What do you guys to keep exterior looking good? New Black S6 owner here

[kcbonedoc]

I have had my S6 for just over a week. I had planned on taking my car to the tint/clearbra guy the day after I picked it up but his schedule was packed until about 5 days later. When I went to drop it off he was able to do the tint but he said I already had some bug stains/etching in the clearcoat in a fwe spots that need to be buffed/detailed out before he would feel comfortable putting the clearbra over it. He said a lot of shops would just ignore that and put the clearbra on but that he was uncomfortable doing that. Unfortunately the detailing guy he uses to fix that sort of thing is out until after the labor day so I will have to bring it back then for the detail and then he will immediately do the bra.
My questions are, does this sound like a legit story?
If so I assume one the bra is on (I am doing all forward facing areas and whole rocker panels) this wont be an issue b/c I can just clean the clearbra much easier correct?
What should I do to protect rest of the care not covered by the bra from hard water stains, etc? I see many use opticoat on these boards.

Basically I have a crazy schedule so I want to do whatever I can to make my ongoing maintaining the cars awesome external appearence as simple as possible, even if it means paying a bit more upfront.

[SierraBravo]

I had my black S6 Opti-Coated. I like it.

http://opti-coat.net/index.php

[kcbonedoc]

So I would opticoat the areas not clearbra'd?

[SierraBravo]

You can Opti-Coat over the clearbra if you want.

[lmmike]

I had my detail guy use Opti Coat on my cars and it's amazing. They are super easy to clean and stay looking clean longer. One is black, one is gray and the other is white. Good luck!

[VVG]

Best thing you can do for your finish is to touch the car as little as possible, especially when cleaning it. Spend some money on a power washer and hot air car dryer. You can get all the grime off the vehicle and dry it spotless without laying a finger on it. Then go over with some type of waterless carwash solution ( I use Griot's Spray-On Car Wash) and high quality microfiber. When you are done, you will have beautiful brilliant shine, with minimal direct contact.

[well_armed]

Use Xpel ultimate, whole car wrap if you are paranoid.

Opticoat is also a great option, still needs to be waxed and washed but it all stays above the clear coat.

[kcbonedoc]

I did think about a whole car wrap. I may yet do that. I looked at the Xpel ultimate and the Nanofusion. My installer does both. No price difference. He uses a lot more Nanofusion. It's a much slicker film and is a but tougher/thicker. It does not get the online forum press that Xpel does but I think it's a better product.

[spyfish]

I just got my s6 and it needs a detail/paint correction as well. The deatiler I use likes to have the car corrected first too. I am debating the xpel film + opticoat or just opticoat. I did the opticoat on my M3 and liked it. My concern is that the film will require more maintenance. The detailer suggested as much.

[mmaturo]

You 100% need to correct the paint first before a coating or clearbra to get the best paint possible under them. DO NOT PUT THE COATING UNDER ANY AREA WHERE THE CLEAR BRA WILL BE. Trust me it will not stick. I have a disaster going on the front of my RS7 now since the clear bra isn't sticking to the coating so I can get an edge to peel back just with a sprayer on the hose. I did the coating AFTER the clear bra on my R8 and RS5 which was the right way to do it and the clear bra was after the delivery paint correction the detailer did for me. Besides the cleaning comments above being 100% correct of touching it as little as possible the coating does help protect against the swirls/scratches.

[subterFUSE]

What do you guys to keep exterior looking good? New Black S6 owner here

Step 1. Don't buy black cars. [:p]

[SupremePower1]

Step 1. Don't buy black cars. [:p]

I laughed at this. Thank You.

[spyfish]

I laughed at this. Thank You.

Me too. I just bought my first black car since 1997. I'm either about to be in love again or depressed. Here is hoping that Opti-coat is magic .... (I mean an anti-depressant!) [:D]

[VVG]

Yes, but there is nothing like the presence of a big black luxo-powerhouse cruiser. My S6 is my 4th black vehicle. My last one was my 2009 Porsche Cayenne GTS. Now, that was a lot of black surface area to keep clean !!!!

Firstly, in rain or on overcast days, black vehicles look great, even if they have little dirt on them. Secondly, from a distance, you really can't see the dirt on black cars to any great degree so long as they are not splattered. The one situation in which black cars look really bad is when they have been driven in rain, and then the rain suddenly stops and the sun comes out and all the rain spots dry on the car.

I really feel that if you are fanatic about detailing your car, and you own a black car, you really need a power washer and heated car dryer.

[Xtek]

I wash the car around 1.5 times a week (one week has 1 wash, the other has 2).

Don'ts... this things will induce swirls
- Touch your paint unless its lubricated by soap/etc, basically avoid touching it unless you're washing it
- Use an automatic car wash
- Let the dealer "detail" your car

Do...
- Use the two bucket method
- Use something like AMMO NYC Hydrate on your microfiber towels as you're drying off the car

I live in downtown Seattle so I don't have access to a driveway so I use a self service car wash with the wand then pull it out of the bay (depending on how crowded it is). And use waffle wave microfiber towels with spray wax (generally AMMO Hydrate) sprayed on them as I dry off the car. Every 3-6 months I use a hard sealant on the car and before any car shows I use a carnuba wax to get it some pop. I also use a non-sling tire sealant.

Regarding the story that sounds legit. Ask him he hes going to get rid of the bugs. If he doesn't say clay bar he's probably full of shit. I have a full frontal clear bra on mine and if you take good care of your paint it will always look good... after detailing the car I took it up to Mt Rainier for a drive.

dat reflection though...
https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2897/14380314175_b3883bcab2_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/nUJSpi)Untitled (https://flic.kr/p/nUJSpi) by ChadMoran (https://www.flickr.com/people/21244278@N06/), on Flickr

[mjt2470]

Here's trick to keeping a black car looking clean.

Don't leave the garage--ever!

[Brooklyn]

If you get Xpel and/or opti coat, I'd recommend you do it in the summer or while it's warm out. The thicker film and less aggressive adhesive used by Xpel can be difficult to navigate during colder months, as I'm seeing now with my install.

[moosehead1]

In addition to a clear bra, I've had good luck with Gtechniq nano sealants for paint, wheels, and glass. They claim it lasts up to 2 years, though I'm impressed it is still going 8 months through a big winter ski season and wet summer. Only need go to the 2 bucket method once or twice a month as the spray off wands work well enough in between.

[Silverarrow240]

I just hand-wash weekly, and then Zymol cleaner wax once a month... Been sound this for years...

[kcbonedoc]

thanks for all the tips guys. I am scheduled to get the detailing immediately followed by the clearbra end of this week. I will probably opticoat as well. I will post pics of how it goes!