[kwork]

After I get my baby (Satin Silver RSX-S) home from the dealership, what all should I do? Should I dawn wash, claybar, then polish and wax to give it a showroom shine or should I just wash and wax and assume that the dealership did a good enough job of getting rid of "rail dust" and other debris from transport? This is my first brand new car in 10 years and want it to be flawless for a long time.

Also, paste or liquid wax? I bought some Meguires Gold Class Liquid wax at Walmart because that's what they had, but was at Autozone the other day and saw it in a paste. Any strong opinions one way or the other? (I know many people on this board prefer Zaino, but I want to do a relatively quick detail when I get it and then later in the fall when my schedule is less hectic, I may switch to Zaino.

Thanks for your help.:wavey:

 

[koala]

You should just start with Zaino the first time.

Wash with a good dishwashing liquid (dawn). Claybar. Wash with the zaino soap. Then do the whole process.

If you wax it with some other brand, you're going to have to wash all that crap off when you do finally go to do Zaino.

 

[Frosty]

If you are thinking of going with Zaino, just go with Zaino.

Saving an hour or two the first time isn't worth all the extra money you'd spend buying a line of Meguiar's products, then buying a line of Zaino products... and you'd probably want to buy new detailing cloths since you've read about cross-contamination, etc, etc, etc.

It's a big expense to switch, it's best to start with what you want to stick with.

And never assume a dealership did a good job. Most of them don't... some do.

 

[S-curve]

Kwork, You can start with the claybar and then polish, followed by wax. That should give you a nice shine. Flow uses Meguiars Yellow Wax usually and that is pretty good stuff. They just don't cover the whole car. They go for quantity not quality. I had them skip the whole process on mine.

If you are going with the Meguiars Gold Class (I do too, and I love it) go with the liquid if you are applying in your garage. There is less powder residue and you get a slightly better shine. However, if you must wax outside use the paste. It dries better and is easier to remove in sunlight. It does leave a lot more wax dust behind.

Go with the professional Meguiars Show car glaze #7 for your polish. This should be available at a paint supply store. If there are none in your area you can go to Jonny Wooten in W-S. They are on Polo Rd. I can give you directions if you like. Just PM or get up with me on NC chat.

From what I have gathered on the board Zaino and Meguiars give about the same shine. The Zaino seems to last longer. I usually wax my car about twice a month at least. This is a hobby so I don't mind spending the time. On my wife's DSM RSX I go about 4 months between waxing. Water just barely beeds but the shine is mostly there.

I would agree with Koalapeck tho. If you plan on going to Zaino it is prolly better if you start out with it so you don't waste your time doing something that will need to be removed. It will be up to how much time you would like to spend on the finish of your car.