkman's videos - there are tons on his channel on YouTube as well as linked on this forum.

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Uxi

I'm interested in spending as long as the quality there. Probably start with meguiars and upgrade as I go. What would you recommend and/or what's the best for Pearl White?