[BDay33]

Hoping to take delivery of my 2SS 1LE in the next few months. I'm basically a beginner when it comes to detailing/taking care of vehicles. Water/Bucket/Sponge approach for me most of my life.

This car for me won't be a daily driver as I work remote, but will be a date-night car, track days, cruising, etc. I plan on keeping and having fun with this car for a LONG time and want to ensure I take the steps to take proper care over its lifetime. I guess my real question is, where do I start after taking delivery? Keep in mind - I live in an apartment and don't really have access to wash/detail the car myself on the property here.

My initial thoughts are to take it for ceramic coating/PPF first. I'm really not sure what all needs to be coated/PPF'd. I'm putting aside $10k for this, and doing other mods/upgrades (emblems, ZL1 rockers, rock guards, etc)

Also - any recommendations in the Atlanta, GA area would be helpful as well. Looking forward to hear what y'all have to say!

[Newcastle]

I think you have a solid plan. As far as washing I would find a friend or family where you can hand wash. Worse thing you can do to paint is take it to a car wash. Even brushless uses harsh chemecals. Look at the street where people leave. the asphalt is a different color....lol..congrats as I am also waiting on my 2SS 1LE.

[arpad_m]

First of all, good luck with your future 2SS 1LE, you have chosen well

You'll find many threads in the subforum with great information, much of it from actual pro detailers. I'd trawl through the longer and more instructional ones while waiting for the car, and take personal notes. For $10k you can get the entire car PPF'd and ceramic coated, which is the absolute best solution, even after buying all the other stuff you mentioned. You want self-healing film and as thick as the installer is willing to use.

If you want to save some paint prep money, tell the dealer not to touch the car AT ALL after delivery, ask for the "no wash, no detail" option, all they'll do is "install" scratches and swirls that your installer will have to fix and thin out the already ridiculously weak gm clearcoat even further in the process.

Speaking of which, finding a quality detailer/installer is the most difficult, I wish I could make first hand recommendations (as I live relatively close to Atlanta), but unfortunately I can't, so I'd rather not parrot what others said.

If you cannot do a traditional wash, check out rinseless and waterless wash techniques and products in this subforum. A good alternative is a self-service car wash that allows you to bring your own tools/products and you basically only use their water and power washer. As Newcastle stated above, do not use an automatic car wash under any circumstances, it's better to leave the car dirty until you find a better solution than to mess up the paint and trim.

Finally, don't make the mistake I made, install side skirts and rock guards already on day 1 to preserve your rocker panels (heck, even the rear bumper gets rock hits from those wide 1LE tires). I chose Rokblokz and C7 Carbon's gloss black ZL1 style side skirts and am completely satisfied with both. Yeah, like many others, the Rokblokz are glorified (thick and beautifully crafted) mudflaps, but they are wide enough in the rear to cover the entire width of the tire and wide enough in the front to block practically all rock hits when combined with side skirts. That said, your time for the first "blood" drawn from the paint will come eventually, I'd mentally prepare for that—this is a Camaro after all, not a Koenigsegg

[BDay33]

Thank you both for the info so far. I've read along in the forums trying to piece some stuff together, but my brain gets overwhelmed sometimes. I'm one of this darned overthinkers..

@arpad_m How close are you to Atlanta? If you have a recommendation of a place that's maybe 1-2 hours a way, I'd definitely give it some consideration. I'd rather make the drive to someone who's known for quality work than just go somewhere local and take a chance, you know?

[arpad_m]

Heh, I hear you loud and clear on overthinking, let me just say we aren't dissimilar

I live in the Knoxville area, but my car got wrapped long ago in a different state. My local detailer presonally recommended Finishing Touch in Maryville, TN (https://www.facebook.com/FinishingTouchDetailing), that's where I'll go next when I need fixes, but that will probably be too far for you. I'm sure there are many great options near Atlanta, try asking in the Southeast regional subforum as well: https://www.camaro6.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=243

[pondo]

For PPF you have a few coverage options. The whole car will be ~$5-6k. You can do the entire front end, headlights, mirrors, rocker to first seam on door and the rear quarter front/back for ~$2-3k. I'd also put on mud flaps as others suggests even with the PPF. I had a '18 without the mud flaps and the rear quarter was completely sand blasted!

If you are getting the full PPF, don't bother paying for the detailer's cermaic coating. Get some of the Adam's graphene spray (order turtlewax hybrid ceramic even) and apply after your first wash. I DIY my ceramic coating but it's typically $700-1000 including a one step paint correction. Sometimes you can get a good packaged dealer w/ PPF.

