New CX-5; 655 miles. Looking for tips on initial wax, care, etc.

Doing, "search," here didn't bring up what I was looking for, so...... Finally did it. Bought first ever Mazda, a CX-5 from Foothills Mazda, Spokane, Washington state. Has 655 miles on it now. Did NOT buy dealer sales pitch for high priced extended warranty policies OR their $800 initial, "wax/protectorate," option.
I asked a salesman yesterday how Mazda delivered cars to them. Meaning, no paint coating/protection, some factory coating, or did the dealer always, "wax," or otherwise do any helpful prep for delivery to buyer. He said if I didn't buy the extra stuff, I was getting simple, raw paint from Mazda - no dealer paint protection. Nothing from Mazda factory.
OK. So I'll begin waxing test spots today. For years I've used Meguiars products and currently have some of their, "Gold," liquid wax. I already read here Meguiars has an, "Ultimate," version of similar wax, so I might get that when I run out of this. Seems to me the Gold is a decent beginning.
Otherwise, what tips might any of you have as to how to begin care for our new car the best way?????
Thanks, Dennis
 
I use Meguiar products as well since they don't cost an arm and a leg and produce great results. If I ever happen to pick up a new car and start over, this is what I would do:

Rinse car with a high pressure washer like a Sun Joe using 25 degree nozzle tip.
Use a snow foam cannon like the ones from MATCC with 1:9 solution of Meguiar soap to water
Wash car with microfiber mitt using two bucket rule.
Clay bar afterwards.
Rinse car with high pressure washer using 40 degree nozzle tip.
Blow water off with a leaf blower.
Then just go through it with NXT wax.
 
I*d do what I did today. Wash (2 bucket, 1st time I*ve ever done that), clay bar, wax/sealant.

I had great results today with Meguiars crystal wash, meguiars clay bar, meguiars Ultimate Paste Wax, and Turtle Wax Ice seal n shine. The seal n shine was my favorite new product too. It*s safe for the clearcoat as well as exterior plastic so i essentially treated the whole exterior of the car with it. I*ll report back on the durability of everything used. My wife really liked it. She*s very hard to impress and thought I applied some kind of colored product to the car. She said it*s a different color! It*s not grey. It*s silver! Has it always been silver? How did you make it lighter?

I also picked up a bottle of Meguiars Ultimate quick detailer. I*ll probably give the car a water less wash once a week with that to see if it keeps the sealant in good shape.

I*d like to hear anybody*s preferred tire shine/dressing. I scrubbed and degreased my tires properly and applied Mcguiars endurance gel. I*ve read it can sling off, so I did the bare minimum to coat the sidewall and then wiped the tires thoroughly with a clean cloth 10 min later. Not as glossy as leaving it alone but it still looks nice.
 
Last edited:
For the average car buyer:

Take it home, wash it with Dawn dish soap to strip the paint of any oils or coatings, then apply a wax to the clear coat. Reapply the wax as often as you need to, depending on where the car is stored and what it gets exposed to.

For someone who wants to go the extra step:

Wash the car. Spray it down with an iron remover like Carpro Iron X. Rinse the car, then clay bar to get rid of any embedded contaminants. This is because most of the time, the cars are transported to the dealers via train or truck, where they get exposed to rail dust and typical road grime.

Wash the car again. With most of the contaminants gone, the next step would be to polish the paint (if required). A lot of the time, washing the car will result in some very minor scratches or micro marring. The polishing step takes care of the micro marring. After polish, you would then apply wax as the last step of protection. The wax provides some UV protection, and it also acts as a sacrificial layer against mechanical and chemical abrasives (washing the car and water spot/bird dropping etching, respectively).
 
