Hi from Tennessee

[Carol]

Hi I'm Carol from Tennessee. I just bought a 2013 Ford Edge Limited about a month ago and decided I would join this forum to share and learn.

I don't know anything about forums so I am new to this but my husband belongs to many Mustang forums and really enjoys conversing with the other members.

[JOEHIO]

Congrats on the Edge, welcome aboard, and ask away, if any questions. If no questions, read posts and learn.

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

Congrats & welcome! x2 on what Joe said. Look into getting the exterior polished/sealed to keep that shine on for a long time to come.

[fledgex]

Hello Tennessee. Got a sister in Clinton and another in Solway. Welcome and enjoy your new ride. They are great.

[kc300c]

Welcome Carol. You're going to love your new Edge.

[Jackman5000]

Hello carol!

 

wwwperfa-zn0w....will you tell me more about the "polish/seal" you speak of? Lol. I have never had a car that i cared enough to keep pristine like our 2012 limited edge (therefore don't know a lot about preserving exterior). I assume a body shop performs? What should I expect to pay for said services? Just a ballpark so I don't completely walk in unaware. We talking couple hundred or five?

Thanks for anyone's advice!

Jack

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

Hi Jack! There are a couple of owner writeups (Edgieguy and edge1217 come to mind) on this forum, and Richy has extensive knowledge on the subject of detailing. I will refer primarily to paint, but there is paint, trim, wheels & tires, and interior to consider when doing a full detail.

 

How much work/money? All depends on the current condition of the paint. Scratches, swirls, bugs, dirt, infinite variety of possible issues. Could be anywhere from $300 on up.

 

Polishing is basically sanding the paint like you would wood. Sealing is what they call "Last Stage Protection" or LSP, and allows the product to take the beating rather than the paint. It can be done with a wax or a sealant, and depending on the product selected, may last from 2 weeks to 2 years. Going back to wood references, think of polyurethane as a sealant.

 

Usually, the steps will be:

 

1. Pressure wash the exterior of the vehicle with plain water. Using a pressure washer is recommended, but you can get something like a Gilmour Foammaster that threads onto a garden hose. Just make sure you have adequate water pressure to begin with. If you know of a good touchless car wash or self serve nearby, you could do that too.

2. Thoroughly soap down the exterior of the vehicle, preferably with something that will strip any existing protection (wax, etc) from the paint. Pressure washer + foam lance is the best I have seen, and the Foammaster works reasonably well. You will have to work with the dilution ratios to get enough sudsing on the paint to clean it off. Zep Citrus + Dawn 1:1 in the Foammaster is what I have used. Because water pressure isn't great in my area, I have had to use up to a 4:1 dilution of this mix in the Foammaster (you will see the settings on the dial A/B/C/... reference the manual). Ideally, with good water pressure, you can get away with 16:1 setting. Use a good wash mitt to gently work the surface (no scrubbing!) and maximize the soap action.

3. Get the embedded iron particles and the tar/bug/organic matter off the exterior. Products like Iron-X will help remove the iron (obvious, right? LOL), and Tar-X or Tarminator will get all that other crap off. The iron comes from shipping the vehicle, air pollution, brake dust, etc. Tar & bugs, who can avoid them these days! If you still have organic matter stuck on after these products, you can try a bug sponge (thoroughly soften the sponge in warm water first to avoid damaging the exterior).

4. Repeat step 2. Hopefully at this point, you have gotten any visible stuff off the car.

5. Decontaminate the paint. After Step 4, if the paint still feels rough to you when you run your fingers lightly over it, it needs more help. Take time with this inspection. Here you would use a good clay bar with some sort of lubricant (at the very least, distilled water). It takes a little practice, just don't drop the bar, and periodically inspect the clay, fold it over to a clean surface if it starts showing dirt. There are non-clay alternatives out there, the one I use is CarPro's Polyshave Decon Block.

6. Inspect the true condition of the paint. Outside on a sunny day provides the best conditions. If you have a highpowered worklight, you can inspect in the garage. You are looking for scratches, swirls, anything that breaks up the surface of the paint. If you have access to a paint meter, this will help in figuring out how much paint you have to work with, and what techniques for polishing are viable. (Since you have a relatively new vehicle, I don't expect a paint meter to be necessary.) Light stuff can be polished off, deep scratches should be filled in first before you start polishing the paint.

7. Polish the paint. If you are not experienced with this kind of work, you should start off with a dual action orbital machine such as the Porter Cable or Griot's Garage etc. You COULD hand polish, but that would take ... a while. Pick from known good polishing pad/polish combinations. Choose how many steps you want to do. If the defects are anything more than superficial, then you should go at least 2 steps (an aggressive polish + a finishing polish). If in great shape (only very light defects), you may need only a single step finishing polish.

8. Clean the paint of any polishing residue/oils. A full IPA (isopropyl alcohol) wipedown gets your polished paint ready for the LSP. If you are ready for the LSP, use a 50% solution (less streaking). If you are inspecting, you can use full strength (usually 70% or more). Any dilutions should be with distilled water only. Just spray and wipe (GENTLY!).

9. Apply the LSP. Ah, the subject of considerable debate and personal preference! Costwise, Collinite 845 is probably the cheapest & best out there. Originally developed for the power industry, it can last up to 6 months on the vehicle. Ease of use, a very recent product I have seen reviews of is CarPro HydrO2, where you spray it on, and then wash it off under pressure. Jury is still out how long that protection is, but could be 3 months or more. There are carnauba waxes out there for every preference as well. The longest lasting LSPs are usually non-wax sealants like OptiCoat/OptiGuard/CQuartz. Using a good LSP will help make maintenance easier, and less work the next time you do a full detail.

 

Wheels and tires should be done after Step 2, and before any other exterior portion of the car. They are usually the worst collectors of dirt & contaminants, so get their cleanup out of the way first. If you take the extra step of sealing your wheels (generally, with any of the longer-lasting LSPs), you can simply wash off any crud that gets on them.

 

Definitely avoid body shops. Either find a good professional detailer, or do it yourself. I am sure people on here can help you out with references, or you can find them on sites like http://www.autopia.org or http://www.live2detail.com.

Edited August 17, 2013 by WWWPerfA_ZN0W

[Jackman5000]

Wow. Thanks for the info!