New car advice

[speednut]

Hi

 

I will be picking up my new Octavia vRS in Race Blue later this week ,need some advice how to keep the paint and alloys pristine and protected especially during the winter

 

Any recommendations on products would be appreciated

 

Steve

[oxonboxn]

Just about the best advice you can get....from this site.

 

 

http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/car-care-advice.html

 

 

Also good range of decent products.

[samuir1974]

Best option for a new car will probably be ceramic coating based to protect your investment.

Based on a few chaps at work going this route - Gtechniq, Siramik and Max protect all do the job well,

but may be best applied by a trained/approved detailer in some instances.

 

Otherwise - as above.... shop around for products if you want to detail yourself.

 

Plenty of good options out there.... depends on budget and what you have already?

 

HTH with any advice as you go along...

[Rainmaker]

As above really, but I would add this from my own experiences this year: 

 

Keep it simple, avoid the 'fads' and keep it cheap. 

 

That was advice a pro detailer gave me at the time, but I got carried away... I spent near on a grand over time (not to mention literally days and days of ultimately wasted effort trying things out) on various spray sealants, decontamination (tar/iron), clays, detailers, god knows what. To be fair that did include a pressure washer, 10m hoses, a DA polisher and pads and polishes etc though. Eventually after much experimentation it boiled down to a decent wax free pH neutral shampoo (Bilt Hamber or similar) and Bilt Hamber Double Speed-Wax for the exterior, and Sonax Cockpit Cleaner for the interior. Add in a bottle of Meguiar's Leather & Vinyl for the seats, and a bottle of quick detailer for between washes (I love Mitchell & King's QD), and that's about it really.

 

If I knew that six months ago I'd have saved a fortune. I chased every fad going, including BSD, C2v3, various wet sealants (WetCoat etc) and all kinds of stuff. They look great for a week or two and then I found they soon broke down even with decent prep. I was also plagued by hard water spots that needed hard scrubbing to get off the coating, and they attracted dust like mad. We do live in a city though, tbf, with a lot of developments and loads of trees (pollen, bird and bug bombs etc). A coat of BH DSW (£15 for a tin that'll last for years) is still beading and sheeting like a champ and the car hasn't even needed washing for near two weeks now. I did wipe down with some QD after a spot of rain last week but aside from that.. Wax in future for me! Previously I was washing twice a week and still losing the battle.

 

Are you taking delivery in the transport wrap? You'll need something like Trix (combined tar, glue and iron remover) to get rid of the last of the transport wrapping residue and rail dust contamination etc. Rinse the car off with water after getting the wrap off, optionally snow foam (BH is good), give it a good two bucket wash, apply the Trix, wash again, clay it, give it a quick polish with Lime Prime or similar - ideally with a DA - and then seal it up with a couple of layers of decent wax. With BH DSW you can also do the headlights and chrome with no issues. Try to avoid the rubbers/seals, but unlike most waxes it won't stain them white if you remove it fairly quickly.

 

Don't spend a bomb on various fancy tiny bottles of 'car' interior sealants like I did either. Just grab a big bottle of 303 Aerospace Protectant from Amazon or similar and use that to seal your dash, door cards and consoles. If your seats are leather it'll do those too, but if they're cloth or alcantara get something else. The 303 will also seal your exterior rubbers (window seals) if you spray it onto a makeup cotton pad or similar then wipe it on. Just keep it simple, save your money and a hell of a lot of frustrated effort. Just my .02 mate. 

 

As Samuir says above though, if you're paying someone else then definitely get a 'new car detail' including decon and prep/polish, and then have them apply a proper ceramic coating like C1. That way you can layer it with some carnauba wax for a deeper glow if you like, but the underlying coating will last years without fuss. Most importantly though, enjoy your new car. The VRS engine is a peach and you've picked the best colour imho too!