First 90 days advice?

ahuimanu

I don't know what, if any wax or protection comes with the paint. I've had a 2015 Gun Metal Touring Coupe for a week and, given pollen and dust, the car is already getting dirty.

What initial cleaning/care regimin would you recommend for:

+ paint
+ other exterior features
+ interior?

Do I need to wax it now? It would seem that it came with SOMETHING from the factory?

BTW, mine is factory-new order where I tookl delivery with 7 miles on the ODO.

Any beginning advise?

I used to have a Focus SVT that I took care of, in terms of regular hand-washing and other care, but my recent daily driver, a Civic, is something I did machine washes and dealer details on. I'd like to do better with this Z.

I see many care tutorials, but I am looking for what folks would recommend in the the first 90 days.

Thanks.

RN SHARK

There is no protection on the paint from the factory. Personally, on a brand new car, I would wash with 2 bucket technique, polish to remove any swirls from the porter/dealer (they are there, trust me), apply a sealant, and wax. Watch the Junkman videos of you want to DIY. As for your interior, it should be good to go. Some people Scotch Guard the fabric. Just don't apply ArmorAll. That stuff is crap. The Alcantera is easy maintenance. Brush/vacuum it to keep it looking fresh, clean with wet rag (water) as needed for spots.

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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

cautupwitdm

You beat me RN SHRRK!! As I was reading this I was thinking the whole time for the OP to watch the Junkman2000 videos on Youtube.

OP, these videos are really great and very informative. Watch them on a computer so you can see the annotations because sometimes he adds annotations to help you understand things he might have missed while filming these videos or while he is in the action of using loud equipment. Do not watch the videos on your phone you will miss too much important information. He also will suggest a few products and hardware for each process of cleaning your paint. Until you watch these videos DON'T, I repeat do not touch the paint, you may cause more harm than good and cause more work and time in the end. The clear coat and paint on our cars is quite thin and sensitive to tree sap/bird crap etc. and it also gets swirls easy if not washed correctly.

Once you've watch the Junkman videos and have a good understanding and then apply what he says to when you are washing/drying/claying/polishing/buffing/waxing/sealing etc., then I highly suggest getting a clear-bra protection on as much of the front car as you can afford. It will help prevent the inevitable rock chips. I would suggest installing the clear bra at the minimum on your whole front bumper and 18'' of the hood. If you don't like the slight line on the hood that it creates then do the whole hood. I have several rock chips on the hood and countless little nicks on the bumper. I bought my car used and unfortunately it already had most of these imperfections and I wish I had new paint like you!

Please do not half A$$ while cleaning your car or skip steps or you will just make things worse in the end. It looks like you really care for this car so you just need to watch these videos! It will take some time but it is absolutely worth every minute so you don't mess up your car's clear coat or paint.

Here is a link to Junkman2000's YouTube page

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RN SHARK

Oh yeah, forgot clay.

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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

jshare1

I majorly second a good clay job. My pearl white was 50 different shades from where there was/ wasnt plastic. The gas door alone had an obvious line down it.

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"only acceptable trades are turtles or beer"

falconfixer

Throw a brick at the front end and get the first dings out of the way. Nissan uses a water based...I mean "environmentaly friendly" paint on it's cars that saves tons of money for the Company and aligns with its goals.

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Bitch ex wife's scumbag lawyer made sure this went away.

jshare1

Woah now, 300 miles in I had Xpel Ultimate installed. 6k now, frequently drive MD to NY, no chips

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"only acceptable trades are turtles or beer"

ahuimanu

Thanks for all the replies, so why did the dealer say "there's stuff on the car that should take care of it for the first year." Sales manager gave me the impression that there is a sealant on there from the factory.

Also, I have an appointment to get a clear bra put on the front of the car on Thursday. Should I wait, and do all of this paint prep now?

I wasn't sure that a factory-fresh car needed all of this. It is because I can expect paint damage from transit?

I am concerned now that I'll be placing the clear bra over defects. My thought was to clear bra that early (this is only 1 week and 1 day of ownership/driving as I write this).

On the Junkman vids, I watched them ALL while waiting for this car to ship. But it didn't seem like everything he had to say applied to a brand new car.

Thanks for advise - would love to hear more about the clear bra thing.

jshare1

IMO I refer to this article here, brand new. Getting clear bra installed

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"only acceptable trades are turtles or beer"

ahuimanu

I have an appointment for clear bra on Thursday - I am going 24" up the hood - I am willing to pay to go all the way.

HOWEVER, are you telling me to do the whole junkman process and THEN clear bra?

I asked the shop that is going to do the work and they said that they'd clean those areas before application. However, it sounds like I should do the entire 5-step process to a new paint job? I've been daily driving this since last Tuesday (1 week) now, and given the spring time in Texas, there is dust and bugs on it already.

I am confused then. The dealer recommended a clear bra too and I shopped around and found a good shop, but I am concerned that it seems I should do the entire Junkman routine prior to clear bra?

How messed up could this paint be so early in ownership?

Replies appreciated as I may have to cancel this clear bra appointment if they are going to clear-bra over factory-new paint that seems that it needs to be treated.

Please help, I am confused....

ahuimanu

Thanks. I follow in that article that the shop doing the clear bra installation did all the paint prep on those areas for the owner. Would you then suggest that I get a clear indication of what they intend to do for prep?

Also, they are doing 24" on the hood, would it be just best to instruct them to do the whole hood?

jshare1

All comes out to how much you wanna spend. I got whole hood. Whole bumper. Whole quarter panels. Leading edges on the mirrors and an 8inch strip on the leading edge of the roof.
If I were to do it again Id make sure my whole side view mirror was covered, caught a rock about an inch above where it ended

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"only acceptable trades are turtles or beer"

ahuimanu

Thanks. Did the guys who did the work address delivery imperfections, like your article talks about, or did you have to? I have this vision that these guys are gonna put the film right over any problems that might exist from factory/transit/dealer.

Of course, I'm gonna call them in the morning and find out.

jshare1

So my guy washed it and ran over it all with like spray detailer, looking back I think I wouldve rather go somewhere. Have them clay it. Get any swirls removed. Get it waxed, sealed then have the bra done.
Pre delivery cleaning in my experience was very poorly done and Im not exactly a professional detailer to trust my swirl removal.

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"only acceptable trades are turtles or beer"

Zipper 104

When I had my Xpel done the installer(s) did the 'Full Monty' beforehand on the entire car. No point in laying down film over top swirls and imperfections. On GM they'll be visible right through the film.
I went full hood. There are a number of folks on here that didn't go full hood and wished they had. Just saying.
I'm even thinking now of doing a strip on the first few inches of the roof and a patch where I pull the hatch closed.

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