Anytime man. I personally like driving down the road and noticing cars that people have properly taken care of their paint, they always look so much better. Post up some pictures of your hard work.

 

great thread. subscribing. need to clay the wifes car soon. there goes one of my saturdays. ugh....

 

Maybe an afternoon. lol

Anything else you plan to do to it? Wash/clay/wax?

 

Okay, been I've slacking...

Clay baring. ( do this after you wash/dry, or during the process. Wash, clay, dry.)

Clay baring is where you take clay, and a clay lubricant and rub it on the paint surface. This will remove surface contaminants that make the paint feel rough to the touch.
This step can remove road tar, paint overspray and other contaminates.

something to note is clay baring won't always remove everything, there are times where you may need a more aggressive step. (we'll get into this later)

Paint that has been clayed will be smooth to the touch... Example: Smooth as a babies ***.

How to clay?

Step 1: obtain your clay. There are tons of different types of clay, they are basicly all the same. Get whatever is the best deal.
2: Lubricant. This is very important. You need this to properly clay the car.
3: Prep the car.
4: Unwrap the clay and tear a small piece off. You don't need to the hole brick of clay, just a small section. spray some lube on the paint, and the clay.
5: Place the clay on the car and rub back and forth with medium pressure. Start with approximately a 2x2 section. If you feel the clay sticking, spray more lube on it. There is no such thing as too much lube!
6: As soon as you the paint feels smooth to the touch, dry the car off and move to another section.
7: KNEAD THE CLAY. Kneading the clay will get you clean clay for the next section.

8: Repeat steps 5 threw 8 until you have completed the car.

If you've never seen clay before, here's an example. No it's not your kids play doh, leave that in the toy chest. (This is Griots Garage clay)




Here's an example what you could possibly see on the clay:
you don't want that!!





Tips: if you drop it, throw it away.
-constantly knead the clay to keep it clean, if it becomes too soiled throw it away and a new piece.
- if you see anything stuck in the clay stop. You don't want to cause damage to the car by dragging crap against the paint.
- Keep it lubed, you NEED lubricant to do this correctly!


When does the car need to be clayed? There is so much discussion on this, and there really is no wrong answer. Some say every time you wax, some every other. Personally I clay my car after winter, and again as needed.

I will be adding pictures of how to clay bar, and any other informations that needs to be added. If you feel I missed something, or need to explain something better let me know!

 

Thanks for adding that 98civdx. Good info.

 

Ill be doing work this week.. I have a lot of places I need to touch up with paint.. So we'll see...

Whites hard to take pictures of aswell but Ill see if I can get some shots....

 

It is hard to show before and after of White, if you can run strip of painters tape as well. In for results.

 

I'm going to finally suck it up and get a buffer like that porter, rather then trying to do it by hand. It takes so long, I am always disappointed with the results.

The part I feel I am the worst at, and most confused by, is applying a wax. I always leave swirl marks behind, and I feel like I'm just totally doing it wrong.

Soooo.... Once your car is washed, flayed, unswirled, and polished, anyone care to give their input on the dos and don'ts of waxing?

 

depending on what the car's pupose is, i may/may not put a sealant on first, then some carnuba wax. also some waxes/sealants allow you to apply to the whole car, then wipe off; some you will have better results applying to each panel and wiping off at one time. you dont need to press firmly or go in a circular motion when applying wax, you are basically just rubbing it ON, not IN.

 

What products are you using and how are you applying them? The Porter Cable will definitely make your life a lot easier in the time/effort.

You are correct. In reality you don't HAVE to use carnauba wax, it is just more protection with a better deeper shine. You could end with the sealant if you wanted to.

 

What brands of wash soap are people using? What types of waxes do you prefer? How are you applying them?

 

I like duragloss car wash soap. It's cheap and literally takes a cap full for one whole bucket. I think it's the #405???

As for waxes I'm a big fan of poor boys world natty's paste carnauba wax. I wipe it on the whole car then go back and wipe it off.

 

I've actually heard some good things about Natty's paste. Do you apply by hand?

 

I apply with a foam applicator by hand. With the natty's I tend to pull the car out in the sun actually.

 

Do you use a buffer at all, or do everything by hand?

 

I use a porter cable for buffing and polishing but not for the final steps.

 

I've been using Griots garage soap for a while and I like it.

As for wax I've been using Griots premium. It's good **** if you ask me. Good price at $50 for 14oz, and it lasts a long time.


I'm excited for the Dodo juice wax I just ordered to come in.

 

Is this with wetsanding?

 

more people need to look into Opti-Coat, imo. the ultimate in permanent protection. easier to clean, less susceptible to damage, never have to wax again, etc.

also, Opti-Clean. 95% of my arsenal is OPT stuff. it is all so amazing. makes life so much easier!

his MF pads, hyper spray polish and compound, non-clay clay bars, all the coatings like Opti-Glass..No Rinse, Opti-Clean...everything. it's brilliant.

 

just started using the finish kare top kote, great stuff. does not attract dirt and is not oily at all.

 

Have any pictures of the finished product?

What's the cost on that?

 

I think it was 15 bucks.

 

What do you think about one of these to sand out paint chips and scratches that have begun to rust? Is there some trick I can do with sandpaper to do the same thing? Thanks!
- Aaron

 

Some are, some aren't. I've had a few cars that certain panels needed to be wetsanded before, more of the time it's because of oxidation. I'll usually start with 1500grit, then 2000, 2500.

How bad/deep are the paint chips? Can you post a couple pictures of them

 

Sorry guys, I've really neglected this thread. I do have pictures/update coming though!