[Radgoldfish]

Hey everyone, this is my first post so I'm sorry if this is in the wrong section.

I'm about to purchase a new ST from the factory and this will also be the first car I've ever purchased. I've been using my parents minivan and I'm sick of it but anyways, this is going to be my first new car so I want to do all I can to protect the paint and whatnot from all the winter salt, water, Pennsylvania weather, etc. Besides washing, waxing, and using a garage, what preliminary steps should I take to keep my st looking as fresh as possible? Thanks in advance.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jschweg]

I live in southern new York so all of my cars have seen plenty of northeast winters with everything that comes along with it. The best thing you can do is simply keep it clean and waxed. A good wax does more than people realize to protect your paint. Regular washes, claybars, and waxes will keep your finish looking great. In the winter time, just don't allow the salt to sit on the car. So after it snows and they finish with all the salt spreading, just rinse it off your car at one of those do it yourself car wash bays so it doesn't cake on there.

Clearbras in my opinion are fantastic. Many hate them, but I wouldn't get another car without one. I do a ton of highway driving for work, and without it, my hood would be covered in chips. It is true that they require some care to keep them looking good, but for around $250 you can have the bottom half of your hood done and the paint will stay perfect underneath. They get beat up over time, but you can simply have it redone after 3 years or so.

While I've never been able to justify the cost for the daily driver, you can look into Opticoat which provides an insane amount of protection, but your going to spend between $500 and $1000 to get that done.

Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk

 

[brian60]

Central PA here (near Raystown Lake), while I've only had my ST for a little over a month I'm not new to PA winters and keeping car's skin alive. You pretty much already said exactly what is the most important when you named off washing, waxing, and maybe a garage. If you don't know how to "properly" wash a car look it up and start reading. I considered myself to have taken great care of all my prior cars, but when I got my ST I discovered a few issues I had in my usual methods and corrected them. Learn how to properly wash a car and don't cheap out on cleaning supplies. Like jschweg said, in the soon-to-be dreaded winter, do NOT let salt on your car. Allow space in your budget to wash the hell out of your car if the weather gets bad. And also as jschweg said, WAX. That's the only layer before your precious paint unless you go with a clear bra, so keep that layer healthy.

The hard work will pay off in a few years when you see cars newer than yours with not nearly as glossy and perfect paint.

The only other thing I can add is to make sure your undercoat stays nice and inspect it often. Even get it re-sprayed if you want after a while at a dealer or anywhere else that offers it.

If you definitely do end up with your ST, be sure to post an introduction thread, and if I don't catch it in the future, welcome to the club.

 

[Ljc0514]

Clear bra, mud flaps, wash on regular basis.

 

[Radgoldfish]

thanks guys. I ordered it today, it'll be here in a few weeks. I'll post in the intro thread when she arrives. I was planning on mudflaps anyways just forgot to mention it. For the clearbra, would that have to go on before the car is waxed?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jschweg]

thanks guys. I ordered it today, it'll be here in a few weeks. I'll post in the intro thread when she arrives. I was planning on mudflaps anyways just forgot to mention it. For the clearbra, would that have to go on before the car is waxed?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

When you get the clearbra installed, the shop will prep the paint surface by stripping any wax off the surfaces being covered so the adhesive will cure properly, so generally it doesn't matter if you've waxed the car already. Also, make sure you find an installer with a good reputation because I've seen some pretty horrible installs. Something good to look for would be a shop that wraps the film around the edges of the panel for the best possible protection.

Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk

 

[jschweg]

Also, avoid any automatic car washes, those things are just paint death. So many filthy cars get run through those every day and the pads/sponges on the machines have dirt, sand, and who knows what else stuck all over them. Then you have the 8 guys at the end who dry your car with the same dirty towels they used for the last 400 cars that went through.

It's pretty impossible to hand wash your car in January because screw that, but it would be better to simply give the car a rinse in the self wash bays and leave it semi-dirty then drive it through one of those atrocities.

Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk

 

[brian60]

Also, avoid any automatic car washes, those things are just paint death. So many filthy cars get run through those every day and the pads/sponges on the machines have dirt, sand, and who knows what else stuck all over them. Then you have the 8 guys at the end who dry your car with the same dirty towels they used for the last 400 cars that went through.

It's pretty impossible to hand wash your car in January because screw that, but it would be better to simply give the car a rinse in the self wash bays and leave it semi-dirty then drive it through one of those atrocities.

Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk

In my particular area of PA there aren't any of these around anymore. The only automatic car washes are touchless. Which, still have their issues since they don't dry properly unless you go to a REALLY nice one, and spray at such a high pressure that larger contaminants could scratch the paint on their way off of the car.

Look at it this way, most of the time a wash is better than no wash. So a touchless in the winter that does a good job of drying might be the secret to bearing the PA winters a little easier.

 

[Speedy12139]

Look into a clear bra, or a shop that does this new product called AutoFlex...

It's like plastidip, BUT, it's a super high gloss, and they put it over a product called "Spray Sheild" and it's just like a vinyl clear bra, and can be removed.... Bonus of this product, is that you can detail it... Wash, polish, buff, etc etc, JUST LIKE PAINT.

here's a video with a bit more info. I made a thread on it not too long ago. I personally don't have it, but it's defiantly something worth looking into.

My thread, if you'd like to join the discussion.
http://www.focusst.org/forum/focus-st-appearance/53385-autoflex-spray-sheild.html

 

[Duchess]

With my 270k mile 1990 Subaru Legacy kept outside in New England winters its whole life and that only had superficial rust on the rear wheel arches when I took it apart to inspect it after parking it ten years ago, I used rubberized undercoat that I touched up every spring and weekly washes in winter with a high pressure hose at the kind of self-serve carwash you use late at night to remove the crime evidence, making sure to get the wheel wells and undercarriage thoroughly.

Had a clear bra on my Mazda 3 and hated it as it required different cleaning to keep it from getting cloudy looking and I have better things to do with my time than dealing with detailing. Granted, Mazda must make their cars out of left over steel FIAT rejected in the 70s, but the clear bra didn't wrap around the edges of panels and those exposed spots on the front collected lots of chips, which rusted. That said, my 200k mile 2012 Focus SE was washed maybe once a month and never undercoated beyond the factory (though I did put seam sealer on the lower inside door skins) and it only had minor surface rust on parts of the undercarriage with nothing on the body, so these cars are pretty well made. My cars are basically disposable with the mileages I put on, so if you want to keep it for a long time, I'd follow what I did with my Subaru plus maybe what other people suggested top side.