any good steps BEFORE claybar?

[Graham46]

Whats up everyone. I have off friday, and I bought a mothers brand claybar, and the mothers 3 step ultimate wax system (I read about it another thread, apparently very good)

My car was somewhat detailed at the dealership but not thoroughly, I see lots of swirls and what not. The previous owner probably didnt really care if it looked perfect either.

I really wanna make it shine, and dont care how long it takes... so just curious, are there any steps that should be taken before using the claybar (besides washing it of course)? For instance, I got some rubbing compound for the minor scratches-- some of them disappeared completely, so Im guessing they werent even really scratches, so does the clay also get rid of those types of marks? I am nervous about using more rubbing compound than I need to (again here, is this a valid fear or do you have to rub all day to do any damage with that stuff?)

Any thoughts/feedback/stories would be great before I spend several hours doing the entire car on friday.

Thanks

[T0rque]

Here is what I do..

Wash my car with blue dawn dish soap.

Take the hose and wet a panel clay bar the panel with the water going on the panel. Go all over the car.

I wash the car with a mixture of meguiars gold class, meguiars shampoo.

Paint seal the car, I use a blue coral product

I an entire coat of scratch x

3 coats of meguiars nxt

3 coats of meguiars gold glass.

You can finish with meguiars paint seal.. I don't.

[Graham46]

Got any before and after pics? That sounds like my kind of routine, very thorough... unfortunately, I already bought an entirely different assortment of products heh. Thanks for your reply

Oh, and why dish soap?

[T0rque]

dawn dish soap removes all grease and grime from your paint so your clay lasts a little longer and does its job a little better.

Ok so if you change the words meguiars NXT to SYNTHETIC WAX

and meguiars gold class to carnuba wax

your products should do just fine, synthetic wax lasts longer so you put it on the base, you put the carnuba on top to bring out the depth and the pearl in the paint. Carnuba wax doesnt last so I also do a carnuba coat every other week or 1-2 times per month

[Graham46]

Cool man, thanks a lot Do you use terry cloth or micro fiber to wash it too, or do you just use a big sponge?

[RaskyR1]

Dawn is not recommended as a soap for washing a car. It's fine every now and then and I know people use it, but over time it can dry out plastic trim and seals. Even Dawn themselves suggest not using it to wash your car.


If you plan to clay the car all you need is a good thorough wash with something like Meguiars Gold Class soap. (if you want something local)

After washing it's a good idea to remove any tar on the lowers if you have any using a tar remover like Stoners Tarminator, which can also be found in local auto stores. Tar will trash a clay bar in no time and they are rather expensive IMO. Once you've removed the tar you will want to rewash those areas as Tarminator will have a negative effect on the clay bar itself if you don't.

No you can clay. You don't want to use a polish prior to claying because you would basically be rubbing in all those bonded surface contaminants which could potentially marr the finish. Clay bar is specifically designed to remove those bonded surface contaminants so that you have a nice clean surface prior to polishing.

After claying you can proceed to polish the car and seal.

Basic steps should go as follows:

Wash
Clay
polish
Glaze (optional)
protect (wax or sealant)

No need to make it any more complicated than that.


I can suggest some products if you like, just need to know if your working by hand or with a DA style polisher (PC/G110)


Rasky

[Graham46]

I did everything today and it turned out awesomeeee

I washed (using like an eco friendly dish soap, forget what brand.... didnt see your post about it not being the best idea till just now) then clayed, then used the mothers steps 2 and 3 with is the sealant and carnuba wax

While I was doing the carnuba, my friend (who didnt need to at all but he did anyway) used armor-all on all the black plastic inside and out and it looks fresh as hell. He even used a q tip to go back and forth between all the pieces of the grill and it made a huge difference, the car looks mean as ever right now.

Very happy with the way it looks but Im sure itll get muddy in no time haha. Oh well. It was my first time using a claybar though and I was very impressed. Sadly though whoever had the car before me probably didnt care about how it looked at all so it seems like theres some parts of it that will never look perfect unless I get it repainted.