What's your favorite brand of car wash/wax for it? It's a dark, almost black, gray convertible.

What's your favorite car cover for inside the garage? Won't be storing outside.

What's your favorite interior duster? Exterior?

What other essentials did you buy after your purchase?

Thank you mates,
GR

 

Welcome aboard! You have acquired a wonderful vehicle. Please post some pics so all can admire your new ride. There are multiple opinions on washing, waxing and/or coating Jaguars. Suggest you type in the search box at the upper right side of the page, words such as washing, waxing, etc. you will find many postings and threads on almost all of the subjects you will be looking for.

Unless your XKR is going to be your daily driver a key suggestion is to acquire a battery tender. CTeck is very popular among Forum subscribers. A complete CTeck setup including an extension cord should cost less than $90 and can be found on Amazon. These cars are loaded with computers and electronics and having a fully charged battery is a must. I keep a feather duster in my boot (trunk) and use it when necessary.

If you have a convertible you want to look into the JagWrangler's remote top controller. It is a wonderfully designed accessory and price reasonably. The JagWrangler is a member of the Forum; his handle is WhiteXKR.

 

Don't apply wax, buy and use a nano ceramic paint coating.

Ceramic coatings are state of the art technology in auto detailing.

Here are a few names you can google for information:

Pinnacle Black Diamond Paint Coating V2.0

Adams Ceramic Coating kit w/ Ceramic Boost.

Other Jaguar Forum members have taken my advice and all never go back to using a wax product. It is old school.

Be sure to buy a NanoSkin surface prep mitt to remove any microscopic contaminates in embedded into the paint surface.

Visit these threads and educate yourself:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...il-wow-176293/

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...-175356/page5/

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...-today-172999/

Happy detailing....

 

Thank you Richard. Looking forward to reading more from others in this thread about their methods/preferred products. Wish I lived in the south. I'm either in pollen world or snow world with little inbetween for perfect "non pollutant" days.

 

I am big fan Nano Mitt (fine grade) to "clay" the car. Blackfire Sealant, and any Collinite wax. Which wax I use depends on how much protection, vs ultimate shine. Their waxes are top notch and easy to apply.

 

Without calling, which I will, is there a way to tell if the dealership waxed your car when detailing before picking up? I do see quite a few swirl marks but can't prove now that it came from the dealer given it's already got 43K on it and was pretty full of pollen and rain marks prior to buying and I did a walk around before leaving and didn't see anything until in my garage.

 

Oh, and will ceramic stuff take them out or make them less noticeable?

 

I would assume that the dealer detailing was no more then a wash and maybe spray detailer. Then a vacuum and window clean. If you got a real detail you would not see swirls.

 

@Ralphwg When you say get a battery trickle charger as these cars like a full battery, are we talking attach it when you won't be driving it for few days, week or a month? I am picturing the top only half deploying or something if not driven for a week or two Thanks.

 

Thank you but these are more like those fine lines you see from a car wash brush with sand in it, but only at certain angles.

 

Almost all of the dealers I've seen have the contact rotary type car washes in their dealerships. If it is a no contact wash then the drying would cause the swirls. If detailed they would remove the swirls and machine polish and wax the car. I haven't heard of any dealer doing a ceramic coat.

 

You have to all of your paint preparation work done prior to the application of the ceramic coatings. The coating will "lock in" whatever your paint looks like, so make sure you've got the swirl marks removed, and scratches or chips buffed out or repaired, etc. Look for @richzak's detailed explanations on procedures for doing this, or any of the supplier links in his previous posts on the matter. He's our resident 'finishing' expert.

Based on his guidance, I acquired a dual-action orbital buffer and the supplies. Doing it the first time was an afternoon of labor, the but the results were top shelf. Highly recommended.

 

GhostRider - Regarding the battery tender. a weak battery will cause all kinds of strange, eerie things such as warning lights going off when not really called for, perhaps failure to start the car, etc. I have never heard of the top stopping in mid-cycle, but I suppose that could happen as well. If your battery registers 12.5 volts or below you should expect trouble. You can acquire a voltage reader for less than $10 here https://smile.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb...voltage+reader. If it were me, I would by an OBD reader which can be acquired at the same link for $15-$25 and then get the Torque software for your Android tablet or phone. If you have an Iphone there is another app. The whole shebang should cost no more than $35 and you will then have a voltmeter and an engine temperature gauge as well as the ability to read fault notices.

 

Torque software??
And if I don't drive the car an entire week, think it will drop below 12.5v?
Thank you. Maybe just keep it on the trickle all week? Or is that bad for the battery?

 

Ralphwg recommended a battery tender, not a trickle charger. It is safe to keep a battery tender connected all the time. The CTEK 3300 is a popular, reasonable priced and reliable choice.

 

GhostRider9000, Congrats on your beautiful car. It's tons of fun. Yes... you without a doubt need a battery maintainer... I have used a CTEK 3300 for the last 3 years on all my cars and they work well. There are more sophisticated maintainers but all do a good job if it's a CTEK. Another item I addressed for myself was protection for the front end/nose. I immediately installed a clear bra which protects the paint from any road debris which could leave nasty chips on the lovely fresh front end of your car. It's practically invisible but give loads of protection to your paint. Good luck with your car and enjoy. There are lots of nice people here that can be helpful to help you to enjoy your car even more.

 

quoted for truth and general good advice!!!

 

don't leave home w/o clear bra...I did mine w/ suntek. car remains flawless!!!

 

Suntek for me as well. The best..