tbilisi79

Well I had a day off today so I went ahead and detailed the car with a clay bar.
This was my first time using it so I took my time.
The results are good. It is a lot easier to polish the car after the clay bar. The finish is superb, very smooth.
Now by no means is the car NEW, but its a lot better. My car was not mint to begin with so I wasnt expecting much, but it does look a lot better.

Question, I know I was supposed to use the Glaze after the clay bar, but I only had Polish at hand. Should I glaze the car this week, or is polish good enough??
Also, how often is it needed to use the clay bar? And should I apply a coat of wax now, or in a week or two before winter.

use lots of water, or in my case I used Mothers Detailer spray before using clay bar.

Thanks

LiCelsior

iTrader: (32)

my process goes like so, wash car with soap, dry, clay, wash again, dry throughly, polish, wax.

avalon42

iTrader: (1)

Clay removes a lot of the junk that gets stuck in the clear coat, like fine metal shavings from brakes, etc. I'd polish the car, but you should cover that immediately with a nice coat of wax to keep the super clean job you did. I usually use about two coats of wax.

You should use the clay bar at least 3-4 times a year, depending on how bad it gets. Usually on lighter cars, you can tell because those fine metal shavings start to oxidize and show themselves as bright brown lil spots all over your paint. Tsk tsk.

kickin8

iTrader: (1)

tod071

Wash
Clay
Polish (Clean)
Seal (Protect)
Wax (Beauty)

As avalon mentioned, you did the right thing in using a clay, but need to protect it with a sealant or wax. P21S and Natty's blue come to mind for mid-level carnaubas. Pinnacle Souveran or Chemical Guys Petes 53 or 50/50 would be my choices for high-end waxes.

Either way, wash it again, since time has passed, and protect it.

jfelbab

You can easily determine when you need to clay by doing this test.

After washing and drying your car, draw your dry fingers lightly over the hood or other horizontal surface and if it doesn't feel as smooth as glass you should consider claying.

After claying you can polish, glaze and wax; Polish will remove swirls and some paint marring. Glaze will hide some of the remaining marring and make the paint look wet. At this point your paint should look about as good as it will get. Waxing will seal in the look and protect the paint from the environment for a while.

Some of us are over the top **** about how our paint looks and others just need a wash and wax. Only you know what is appropriate for you.

lexusondubs

iTrader: (9)

hey joe there is a lil easier way to do these steps they are all correct except the wash process wash with soap through rinse wash with soap again and clay at the same time using the soap as a lubricant then dry and start your waxing process