Ask-A-Pro: What Polish, Sealant, and Wax for a New Car?

Hi, I just received a new G37 and the dealer prep was pretty bad. It seems that there were still lots of residue from the shipping plastic and the dealer took dirty rags to polish it up. Result, lots of swirls! What would you recommend that would be really gentle to remove the swirls, as well as a sealent and wax on a new finish? I will be getting a full detail first from a pro. It’s afterwards that I will just be maintaining it. I will be doing this by hand. Thanks, Tom

Hi Tom, and thanks for submitting your questions to Ask A Pro!

First off, congratulations on your new purchase, but sorry to hear about the dealer-installed swirls. Unfortunately this is all too common. I’m happy to hear that you made the decision to choose a professional detailer to correct the problems and start it out on the right foot. This is a great way to ensure the finish is looking its best when new, as well as protecting the paint and other areas of the car. Most pro detailers have some sort of new car prep service to offer.

If your detailer performs a full service of paint correction and protection with a sealant and/or wax, then you should be good to go for a while other than touch-ups. Probably the most important tools, techniques, and products you should focus on afterwards would be in the area of proper washing and drying. If you’re using the right techniques and products, then you can maintain the pro detailer’s finish for a long time.

For the occasional touch-ups by hand however (scrapes, scuffs, and light swirls will happen), I would recommend that you at least get yourself a good, light polish for use by hand. For this I would suggest a product like Meguiar’s M205 Ultra Finishing Polish. It does a tremendous job by hand, or by machine.

For re-applications of sealants, you have a lot of great choices available to you that are easy to apply by hand, they look great, and they’re quite durable as well. You really can’t go wrong with Blackfire Wet Diamond, Optimum Opti-Seal, Menzerna Power Lock, or Chemical Guys Jet Seal 109.

If you’re using a sealant, you don’t have to wax, but many people simply enjoy the process, and it can add that extra glow to the paint from time to time. If you want a quick, simple spray wax then I highly recommend Optimum’s Car Wax. It literally takes just 10-15 minutes, it’s durable, it looks great, and it doesn’t stain trim. If you’re more of a paste wax person, then your choices are almost limitless. There are so many great paste waxes being offered by Dodo Juice, Chemical Guys, P21S, etc.

I hope this helps you to keep your brand new ride looking its absolute best. If you have any additional comments or questions, please let us know.