You bring up a really good point about preparing the paint. I have a new Odyssey (2012) that I just got 2 days ago. Other then washing the car do I still need to prep the paint?
Thanks!
Of course, a "new" car should have paint that is in pristine condition. Unfortunatley, that is rarely true. Dealers often do little more than a quick wipedown with a quick detailer after removing the masking that the factory puts on for shipping. That is good and bad news. The good part is that the less they touch it the better. The bad news is that it often requires more work than they are capable or desire to do.
New cars are shipped via a combination of rail and truck in the cae of the Odyssey in North America. The protective films are intended to keep the majority of the contaminants off the paint, but fall short of being fully functional. Here is what I did this past weekend to my brand new Odyssey:
1. Washed the car with a combination of a good PH balanced wash (from Griots Garage) and Dawn. This will strip any quick detail layer from the paint and let me actually see the condition without fillers that often are employed to hide scuffs and/or micromarring and scratching. You then see the true condition of the paint.
2. After an inspection, I determined that I needed to do some polishig to remove rail dust (put a baggie over your hand and feel the paint surface - if it drags and catches, you have contaminants in the surface of the paint. I clayed the car using Meguiars "kit" which includes quick detailer for lubrication). The surface was thereafter smooth as a baby's bottom but had some micromarring.
3. Used some HD Uno polish on my Porter Cable 7434 Random Orbital polisher with a relatively unaggressive pad and polished out the small markings.
4. I then wiped everything down with a 50-50 Isopropyl Alcohol / water mix to make sure all of the QD was completely removed.
5. Used the HQ NitroSeal product to completely seal and protect the finish. Very easy product to use and results are simply amazing.
While the products you use may be different, the steps are pretty much what I would do to any new vehicle to ensure it got the best start possible. I think I will put a final sacrificial layer on top of the sealant before winter - probably use HD Poxy or something like that.
Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner Wolverine. Hope I didn't overwhelm you!