WVCR-V

So I just picked up my dream car. A Sebring Silver '06 S2000 with 38k miles and excellent condition. To be honest, I haven't had a car I really cared enough about to take meticulous care of the finish in a long time if ever. This is by far the nicest sports car I've ever owned.

There are some swirl marks in the paint if you look closely and it is a little contaminated in spots so I plan to start with a claybar. Next I plan on polishing. I don't own and have never used an orbital buffer. I am handy with tools and do all of my own work but paint care is not something I know much about. In the past I've just washed and waxed. So do I need the orbital buffer to polish or can I do it by hand? I don't want to mess anything up. After the polishing what wax should I use? Is there a link somewhere that explains the basics of this process? How often do I need to repeat this process?

Thanks

Jon

redwing497

An orbital (or Dual Action) polisher will save you SO much work. In fact, if you're looking for paint correction and rid your S of swirl marks, you may have to use a dual action (DA) polisher. Your hand and arm just can't move fast enough.

Polishes have different levels of "cutting" ability. The idea is to use the LEAST aggressive polish that gets the job done, since essentially, you're removing paint off the car when you polish.

As for applying wax, that you can do by hand since you only have to apply a think layer and not work it in. There's 2 types of "waxes" (also called last step products), 1) Carnauba - deep, warm, reflective glow. Doesn't last as long as a sealant but some would argue it leave a nicer finish and; 2) Sealant - high gloss and clarity but lack depth. Lasts much much longer than wax.

I'll try to be brief here. With your new S:

1. Wash it well
2. Clay Bar the entire car
3. Polish with DA polisher
4. Apply wax or sealant

After you do this, it is very important to have good washing methods. Use 2 buckets always (preferably with Grit Guards), a nice wash mitt, and soft CLEAN microfiber towels. I actually use a leaf blower to dry most of the car then follow it up with a quick detailer and clean microfiber to finish it off.

The fewer contaminants that you introduce to the paint, the longer your finish will last without developing swirl marks again. I gotta run now. If I think of anything else, I'll post again. Congrats on the S2000!

WVCR-V

Thanks redwing! That's a simple enough and workable plan. I'll get to it this week.

Chuck S

Life is too short to detail your car. Pay someone to do it! Once that's done you need to wash the car once a month regardless if it needs it or not. That's the beauty of silver cars. I think the inside of mine needs dusting more often then the exterior. I love black cars. Other guys black cars. While I'm out enjoying a drive with a pretty girl they're back home washing their cars.

I realize there are guys who will spend 12 hours detailing their cars. And others like gardening and keeping their lawns pristine. I assume they find it relaxing. It's nice to have choices. I choose to leave this task to professionals. Both tasks.

-- Chuck

WVCR-V

Sounds good Chuck, especially with the yard work. I really hate yard work and I'm not crazy about detailing either but I'm not sure if their are any reputable shops in my area so I'm going to do it myself.

NNY S2k

Lots of info here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bwa...p=docslist_api
Levi

GSteg

Instead of wax, replace it with something like CarPro Hydro2. It's more durable, slicker and easier to apply than regular wax. It's quite a time saver as you only need to rinse it off with a strong stream of water. It bonds instantaneously so there is no cure time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbK8unWBrwg

WVCR-V

I've ordered some good quality microfiber cloths, a grit guard and wash mitt. The level of OCD flare up I'm getting from reading up on all of this is making me lean towards taking it to a detailer the first time. All I have at home is a dirty old wash mitt and a couple of cheap microfiber cloths from autozone. Plus my garage is covered in a layer of metal dust from welding and grinding. I have nowhere to even set a cloth down in the garage. I'll have to clean up the garage and find safe storage for some of these items. I literally have never had a car this nice except for when my CR-V was new. And let's be honest here. Its just a CR-V so I wasn't so OCD about it.

zeroptzero

I rarely wash my daily driver, but I like to give the S2000 the full treatment. A full detail from wash, clay bar, polish, and sealant usually takes me 8 hours. Once you give it a good polish you don't need to do that yearly, just maintain it from that point.

I highly recommend Menzerna Powerlock sealant, it is easy to apply and remove, leaves a very slick surface and works well on silvers which don't tend to shine as much as other colours. Great product and it will give you a year's worth of protection easily, I use that in place of wax, but you can also wax over it if desired.

WVCR-V

Well, yesterday I washed, claybarred, polished a few fine scratches by hand and then used turtle wax spray carnuba wax. Looks good to me. It took about 3 hours total and that's about all the patience I have for this stuff. I could never spend 8hrs detailing a car. I could maybe do 4 if the final hour involved the interior. I am trying to switch gears from having only a 2004 CR-V that I wash maybe twice per year and a Suzuki Sidekick modified for offroading that i just spray the mud off of....lol. I really do want to take good care of the S2000, its a bit of a learning curve to get into the meticulouds care mindset.