summer clean

[reccy with claws]

im looking at cleaning up my steel gray m3.
just wondering how hard is it to use meguires clay.also what polish and wax combo would you recomend on a dark gray car.

[Nobby Diesel]

I've found the clay very easy to use.
Can't help you with the polish choice though.

[belleair302]

Just remember when using clay to have lots of lubrication....it really does make the job so much more simple.

Polish, depends upon your car, its age and the condition of the paintwork. Do you want something filler heavy or someting to clean and protect?

Buy some Poorboys Black Hole Glaze and then top off with something like Dodo Juice Blue Velvet or Collinite 915.

[reccy with claws]

cheers.so as long as i keep lubricating it should be to dodgy.how long does it normaly take todo a car.reference the dodo juice is that hard to work with as ill be doing it all by hand.thanks

[belleair302]

To clay a car should take you 40-45 minutes. Regarding the polish I would go with something like Autoglym Super Resin Polish or Chemical Guys Pro Polish +, both are simple to use by hand.

A decent glaze will help the paintwork on your car but offers NO protection. Top off with a couple of coats of wax and Dodo Juice make both soft and hard waxes. Most waxes can be applied quite quickly, just have a good supply of sponge applicators and keep the hard wax warm. Collinite waxes are simple to apply as is Finish Kare Paste Wax.

[H13BSM]

Like said theres so meny combo's it all depends what you are wanting to achieve along with removal or filling the defects. If your just doing it all by hand then i recommend poorboys black hole glaze for your glaze. this will lighten any of the swirls while giving a sharp glass finish. Or go with dodo juice lime prime for a polish. Though it is a prewax cleaner, it does have micro abrasives within, so is very good to use as a one step product before using a wax. Then my wax of choice on a budget would be dodo juice blue velvet hard wax. Very easy to use and good, if you keep the paintwork topped up with it. If your not on a budget thats a different story altogether.

Regards Michael

[reccy with claws]

finaly back in the country.cheers for the advice ive just put a order in online for blit hammer clay auto glem super resin polish and dodo juice purple haze.
plan is when the weather is clear.
1 wash using auto glem shampoo
2 dry
3 clay
4 rinse
5 polish with srp
6 wax with dodo purple haze.
hopefully with abit of elbow grease she will come out gleaming.

[H13BSM]

Just a word of advice buddy, don't dry the car after washing/before claying. You want the paint as wet as possible when claying. So having a wet car, and clay lube will work a treat and will minimize marring the paint from the claying stage.

Regards Michael

[reccy with claws]

cheers mate makes things abit easyer not having to dry it inbetween.just keep the car wet and just keep topping it up with more water to keep it wet for the clay.

[H13BSM]

depending on the clay, you can't just use water. You'll need a dedicated clay lube or a quick detailer like megs last touch.

[reccy with claws]

the bilt hammer says you dont need lub.
ive just got home and see the car.2 months worth off dirt my better half has nicely added.plus i can see how much of a rush job i did last time little bits of polish have started to appear im embarsed.just gotta wait till monday till all my new gear tips up.

[pwpro]

H13BSM said:

Just a word of advice buddy, don't dry the car after washing/before claying. You want the paint as wet as possible when claying. So having a wet car, and clay lube will work a treat and will minimize marring the paint from the claying stage.

Regards Michael

personally i would recommend drying the car properly then treating the flanks with a tar remover prior to claying

this will stop your clay getting clogged up very quickly with tar deposits

paul

[Detailed Image]

If you use tar remover before claying you will need to make sure any excess tar remover is cleaned from the car before you clay because tar remover will destroy/melt your clay bar, the majority of the tar remover should evaporate but any excess in panel gaps will need to be removed

Ian

Edited by Detailed Image on Sunday 8th August 09:35

[pwpro]

as per detailed image a quick wash down with shampoo and rinse of the areas treated will be fine then get stuck in claying

paul

[H13BSM]

pwpro said:

H13BSM said:

Just a word of advice buddy, don't dry the car after washing/before claying. You want the paint as wet as possible when claying. So having a wet car, and clay lube will work a treat and will minimize marring the paint from the claying stage.

