When can i wash and wax a new volvo?

[dmarcus48]

Guys,
I curious about when I can wash and wax my new volvo.  I know the owners manual says six months.  I've always been told that by the time a car gets to the consumer, the paint has already hardened as much as it will harden.  Besides, the trip over on the boat had to take at least a month, plus the time the car sat at the ports on both sides of the pond, plus the time it sat at the dealers.  Won't the dirt, salt, etc laying on the "new" paint hurt it worse than a wash or wax?

TIA
Dave

[wiz]

The experts say you're right. It's been long enough already by the time you get your hands on the car for the paint to have hardened. If you want to read lots of opinions on this subject visit Autopia (http://www.autopia.org/forums/index.php)... http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[barrysharp]

It's hard to imagine the dealer not washing the car during the new car prep process -- plus all of the Volvos I've seen lately that have just arrived are encapsulated in white plastic; presumably to ward off the salts and other nasty weather elements http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

I can see no reason why you can't wash/wax your car at this time.

[dmarcus48]

Thanks guys, that's what I thought, but I wanted to get some opinions on it.  It kills me having a new car covered in salt and dirt.  I can't wait until the warmer weather so I can put some wax and armorall on this baby.  And thanks for the autopia link, it looks interesting.


Thanks again.

Dave

[wiz]

Dave - stay clear of Armorall, whatever you do!!!

If you want to treat the cladding, use a product like Black Again, which is available from iPd (http://www.ipdusa.com/) at an extremely reasonable price if you buy in quantities of 2+

[budrichard]

You can wash your vehicle manually which is what I do. Manual washing also allows you to look for problems also. The paint is so hard that I have never waxed my 99XC and it goes thru brush. I am amazed at no marks. -Dick

[dmarcus48]

I know what you mean about manual washing, but this has been a brutal winter in NJ.  I don't think its been above 30F more than two or three days since November. http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[wiz]

Same here in Boston, weatherwise. You just have to choose your days. It's 19 degrees right now but last Friday it was 50 http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif and the XC got washed. http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[qeff]

Hi all,

I'll be getting my MY05 in Dec 2004 here in Singapore and have been reading all the back issues of threads to get an idea what to do and what not to... and what to expect. Its been very enlightening.

On the topic of Armorall: the 05 comes with 30-40% plastic cladding. I've been using Autoglym's Vinyl Care spray on my current car's interior. I'm wondering if that's ok with the XC70's exterior cladding?