New vehicle care questions
 

Brand new vett questions:

Is there any need to clay bar prior to waxing?
Is it wise to apply wax without any special treatment?
If you had it to do over again with a new vehicle what would you have done differently.

Re: New vehicle care questions (lureman)
 

Claying a new finish is still a good idea, as rail dust (corvettes however are trucked in ) and other pollutants can be on the paint already. Take some saran wrap and cover your hand, move it across your finish lightly, if it snags you need the benefit of clay.

By wax I guess you mean a carnuba ?? If so, a cleaner wax is a one step product that cleans and protects. Other waxes however have no cleaners and thus only protect. If you have small scratching, spiderwebs, or paint looks dull (it can happen even on newer cars) then a light polish will remove them prior to carnuba. And if you are looking for infrequent waxing, you might wanna look at a sealant. These provide longer protection, but dont have the same wetness factor as a carnuba (natural oils).

And finally .... would I do anything different. Thats a really loaded question...as far as detailing, nope !

Re: New vehicle care questions (lureman)
 

:party: :party:

Do not wash with Dawn! Wash with a pH balanced car wash solution. Forum Car Care Products sponsor AutoGeek.net carries the Pinnacle line who's shampoo is pH Balanced. I'm sure their new line of Wolfgang has a pH Balanced solution. General Forum Sponsor Zanio Bros also carries a very good pH balanced car wash solution. Any of those will do.

Dry you Corvette. Do not Clay with your car wet. I've been detailing cars for a long time and even I miss a spot when washing. So dry it and not using a drying blade.

Here's a video that I did that for How To Dry Your Corvette With Water

Here's an interforum link to The Ultimate Clay Bar Guide that I posted last year.

Most companies suggest you use a prewax cleaner prior to waxing. True for Zaino, Pinnacle and Wolfgang. Use the links above for the specific products.

I've seen many posts of regret for using a drying blade. You want to eliminate useage of an abrasive and any other sort of unnecessary contact with your Corvettes paint.

Best of luck with your new baby! Anyting else and we're here.

:cheers: :cheers: :cheers:

Re: New vehicle care questions (lureman)
 

My '04 wa built on Jan 21. I called GM and asked how long I was supposed to let the paint cure before waxing (couldn't find it mentioned in the owner's manual). They said 90 days. So I guess I have to wait a few more weeks, although I assume the paint was applied sometime before the build date.

Re: New vehicle care questions (red04coupe)
 

first the person you spoke with on other end (asumimg you called customer service) are wrong. these are outsourced employees that don't have clue.

they are wrong more times that not.

but if you have a problem they can document it and start a help process.

you don't have to wait 90 days.

enjoy your new car.

Re: New vehicle care questions (chevysales)
 

I don't know - this guy couldn't answer my question, but was gone a long time, like he was calling somebody who knew. I know in the old days it was recommended you wait 90 days before waxing, but I was thinking that might not be necessary with modern paint.

Re: New vehicle care questions (red04coupe)
 

they do that quite often (put you on hold to find an answer which btw is not always correct unfortunetly). more than likely he was trying to find the answer from someone else who didn't know. for some issues they can be a help like working between you and a dealer issue but again for these types of things they are clueless.

they are outsourced and primarily used for the simplest of owner concerns usually dealer-owner issues, care and feeding of premier automobiles are not their strong suit by any stretch of the imagination. heck even for use on the dealer side they are no better than script readers for minor issues.

you don't need to wait 90 days but you can if you want to




[Modified by chevysales, 10:39 AM 3/28/2004]