[goata8]

These guys gave some great info above...I'll add my expirience...

I lived in a condo for most of my time owning my 17 SS. I put together a nice kit of detailing stuff that I could throw in the trunk and drive to the quarter wash (those self wash, pressure wash places with the bays). A big duffell bag full of everything you could think of, good selection of brushes/mitts, wash, waxes, wheel cleaner, quick detail, all that stuff. A couple buckets and jugs of water so I could mitt wash too. It'll fit in the trunk, with a little shoehorning.

If you don't have someone's house you can go to to wash this makes it easy for you to take care of your ride. I don't have any expirience with PPF and truthfully I'm too much of a cheapskate to do it (not to mention I don't put too many miles on my car) but I did buy some rock guards for my new car right away. My 17 looked like the rockers were sandblasted after 30k miles.

[BDay33]

Resurrecting this topic.

Has anyone had experience with battery powered pressure washers? I'm looking at this one from Sun Joe:

https://snowjoe.com/products/sun-joe...-psi-max-1-gpm

After taking my car to a self service car wash a couple of times since purchase, this seems like a great solution to be able to hand (2 bucket) wash my car without a dedicated water supply.

Thoughts?

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by BDay33

Resurrecting this topic.

Has anyone had experience with battery powered pressure washers? I'm looking at this one from Sun Joe:

https://snowjoe.com/products/sun-joe...-psi-max-1-gpm

After taking my car to a self service car wash a couple of times since purchase, this seems like a great solution to be able to hand (2 bucket) wash my car without a dedicated water supply.

Thoughts?

At 1196 max psi and only 1 gpm max, this unit is on the very weak side, I'm not even sure you'll get any suds for proper foaming, the shampoo mix will probably come out wet and almost waterlike. It will also not be able to clean the tires and the wheel well, it may work to some extent on the paint if you hold the wand very close... but there are much better options for the $400 this costs.

As an example, I bought this 2150 max psi unit about 2.5 years ago, it's wired and not battery powered (not sure if that is a requirement for you), but it has held up very well, cost me only $199 and works perfectly, even for the occasional driveway and patio/deck cleaning job.

[DaveC113]

If you PPF the entire car you don't need as much paint correction, you can go through automatic washes, brush dust off the car, etc. with no worries about scratching the paint, since the PPF is self-healing. If you have the budget for it, it is convenient.

I'd also go for ACS side skirts and rock guards. PPF isn't enough to protect the area in front of the rear wheels, you need the skirts and guards. I re-did the PPF there after a season and before adding the skirts, it was trashed already and a few rocks got through and did some minor damage. I now have 2 layers of PPF there, lol, with the outer layer satin finish so you can't see the wear as easily.

I'd also consider removing the hood vinyl and using satin/matte PPF there instead. I think that would look good, something different...

[BDay33]

Originally Posted by arpad_m

At 1196 max psi and only 1 gpm max, this unit is on the very weak side, I'm not even sure you'll get any suds for proper foaming, the shampoo mix will probably come out wet and almost waterlike. It will also not be able to clean the tires and the wheel well, it may work to some extent on the paint if you hold the wand very close... but there are much better options for the $400 this costs.

As an example, I bought this 2150 max psi unit about 2.5 years ago, it's wired and not battery powered (not sure if that is a requirement for you), but it has held up very well, cost me only $199 and works perfectly, even for the occasional driveway and patio/deck cleaning job.

Battery powered is a must. No electrical outlets that I've been able to find out in our parking garage. I just want to be able to hand wash this thing and not have to go back and forth to the self-serve.

[BDay33]

Originally Posted by DaveC113

If you PPF the entire car you don't need as much paint correction, you can go through automatic washes, brush dust off the car, etc. with no worries about scratching the paint, since the PPF is self-healing. If you have the budget for it, it is convenient.

I'd also go for ACS side skirts and rock guards. PPF isn't enough to protect the area in front of the rear wheels, you need the skirts and guards. I re-did the PPF there after a season and before adding the skirts, it was trashed already and a few rocks got through and did some minor damage. I now have 2 layers of PPF there, lol, with the outer layer satin finish so you can't see the wear as easily.

I'd also consider removing the hood vinyl and using satin/matte PPF there instead. I think that would look good, something different...

I have the vulnerable parts of the car PPF'd, including the hood. I also have the ACS rockers and rock guards as well