Whew! OK. Let me work on this. I ought to give my background and the car's environment: We live in an arid, rural area. In the middle of a wheat field, actually. Eastern Washington state; few people. Lot's of field dirt and occasional dust storms. Wheat harvest and dust going on all around us now. One can tell the, "town folks," by the fact their cars are often clean; ours dirty. We're putting up a car port as my wife's health makes it hard for her to get it out of the back building. (We're on a 5 acre farmstead) It will live inside in extreme conditions. Carport in mild weather.
Next/new problem: we have well water. I've just washed the car for the second time ever. We have, "hard water," which leaves calcium deposits even in our home's plumbing. Softener doesn't take everything out. New car is water-spotting immediately, even with chasing the wash job fast with soft towel to dry it. Can't get water off quick enough I guess. Afterward, testing with plain Maguiars Gold Wax does not take all the water marks off. When we took delivery of this car, in an immediate and rare rain shower, we noticed the water did nice, "beading," so figured it had some kind of helpful coating. Doubt now it had/has any at all. If so, our hard water will grab the new paint and stick quickly.
dzo88: I have no pressure washer and no access to one. No Snow Foam Cannon.
So I need to figure a good way to do an initial, (deep?), cleaning. Then wax.
Never heard of Clay Bars before now. They sound good if they don't hurt anything. (Oh, - might mention, we're retired, I'm 76; wife in poor health and this car is gift for her having to live a tough life in other ways. Also not easy purchase on fixed income, but we did it!) I'm active, something of a car guy and can monkey wrench on equipment.
So....maybe we can move discussion toward dealing with water spotting issues and how to get ahead of that, if I even can. Not sure what to put on the car now with that in mind. And how to, "seal," finish to resist water spotting.
Dennis
 
Thanks for the background!

First things first: hard water. I used one of these for an RV, but amazon reviews suggest it may help reduce (perhaps not completely eliminate) hard water spots: https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)

The link is to a 2 pack. Perhaps buy 1 and try it? Lasts 6 months with camping and RV use. I*m sure it would last much longer for just car washes. Not much else you can do to prevent hard water spots besides installing an expensive deionizing system for perhaps just a spigot.

Second, washing. Good old Dawn soap will work just fine! Look up two bucket washing method if you*re not familiar. One bucket with your soapy water, one with clean water. Wash your car with a microfiber mitt or something, and rinse it off in a second bucket of clean water so you don*t contaminate the soapy water.

Once washed, using a clay bar will give you the deep clean you seek. You*ll only need to do this once a year or so. Completely safe. Just don*t use it on a dry car. You rub it gently over the panel after spraying down the included lubricant. Check out this item at Target https://www.target.com/p/meguiar-s-smooth-surface-clay-kit-16-oz/-/A-13794542. It might be cheaper elsewhere than Target but for some reason Amazon lists it for $28. $16 at Target. You spray the clean car with the provided lubricant, and you just wipe the surface with the clay. It*s like hard silly putty. It*s actually a synthetic material that will grab contaminants out of the clear coat so your wax can adhere better! You keep folding and kneading the clay to expose clean areas. Go in two directions with the clay, like left and right over the area and then up and down over the whole area. Wipe the lubricant away with the included microfiber pad and move on to another panel. Doesn*t take long at all to do the whole car

Last but not least in my opinion: protectant. Try Turtle Wax Ice Seal N Shine. It*s only $7 at Walmart. You spray it on the car and wipe it off. Done! It should last longer than the Meguiars Gold. If you like the traditional wax route, you can try their Ultimate Paste Wax. It supposedly lasts longer than their Gold product. I just tried it for the first time (Ultimate Paste) and followed up with the shine n seal. I*ll report back on that later on how durable it is.

Wash your car when it gets dirty again with something pH neutral like a Mcguiars car soap product. Dawn will likely take the shine and seal or wax right off. No need to go that deep again : ) keep waxing or reapply something like the shine n seal. That should keep the car easy to clean and I hope make car washing easier for the future.
 
Last edited:
Wax does not take the water marks off b/c it is not designed to do so

I suggest you go to the Meguairs web site and ask a product specialist - I suspect they will tell you to use a mild abrasive in the red bottle "Body Scrub" or whatever has superseded that.

As someone who went to grad. school at WSU you have my condolences on the Palouse dust bowl... the wind blew it in; and will blow it back out again
 
a few tidbits:

Meguiars Ultimate Liquid Wax is most durable, does not leave any residual product on plastics or rubber
Meguiars Hybrid*Ceramic*Wax - better water repellant; last same as Ult. Fast Finish; different apps. procedures for the two

Tested by Cons. Reports 2011, updated 2016:
Nu Finish NFP-80 car wax (soft paste can) - rated 71 (best); xlnt. Durability; only got a Good for Gloss
Meguiars Gold Class Liquid - rated 68; Fair Durability (but rated much better than Gold Class paste wax)
Meguiars NXT - rated 69; Fair Durability (but was best liquid); Very Good for Gloss

most products had a significant loss of protection within about 5 weeks

also: Autoglym Bumper & Trim Gel
 
Given the environment and setting you are in, I would inquire places that specialize in auto detailing in the Spokane area. You can probably make do with visiting an auto detailer twice a year just to get wax done. Ziebart come up on Yelp in the Spokane area.

