Hi all!

I am looking for advice on my new, White, 2012 Accord SE, with a tan leather interior that I purchased this weekend.

Because this may amuse some of you...

I got the "new" car used...here is what happened:

Guy purchased the car, a few days later, returned it with 792 miles and purchased the 2013 model. Now because it is "used", I got a discount, a nice discount.

Then because it is a Certified Pre-Owned", they gave me an additional warranty. Bumper to bumper is now 48,000 miles/48 months and the power train is now 100,000 miles/7 years...rather than the 36K/36 month and 50K/5 years.

Sweet huh? YES It Is


Now, on to the questions.

I assume the car did not come with wax applied to it, what are the exact steps I need to do to ensure my car is ready to handle the winter? I live in the DC metro area, so we do not get a ton of snow, but the car will encounter salty roads.

I am going to take care of detailing this coming weekend.

Is it necessary to use a clay bar upon the "first" wash and wax application?

More importantly, is it recommended that I pay someone to do this external detail job for me or is it easy enough for me to handle?

Is a electric powered buffer worth the investment based off the time saved? How much time does it actually save? What are the potential drawbacks with using an electric buffer?

I have read that I should use Dawn or some other dish soap for the first wash to rid the car of any potential previous wax, oil, grease, etc. Then the next time I wash the car, I should use proper car soap. Does this sound correct?

What wax and clay bar brand do you recommend? Are all waxes created equal? If not, why do you prefer one brand over another?

How often should I wax a white car?

What brand of tire shine stuff is recommended and what should I avoid and why?

Should I apply anything to help make cleaning the brake dust off the Aluminum Wheels easier? If so, what and why?

Should I apply anything to the dashboard?

The car came from the dealer with some Scotch Guard like stuff sprayed in it, Armor something...?

If I have any other questions, I will be sure to post back in this thread.

Thanks all, I appreciate the input!

 

IT Guy,

Check your door jams. If theyre perfect white, the car has been detailed. Toss a towel across the hood to see if it slides, if it does, they waxed it. At the dealership I work at ALL cars are detailed before they go on the used lot, regardless of condition. If not, take it back, complain, and get it re-detailed. That happens to me all the time because the guys that are supposed to detail the used cars where I work do a crud job haha.

White cars are notorious for 'rail dust', little dots of oxidized road grit that stick in your clear coat. They look like little rust spots on your car, but its outside of the paint. If youre serious about making your car perfect, you will spend a good bit of time clay barring that car. Itll happen on the front and back bumpers, and the lower half of the sides. I always use a bottle of PDP Glass cleaner (That's an Ohio company though...) and 1200 or 2200 grade detailing clay depending on how much tar/rail dust/schmutz is there. Im guessing if youre going to be cleaning it often use a finer grade, I tend to use medium grade (2200) just because the cars I see have tens of thousands of miles and have never been detailed. I would recommend you clay bar before every wash if you want your car to look awesome.

In my experience, you don't need a buffer. If you do it right, you can get out 90% of surface stuff on a white car with a clay bar without using a buffer on the paint. If you do want to get a buffer, I recommend getting an orbital if you don't have any experience. You wont burn your paint and its a lot easier to use. It also covers a lot more space in less time than a buffer. You'll need an orbital, the foam drive pan on that page, and orbital bonnets for using it. Also I HIGHLY recommend if youre going to start buffing start with this. PL30 Smartbuff is my best friend at work. Its a catch-all general buff compound that will get out most imperfections and won't leave swirl marks, but as I said before all of this stuff you can probably get away without needing with a white car.

DONT USE DAWN. Yeah itll clean you're car and its cheap. But its made for dishes. Itll get all the dirt and grime off of your car, but dedicated car wash mix has chemicals in it to protect your finish after you're done washing, dawn does not. As I said before The guys at the dealership should have detailed the car between the time the guy traded it in and you got it, if not, go get you a free detail.

Waxing a car is pretty straightforward as far as I've seen. Spray wax is nice for a quick touch up, but you want an all over wax that'll last you, solid carnuba wax in a can is best. Wipe it on with an applicator, let it haze and wipe off with a microfiber towel. I wax my cars once a week because I work at a dealership and the materials are there at work, but you could get away with once a month.

Tire shine is pretty straightforward too. Whatever you use, apply when the tires are DRY after washing the car, itll hold on longer.

Wax your rims. With the carnuba wax. I learned that from a guy I work with, and his car never has brake dust. If you wax the rims with the rest of the car once a month every time you wash it it should come right off no problem, provided there was nothing on the rim to begin with (I'm assuming that the rims are nice and clean right now anyway)

Don't apply anything to the dash. If youre worried about cracking, get a sun visor for the windshield to keep the UV rays from cracking it years from now. Just wash it with a soapy washcloth and dry it. Plain and simple.

That scotch guard stuff is a crock. Take it from a guy who applies it every day Theyre all just a dealer add-on that they get schmucks to pay extra for when they get the car. Im guessing the guy who bought it first got talked into it. You're basically paying for a warrantee on your interior (and maybe your exterior if he had that done too). The one that we use stipulates that if there's a stain in the car within the warrantee period, and the detailers can't get it out, theyll replace whatever is stained.

whew. hope that helps. any more questions just post, i'll keep watching the thread to answer any more questions.

 

Cars purchased new or used are "detailed?" very quickly and cheaply. They all use spray wax which takes ten minutes and lasts like two weeks...

 

where I work, they are. It does good to cover up oil leaks under the hood and fade out dents/scratches with buffing.... gives 'em a little more curb appeal to the consumer... And I can also say that we spend 4h or so on every used car... but again this is dealership I work at it may not apply to every dealership. But considering the age of this honda and that its a CPO car it probably came from a big name dealer that would put that kind of time and effort into the cars they sell.

 

Your pretty savy on the clean up business. If your not careful..I just might make you are detail man in here.