How a car SHOULD come from the dealer

[Methodical4u]

Well, i've gotten the paint work finished on my new 370, but one thing that hasn't changed in my last 4 new cars is the paint condition in which they have them in.

This was not a full detail. It's what I like to call "knocking the dealer dust off".

I do not have any before pics of the car, I did try to take a few, but with the car being white, the camera wasn't picking up a lot of the scratches that were there.

My list of products used are:

Simple 2 bucket method wash with a microfiber mitt
Clayed using Clay Magic (great stuff by the way)
Washed yet again to get all of the residue off the paint
Flex DA machine polisher (setting on 3.5-4)
Menzerna Super Finish
Uber white pad
Standard micro fiber towels
Finish Kare 1000p high temp paste wax

All I really did was the basic wash, clay, wash, and polish. My goal wasn't to do any major cutting, actually I left a few small scratches here and there, just because later on it will need a full polishing, but the results are quite stunning IMO. The paint looks just pretty good coming from the dealer, a simple 1 minute pass with the Flex and the paint is gleaming and very reflective. Menzerna products are all that I use when it comes to polishing. They stay on the paint for quite a while before breaking down.

The Flex vs. the PC. Junkman and a few others didn't agree with me about using the Flex and feel it was a bit to harsh for a new car. Let me state that i'm sure that guys such as himself and Phil and probably many others on here are pros when it comes to this stuff... let me also state that I am NOT a pro and don't claim to be at all.. I give anyone respect who deserves it and has put a lot of time into what they do for a living.

Personally for me I used the Flex because it has more torque, if you use a PC with a larger pad (6.5 inch) and you put a little pressure down, the pad does not move. The Flex is much more powerful of a machine and gets the job done in half the time... search youtube for Flex vs PC and you'll see what I mean.

My theory is that I am taking off so little product and using one of the lowest cutting pads with the one of the lowest grit polishes possible. The possibility of burning the paint with this combo is pretty much zero unless you are a total moron. Also, a scratch is a scratch and that means that the paint HAS to be taken down evenly to remove the scratch, so whether you are using a Flex with a lighter cutting set-up or a PC with a heavier one.. the result will be the same... but again.. I am at best an amateur with this.. i've done about 15 cars in my life, they all did come out pretty nice, some better than others and I certainly like perfection, but it only goes so far.. at some point you have to just sit back and enjoy your new car!

Anyway, here are pics of the car almost finished from earlier today, sorry about the preaching lol.