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M2 Technical Topics > Cosmetic Maintenance (Wash/Wax/Detailing/Exterior Restoration & Repairs) > Do I need to polish a new car before applying ceramic?

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      08-18-2021, 05:39 PM   #1
Foggins
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Do I need to polish a new car before applying ceramic?

My M2C is about a week away. My plan in the first few days will be to give it a good wash, iron out, tar remover, plus light clay sponge if needed in certain spots. IPA wipe down next, followed by ceramic coating. My question is do you think I should do a light polish of the paint on the new car prior to the ceramic coat? The color is Hockenheim so I’m assuming I won’t see any glaring defects in the paint. TIA.
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      08-18-2021, 07:11 PM   #2
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If you know what your doing, it wouldn't hurt.

That said, it's probably not absolutely needed.
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      08-18-2021, 07:32 PM   #3
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At a minimum you should inspect the paint with proper light to see if you notice any swirls. I'm willing to bet there will be.
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      08-18-2021, 08:17 PM   #4
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I did dealer, home, wash, iron, ipa, ceramic.

Dealers in-house detailers already did the prep/polishing.
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      08-23-2021, 04:23 PM   #5
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Awesome colour choice btw!!
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      08-23-2021, 08:41 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Foggins View Post
My M2C is about a week away. My plan in the first few days will be to give it a good wash, iron out, tar remover, plus light clay sponge if needed in certain spots. IPA wipe down next, followed by ceramic coating. My question is do you think I should do a light polish of the paint on the new car prior to the ceramic coat? The color is Hockenheim so I’m assuming I won’t see any glaring defects in the paint. TIA.
If your dealer didn't attack the car with a rotary or dirty mitts then you probably won't have to. My thought is that with a light color, and BMW orange peel, you probably won't see much benefit from correction unless you're someone who regularly points flashlights at your paint at odd angles. No offense if you are, lol.
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      08-23-2021, 09:19 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chris719 View Post
If your dealer didn't attack the car with a rotary or dirty mitts then you probably won't have to. My thought is that with a light color, and BMW orange peel, you probably won't see much benefit from correction unless you're someone who regularly points flashlights at your paint at odd angles. No offense if you are, lol.
I inspected the paint thoroughly today and I only saw a couple of small blemishes that might require spot treatment. The dealership I bought it at doesn’t have a car wash (for water usage reasons) so they hand washed the car. Thx!
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      09-02-2021, 10:52 AM   #8
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If you’re looking for 100% perfection, it’s best to get some correction done, since the car isn’t perfect when it leaves the factory and gets shipped. However, as others have said unless the dealer has washed it with dirty mitts, you’re likely fine. For what it’s worth, I took delivery of my M2C a few weeks ago. I had PPF installed by the dealer before taking delivery. I’m going to apply a ceramic coating myself this weekend. I plan on washing, decontaminating with clay bar and iron x, use isopropyl alcohol to remove any oils, then apply a ceramic coating. IMO this will suffice for my needs. It’s going to be hard to see any imperfections (swirls), unless you’re closely inspecting with a correction light. I’ve looked over the car with an iPhone flash light and in direct sunlight and the paint looks good. The ceramic coating im applying will only last a few years and the plan will be to get paint correction then and apply a new coating. This way I’m saving layers of the clear coat. There’s a YouTuber by the name Pan the Organizer that does a lot of paint correction and ceramic coating. When he took delivery of his new 5 series a few years ago, he did not do any correction and just decontaminated the paint and added the coating.
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      09-02-2021, 11:22 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CptSL0W View Post
If you’re looking for 100% perfection, it’s best to get some correction done, since the car isn’t perfect when it leaves the factory and gets shipped. However, as others have said unless the dealer has washed it with dirty mitts, you’re likely fine. For what it’s worth, I took delivery of my M2C a few weeks ago. I had PPF installed by the dealer before taking delivery. I’m going to apply a ceramic coating myself this weekend. I plan on washing, decontaminating with clay bar and iron x, use isopropyl alcohol to remove any oils, then apply a ceramic coating. IMO this will suffice for my needs. It’s going to be hard to see any imperfections (swirls), unless you’re closely inspecting with a correction light. I’ve looked over the car with an iPhone flash light and in direct sunlight and the paint looks good. The ceramic coating im applying will only last a few years and the plan will be to get paint correction then and apply a new coating. This way I’m saving layers of the clear coat. There’s a YouTuber by the name Pan the Organizer that does a lot of paint correction and ceramic coating. When he took delivery of his new 5 series a few years ago, he did not do any correction and just decontaminated the paint and added the coating.
I love Pan!! Fellow Canadian
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