Automotive Paint Care

I have always just waxed my vehicles until I bought My Bee and like most people could not wait to make it shine.
I bought this car with the intent of never selling it, It is my baby and because I missed the muscle car era do to marriage and raising a family and not able to afford one at that time, I decided to treat myself with this car.
Knowing that the Detonator Yellow paint being suseptable to Ultra Violet degradation from the sun
I wanted to prevent any fading what so ever. So I decided to keep the car garaged for the first 5 years only starting it on weekends so keeping it clean was not a problem and I followed the article I read long ago.
The Polish that Chrysler uses in their paint shops and front end paint repair is supplied by PPG and since they also supply the paint and knowing that the Paint finish is the first thing people see and react to I don't think PPG would jeopardize their reputation by selling Chrysler some cheap polish that would harm the paint.
I polish the car once a year and only waxed it once 2 years ago, But I felt that the wax actually dulled the finish the polish gave me. So no more waxing.
Clear coats are also very apt to degradation from sunlight and the polish is harder and lasts much longer than wax So I am sticking with it.

 

I am not disagreeing with your use of the polish, I like it.

What got me to thinking was your initial statement ".....Not to use soaps or waxes on the surface at all during this time period." (1st year), yet the dealers are applying a ceramic coating to the paint upon delivery.

It kind of bothers me that the dealer did that to my wife's car and made it sound like it was not even optional.

They applied a product called Xzilon.
Not sure what using a polishing compound on it now may do to the finish.

I don't expect anyone here to know the answer, it just got me to thinking.

 

Like the day it left the factory, Actually I went online searching for a 2007 Bee and read that a local dealer had one coming in the next day, After working the Day shift I went there and the dealer had it in the showroom, Now you have to understand I drive up in a 1994 Minivan with a leaking exhaust pipe and a little scruffy from working the day shift I see 3 sales reps and I ask them if they have a Super Bee on the lot 2 guys ignore me and the 3rd says yep in the show room. So I walk in and low and Behold the guy I bought the van from is their and he sees me and asked if there is anything he could help me with I said just give me a minute and let me look at this car I do 1 lap around the car Asked him when can I have it he says is tomorrow soon enough and I said wrap it up and I will be back to take possession tomorrow. I sign a sales slip and the 3 guys that ignored me walk in and say He bought this car ............First impressions , I had a good laugh.

 

I have spoken with PPG reps and chemical engineers and they say Auto Paint takes up to a year to fully cure right through. so the article I read years ago was verified by them. The Gas Ovens that cure the paint have 3 stages low burn 80 degrees to allow paint to flash off 180 to set skin over 260 to bake outer skin, then cool down zone no heat. If the line stops for more than 5 minutes the cars in the 260 zone come out discoloured and Burnt and the paint flakes off. I have seen this
You would need a oven 1 mile long to properly cure a paint job gradually heating it up.

Dealers only care about sales and repeat business, They will say anything to make themselves look good. As long as the car gets past warranty they don't care.
I will have to research Xzilion never heard of it. Dealerships are not paid by Chrysler to polish cars so if they did it they probably charged you for it. They also wash cars through auto washers that scratch the paint and they should not. In the Paint repair area in the front end we have a car wash but it only sprays water no soap no chemicals no brushes and it has an air blow off.
Go figure !!!!

 

Well, yeah, they charged me for it.
It actually sounded like some kind of vehicle paint warranty, I ended up doing the research on it and found out it is actually a product they applied.
It seems fine, like a clear hard topcoat, but the year for the paint to fully dry got my attention, I never knew that.

The xzilon website says to use nothing abrasive on it, and I believe polishing compound is at least mildly abrasive.

 

I agree, so far the car is really easy to clean, dirt does not seem to stick to it,
and the shine is great.

As far as I can tell, I did not get raped by the dealer who applied it.

But it kind of bothers me the way they explained it to me.
When we purchased the car, the sales manager made it sound like it was not optional and I didn't really understand it was a coating.

it sounded like a paint protection package because the dealer was in Houston and they have lots of chemicals in the air.

Crap, for all I know, they never actually did it.
I'm not sure there is any way to tell.

 

Bye the Bye,
have you ever heard of this particular product: Xzilon?