Collecting your new XC60..

[Fitzchiv]

In roughly 4 weeks I'll be collecting my MY19 from the dealership. It's my first ever new car, and after 12 weeks of waiting (so far) i've pretty much exhausted everything XC60 I can read online or watch on YouTube to keep me occupied to kill the time. Or so I thought.

It struck me that whilst I generally tend to take decent care of my cars (I currently drive a VW CC I've had since it was a yr old and only has a couple of minor nicks in the paintwork from stone chips or carpark presents I have touched up along the way) I've never been what I'd call super attentive toward things like paintwork care. I plan on driving this Volvo for 5 years, and have taken a PCP deal with an FGV that should leave me decent opportunity to build equity, but of course this relies upon it being in good nick.

Over the years my current car has picked up paint swirls, the chrome has clouded a little, and the alloys have more than their fair share of battle scars too. I'm determined that such cosmetic wear and tear is kept to a minimum by starting out on the front foot, so for example the rims are smaller and i'll be considering taking out insurance for alloy and cosmetic damage, but it's more about the general cleaning and care I wanted to ask you guys after than long intro..!

The dealership is roughly 60 minutes drive from my house, largely dual-carriageway. It struck me the other day that by the time I get it to my house it'll already have the odd squished fly and, god forbid, even a stone chip on the bumper - it'll need a clean, and then need protective elements adding.

The days of my local £12 wash and vac gang are gone, as that can't have done the CC any good long-term, so it's down to the question of what kind of washing, paint care, wax etc etc stuff any of you guys use and would recommend for day 1 after that first 60 minute drive?

If it was yours, and on your driveway after collecting, what would you do to give it the best start in life? (There's a professional valet service round the corner that do paint care but this would again be putting it in the hands of others). Anything else you'd recommend for that first drive home is also most appreciated!

MY19 XC60 D4 Momentum, Stone Black, Maroon brown leather, intellisafe pro, 360 camera, smartphone integration.

[2funky]

My XC60 2019 is, hopefully, going to be delivered next week. And the first thing I'll get to do is to apply protective film (Premium Shield No scratch, if you ask) to the bonnet, front bumper and mirrors.

[Chief inspector]

Hope you enjoy the new car.

If you join or just surf detailing world you can get right into this!

Now as the car is black what you dont want to use is any ‘all in one’ car polish like auto glym as they all have an abrasive effect and thats the swirls and holograms.

My car is not as dark as yours, but here is what I did:

Doused in snow foam them jetted off.
Washed in washing up liquid using a lambs wool mitt and grit catcher bucket (WUL just to remove dealer polish)
Dried with a clean microfibre towel.
Run over with a clay bar and lube, some iron out used as well (very little iron used in the paint.
Wash and dry again.
Wipe down the whole car with isopropyl alcohol to remove any remaining dealer wax.
Apply 2 coats of Zaino Z2 Pro activated with ZFX with Z6 gloss enhancer after each coat. Applied by hand, buffed with a POrter cable DA polisher with medium foam and an MF bonnet.

That’s maybe a bit much, so:

Use a lambs wool mitt and on a black car - 2 gritbuster buckets as cleaning induces swirls unless the mitt is spotless.

Get a snow foam lance if you can afford it (auto brite direct) as this gets most of the crap off before you use the mitt.

Use iron remover sprays and clay bars rather than any polish with an abrasive element (unless you are cutting the paint with a machine and know what youre doing). Use a sealant over this for longevity - you can have wax underneath the sealant if you want.


Use straight strokes, not circular to avoid swirls and keep all towels, mitts, applicators etc. Scrupulously clean. After each wash, use a final touch product like Zaino Z6 when drying to keep the lustre and beading

Dont use traffic fail removers and pick a proper shampoo for Meguiars, Sonax or a boutique brand, search for product reviews and discount codes on detailing world.

This will keep off contaminants and make the car easier to wash, but unless you get it filmed, no applied product protects against stone chips.

If you want beading glass, I recommend the stuff from FJAS and if you want to go the full hog, get Dr Leather dye block for the seats.

On wheels Ive not had much success with sealants, even the ‘ceramic’ ones, so I use Bill Hamber auto balm on them, My XC60 wheels were only ever washed with water and waxed quarterly and despite being diamond cut were still perfect after 50,000 miles.

Finally if trusting someone else, this is a job for a reccomended detailer, not a car wash or valet and it takes at least a day to do properly, they will even cut back any factory imperfections if you want - my V90 had 3. Valets and car wash’s can get a good result only because they use products with fillers that sit in the swirls, but these just wash out revealing them later - lots of people experience this when buying used cars and assume they swirled it themselves, they probably didn’t, the ‘make up’ just got washed off!

[Crockers]

First thing I do with a new car is get it to my detailer. He then cleans it properly and the adds Gtechinq coating to the car and wheels.

This takes a couple of days but lasts years.

[Converted]

I must be one of the worst owners around. After collecting a new motor. I tend to look for UK holiday destinations and enjoy a lovely long drive to get to know the car. Paid all that money for the car, so want to good use of it right away. Paint technology and quality seem to have improved so much, good branded cars tend to look immaculate even after 3 to 5 years and if the car has been parked on the street with a standard jet wash per month. They just don't seem to rust anymore unless you live by the sea...enjoy the new car!

[gaby]

Originally Posted by Converted

I must be one of the worst owners around

Or one of the more rational ones

[Pitvar]

Another vote for trip to my local GTechniq detailer for one of the five year guaranteed or longer ceramic coatings - our last new XC60 I forbade the delaer from cleaning it and even asked for all the films and foam strips to be left on so I knew it hadn't been touched - which meant it was cheaper as it didn't need any polishing.

For used cars I machine polish myself and apply one of the GTechniq two year sealants. Makes washing them a doddle, they get less dirty [doesn't stick to them the same] and has lasted very well on all the cars I've had so far. But it aint cheap unless you do the DIY option.