An alternative to waxing your car is getting it coated with ceramic. This coating supposedly last much longer than wax. There is a placed called Ceramic Pro in Spokane that you can check in for more details about this.

And if you are close by Spokane, there might be some self service car washes nearby where you pay by minute of use.

After washing, and then having to do clay bar, and waxing as well, can get exhausting, especially on an SUV. As a young whipper snapper myself, I dread pulling out a small ladder or step just to do the clay bar and elbow greasing of wax onto the top of the car.

All this aside, enjoy the new car purchase and don't worry too much about this topic. When the time comes where you feel the car paint isn't up to standard, visit an auto detailer to have them give it the end to end treatment that has been mentioned in all previous postings here.

I look at my cars now and no matter how hard I tried to care for it, there was no way to prevent all the bird s*** that comes its way or all the rocks or bug guts that happen to have their way with the car bumper/hood. Same goes for door dings that happens just because on that day I have to park closer to the entrance.
 
Some really good information in this thread and I appreciate it. I think I can blend some of the recommendations into what will work for us. A high end Maguiars product or two, clay bar for sure, (although I've never even seen one much less used one), and another brand or so of protectorate. dzo88, we're 85 miles NW of Spokane, so just dropping in to any place is not common. We're roughly on our own out here. So far we love the CX-5. If I were rich, lived in town, and could, I'd get get a Mazda 6 for touring. Tried one out. Liked it a LOT. Just had to crawl some to get into it. OTH, out here AWD is required. ralf11, thanks for the product ratings. I use that info. 2 bucket wash method. A trunk load of supplies, .............
 
This is a highly subjective topic and being my first time here it reads like a Maguiars commercial. I just obtained a 2019 GT and it seems to have come from the dealer with some kind of protective coat but I don't know what. Probably just a good wax. Personally I like Turtle wax products and if you look at you tube a lot of the professional detailers like the Ice Seal and Shine. I've been using ice for a long time and love the stuff. I remember when applying wax and buffing it gave you muscles in places you didn't know you had. These days you pay anything from 600 to a grand for a full detail. However most people don't drive show cars they drive daily cars. Depending on what you want to do you can wash the car, clay bar it. rinse and dry it then wax it. If you want to go further and are brave you can apply a ceramic coating. These range in price from cheap to quite expensive. Some last quite a while after they cure. If you're successful with that you can apply wax over it but don't apply a cleaner wax. Good luck with whatever you choose!
 
Wash your car when it is cooler and when the sun is not too intense, in the evening or in the shady so the water won't evaporate so fast and leave water marks. You may have to wash and dry the car in sections to avoid water drying on your car and leaving water marks. I use an absorber to quickly dry my car. It works fantastic but I did have guys on this forum saying the absorber will scratch, but it does not scratch. It will scratch only if it has dirt on it so I rinse it in the bucket and ring it out often.

So I suggest wet the car preferably with a garden hose with sprayer attachment, use a bucket of warm water with dawn only for the initial wash, to remove any wax from the factory or dealer, then dry. Then use any good synthetic polish that easily wipes on and off. As a daily driver paint corrections, clay barring, buffing is not necessary before applying a polish and doing so removes some of the clear coat. As the years go by and you get tar or bird s*** or bug hits or heavy dust etc, you may want to do through detailing.

My car had felt to have a carnauba wax on it when I got it new. It did not feel slippery, it felt waxy. I stripped it off with dawn and I used Griot's poly wax. It repels water good and makes subsequent washings easy. The Griot's doesn't last as long as other synthetic waxes but my car is garaged kept and easily lasts 6 months or more.

A tip: The back doors do not drain good, so after drying the car, open the back doors and let the water run out of them. The water that runs out doesn't get on any parts of the car so you don't have to re-dry anything, just wipe the door jam.
 
