When I eventually pick my new car up, if I instruct the dealer to do nothing more than remove the stickers, what would be the best process to properly prepare my car ?
I know this answer will vary but I'm particularly interested in your view Rebecca as you seem the most fastidious person on the entire forum when it comes to their car
PS
This has now been confirmed with the purchase of an expensive imperfection spotter
Haha, I just had to have it.
Kalimon, have a look at my first R detail thread
http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=275907.0That goes through all the steps I did from new. The dealer didn't prep the car, I asked to remove the stickers but to leave any glue residue on as I didn't want to risk them scrubbing away at it causing damage.
As the car was untouched and new, it didn't need claying or polishing so I gave it a thorough wash followed by decontamination process (consisting of de-iron and de-tar (but no claying)) and then moved onto the sealing and waxing phases.
The process went as follows below but there's more detail in the thread I linked to above.
Moisten car with jet wash
Snow Foam
2/3 bucket shampoo - wheels first
Jet wash rinse
Quick dry off
Iron remover application
Rinse off with jet washer
Dry car
Tar remover application
Rinse off with jet washer
2/3 bucket shampoo
Jet wash rinse
Final open ended hose rinse
Dry
Seal wheels
Bodywork sealant
Bodywork wax
Clean glass
Tyre dressing
Polish Tailpipes
Interior clean + interior glass
It is crucial that the car is properly thoroughly washed before decontaminating. If you just snow foam and jet wash off but don't do the 2BW, as both of these decon products are applied to the car (spray or cloth) and then need agitating with a cloth before rinsing off, there is a very good chance there will still be dirt and grit on the surface which will get rubbed into the paintwork during the process.
Iron remover can be sprayed onto a wet car, but I personally prefer to spray onto a dry car. That way, the product is not having to penetrate the water first before hitting the paintwork, metalwork etc. Many use it on a wet car though. Tar remover should definitely be applied to a dry car, not a wet one.
A FULL decontamination process would also include claying the car but often Iron remover and Tar remover stages are sufficient to rid the car of the majority of embedded contaminants. And claying is best followed by a polish in case of any marring inflicted on the paint in the process.
If you want to feel the before and after effect of the decon stages, try the plastic bag test. Get a sandwich/ freezer bag and slip your hand into it. On a washed and dry car, run the palm of your hand (in the bag) over the surface of the paintwork - lower panels are good place to test - you will feel any embedded contaminants present, the plastic bag emphasises the feel of anything on the paintwork. Decontaminate your car as above, then do the bag test again, and if the car is properly rid of the contaminants, the paintwork will feel glassy smooth.
Hope this helps.