I've had a black '99 1.8tqms for about a month now. If I rub my fingernail on the paint, even very lightly, it scratches. I've had new cars before; this is the softest paint I've ever seen. Normally I'd wait a little while before waxing for the first time, but already water doesn't bead on parts of the body.<p>My question is: How long after delivery should one wait before waxing the car? <p><br>

Or has your lovely wife been waxing it for you?<p>The rule is...you don't wax it and the A4 Patrol comes and takes it away.<p>No excuses buddy...Texas has good weather.<p>Steve S.<br>97 2.8QM<br>

I bought my Avant in late Aug.; build date was May I think... I waxed it in late Sept./early Oct., so 4 months or so after new... looks fine, still beads up. (garaged during workday, not at night/on weekends).

Do it before the "elements" get to your paint. There is absolutely no reason to wait. There are folks who will tell you that the paint isn't dry, etc, etc. This just is not the case. These cars get "Baked" at the factory, sit for quite some time before you ever get it, and the paint ain't going to get any harder. Pretty simple, eh?

Well, I wash it every Friday but I have not waxed it since I purchased the car last year!!! I know, I know, I will do it this Friday, my wife has to work and I don't, so I will wax that piece of art!!!<p>Oscar<br>97.5 1.8TQM waiting to get wax for the first time (Still a virgin :)

I waxed it after I took delivery of the car. I went thru the 3 stages; polishing to remove all contaminants, glazing and sealing the paint, and finally putting a coat of wax on it.<p>Chris T.<br>98.5 2.8 ms (Santorin Blue wet look)

Is it too cold in New England(CT) to wax the car? I'd love to, but I'm afraid it won't come out as good as it can b/c of the slightly cold weather. No, it isn't an excuse, in fact, I'd probably have time this weekend to do it...4 days! Anybody in New England wax their car recently? Temps have been averaging in the 40's. Thanks!<p>JT 99' 1.8Tqms(wax virgin, too)<p>PS What wax should I use, Meguires, Mother's, or some other product?

I experienced the same thing as you when I first took delivery of my Casablanca White A4. My paint hardened substantially after a few months and was no longer as easily scratched.<p>So, yes, I am one of those folks that will say that the paint MAY still be soft at delivery. This is from experience, not just some opinion I have. I don't care how much they bake that finish on, or how many folks here say it should be completely cured. If I was able to scratch the paint with my fingernail when carefully trying to see if a rail dust spec would come off easily, then the paint was not completely cured. Your paint may be different, so the only way to be sure is to examine the paint yourself and see if it scratches easily (which you have found it does at this point). So in your case, I would wait a few months before polishing it. Worst case, no harm will come by only waxing it now with a pure wax and then polishing/waxing it a few months later.<p>When you think the paint has hardened sufficiently, then go ahead and polish then wax it. Until then, gently apply a coat of pure carnuaba wax (no cleaners or polishes). I did not have my car detailed before I took delivery, and I waited 6 months before I polished/waxed it.

Just a clarification: I'm not sure if I made it clear that I did wax my car using only a pure wax (Meguiar's #26 paste) two weeks after I took delivery. I then waited 6 months and then polished/waxed it (Meguiar's #7 polish and #26 wax).

Simple? Not really. There is no general formula for when someone's paint is cured. Many things could have an impact on this, such as paint formulation, temperature and humidity levels the car was exposed to, how long since the car was painted, if any touch-ups were done at port, etc.<p>My car had a March build date, and I took delivery the end of April (the day after it was delivered to the dealer). I do not know what day it was built on, but I think it is safe to say that it did not sit around for an extended period of time. My paint was soft when delivered and hardened substantially after a few months. This is a fact.<p>If anyone is really concerned about the hardness of their paint and whether it is safe to wax/polish or not, then they would be wise to evaluate their paint themselves rather than relying on any cut and dried advise offered here.

My wax a couple of weeks after delivery was Meguiar's 26; I am very conservative about polishes and may do that once a year. My paint was clearly fully cured after 4 months.

I plan on taking mine to an indoor shopping mall garage. I will go shopping (to let the body warm up) and then wax... Is this a bad idea?<p>I live in Canada. Recent temps are in the high 30's.<p>TGB

You don't know the paint's pedigree.<p>The dealer has a detail crew make that puppy look *bee-uu-tiful* for your purchase, but I wouldn't trust them to put a great coat of wax on it. Not sure what the factory does to the paint job.<p>If <You> polish it and put a coat of wax on it, at least you know for sure that it's ok. Also, it lets you bond with the car early.<p>Doug M.<br>98.5 2.8<br>bee-uu-tiful (still) Santorin Blue

I have a black 2.8 and I am very careful about how I maintain it. I still get scratches. This is a tough paint to maintain. I would do the minimum necessary to make it look good. DON'T polish it until it needs it. I just added more scratches by polising it when it didn't even need the polishing step. I got cheap 100% cotton towels. I would recommend getting more expensive high pile soft 100% cotton towels for removing wax. Also, wash the towels 3 or 4 times before you use them. They apparently have some kind of treatment which may scratch the car.<p>I'm thinking about getting a machine polisher. I've done some research. The best bet seems to be the Porter Cable 7424 Polisher from Coastal Tools. Check out the link below. It sells for $140 and they say it's the same as the Meguiars one which sells for $225.<p>It's www.coastaltools.com in case the link doesn't work. <p>Don't get me wrong, I love the black. It's very aggressive looking. It's just hard to maintain. I think it's the same for any black car. <p>Mark (black 98.5 2.8 QMS)

Hi.