A lot of folks these days opt for ceramic coating on their new cars. It costs several hundred for a pro to do it but lasts several years. A lot of dealers advertise it as a *care free* option, but enthusiasts still regularly wax it for the extra layer of protection.

I*ve personally never ceramic coated, but use the claybar/hand-polish/wax process.

For most, regular waxing is fine. If you want more wet shine, clay and polish once a year in addition to waxing. If you want robust protection, splurge for ceramic.
 
mebe it reads like a "Maguiars commercial" because Meguiars products are used by many commercial shops; they were bought out by 3M recently, and 3M is the other biggie, so added together that is very likely the majority of commercial users

I prefer to buy from a firm that employs a lot of professional chemists to improve their products.

Boutique is fine for sports cars and wine or food.

What people can do is to pick a spendy product and a less expensive one - try them out on a vertical or horizontal body panel side-by-side. Be sure to keep notes of which is which as it will be hard to tell otherwise.

I will say that the ceramic "wax" products seem good for an SUV. I tried one (name deleted but it is mentioned frequently in this thread!) that is very easy to use (spray on & blastoff with shots of water) and cheap on a VW Vanagon. It really seemed like the mud came off a lot easier after use-testing in eastern Orygun.
 
I've had fantastic results using products from Adam's Polishes. Car Wash, Clay Bar, H2O Guard and Gloss, Detail Spray, Waterless Wash, Buttery Wax, etc. Products for all parts of the car. Many are pH neutral, all made in USA. They cost more than the other guys, but you get what you pay for.
 
I've had fantastic results using products from Adam's Polishes. Car Wash, Clay Bar, H2O Guard and Gloss, Detail Spray, Waterless Wash, Buttery Wax, etc. Products for all parts of the car. Many are pH neutral, all made in USA. They cost more than the other guys, but you get what you pay for.

Not always true, especially with Adam's. Like all auto detailing companies, Adam's has a few good products and a bunch of underperformers. An example of one of their underperformers is their Ceramic Spray Coating. They tout it as "a ceramic coating that you can spray on", but a bottle of $7-8 Turtle Wax Seal n' Shine will provide just as much gloss and be much, much more durable.
 
Not always true, especially with Adam's. Like all auto detailing companies, Adam's has a few good products and a bunch of underperformers. An example of one of their underperformers is their Ceramic Spray Coating. They tout it as "a ceramic coating that you can spray on", but a bottle of $7-8 Turtle Wax Seal n' Shine will provide just as much gloss and be much, much more durable.

The only Adam's product, so far, that I wasn't pleased with, was the Iron Remover. The Ceramic Spray Coating works well for me. I haven't done any severe tests after applying it, but I have washed a few times and it is holding up. Perhaps in a different climate the coating performs differently.
 
The only Adam's product, so far, that I wasn't pleased with, was the Iron Remover. The Ceramic Spray Coating works well for me. I haven't done any severe tests after applying it, but I have washed a few times and it is holding up. Perhaps in a different climate the coating performs differently.

I'm sure the product is fine, the problem is calling it a "Ceramic Spray Coating". I saw a test where a guy applied a coat of the Adam's CSC, then purposefully left a visible high spot. He left it to cure for a day, and when he came back, he was able to wipe down the high spot with just water. A real ceramic product would not do that, so they're basically deceiving customers by calling it a "Ceramic Spray". That's my only issue.

Anyway, the Meguiar's Ultimate line of products is great. Widely available and fairly cheap. I liked using the Ultimate Quik Detailer as a drying aid after a wash, and using the Ultimate Quik Wax once every 1-2 months. Both really easy to use with good results.
 
it may well be a Ceramic - manfs. can make nano-particles out of ceramics now, previously they made micro-spheres (and used them in sound absorbent materials)

Ceramic doesn't have to mean it has a given performance characteristic

it could also have 0.01% Ceramic in it and likely be legal...

but the real test is performance: factors such as gloss, depth of shine, durability in sun and rain, etc. along with ease of application
 
I would suggest putting on a Paint Protection Film (PPF) around the front grill area, leading 18" of the hood, mirrors, and leading edge of the roof up to the sunroof(if you have it). There are kits available on the internet for all these areas. I went to a PPF installer who got the kit for just the front end(as there are so many bends and corners) but cut his own film for everywhere else. This will be up around a $1000+/-, but money well spent.
 
Back