Regards Michael

personally i would recommend drying the car properly then treating the flanks with a tar remover prior to claying

this will stop your clay getting clogged up very quickly with tar deposits

paul

I'm still a little confused what's wrong with washing a car, claying, then using tar remover and then re-washing. The only time I have ever done that is if the car was absolutly covered in tar. Otherwise after washing hundreds of cars, I've never had a clogging problem with clay?

[reccy with claws]

gutted yesterday i spent 5 hrs cleaning the car then it rained before i could finish.i washed it clayed it then washed it quickly then polished it.the car was look mint then it rained so i never got to wax it.pissed me right off.

[pwpro]

H13BSM said:

pwpro said:

H13BSM said:

Just a word of advice buddy, don't dry the car after washing/before claying. You want the paint as wet as possible when claying. So having a wet car, and clay lube will work a treat and will minimize marring the paint from the claying stage.

Regards Michael

personally i would recommend drying the car properly then treating the flanks with a tar remover prior to claying

this will stop your clay getting clogged up very quickly with tar deposits

paul

I'm still a little confused what's wrong with washing a car, claying, then using tar remover and then re-washing. The only time I have ever done that is if the car was absolutly covered in tar. Otherwise after washing hundreds of cars, I've never had a clogging problem with clay?

all to often on detailing threads i see pictures of what looks to be huge amounts of contamination on clay

in truth had a tar remover been used they wouldn't have half the amount of mess to deal with

using something like autosmarts tardis will very quickly remove the deposits i mean literally 5 minutes per side !!

its just the right way to do things

paul

[H13BSM]

I appriciate this if again, the cars you work on are covered in tar spots, But I believe its most definitely not 'a must' everytime you detail a car. I mean the guy who started the thread never said his car was covered in tar. Tardis should be used as a spot cleaner, not a one step product. Great way to strip the lsp off though, covering the lower of the car in tardis everytime? But everyone to there own.

[pwpro]

H13BSM said:

I appriciate this if again, the cars you work on are covered in tar spots, But I believe its most definitely not 'a must' everytime you detail a car. I mean the guy who started the thread never said his car was covered in tar. Tardis should be used as a spot cleaner, not a one step product. Great way to strip the lsp off though, covering the lower of the car in tardis everytime? But everyone to there own.

personally i remove all tar traces from every car i detail i wouldn't consider a car to be detailed properly unless this was achieved

as far as any concerns regarding removal of wax etc claying will do that also

are you looking at this from a maintenance wash point of view or an annual / bi annual detailing approach ?

paul

[H13BSM]

pwpro said:

H13BSM said:

I appriciate this if again, the cars you work on are covered in tar spots, But I believe its most definitely not 'a must' everytime you detail a car. I mean the guy who started the thread never said his car was covered in tar. Tardis should be used as a spot cleaner, not a one step product. Great way to strip the lsp off though, covering the lower of the car in tardis everytime? But everyone to there own.

personally i remove all tar traces from every car i detail i wouldn't consider a car to be detailed properly unless this was achieved

as far as any concerns regarding removal of wax etc claying will do that also

are you looking at this from a maintenance wash point of view or an annual / bi annual detailing approach ?

paul

I can't help but think your not understanding what I'm saying. For instance I detailed a 458 italia the other day. This was a new car protection detail with complete decontamination 26 stage process. When it came to claying the car, I didnt use tardis until after I had clayed the car. Now though the car was new it was covered in transportation contaminants, but as there wasnt much in the way of road tar, I could clay the car and then go round the car and just spot dabbiing any of the small amounts of hard to attack tared areas. But my clay bar wasn't clogged in any way at all. So why would I need cover the whole lower of the car in tar remover before I clayed? All im trying to say is this is not a necessity everytime a car is detailed UNLESS the car is covered heavily in tar deposits, thats all.