never??!!

 

Claying is going to remove the wax thats left on the paints finish. If you don't wax after claying its going to make containment's stick easier to the paint finish and reduce the life of your car paint. DEr

 

I think how often depends on the area you live in. I live in a filthy dirty city with grimy air. I clayed my car about a month ago and the surface is sticky again. I don't want to do it monthly, but I can see every other month. It's kind of an undertaking, so make sure you have enough time set aside to wash the car gently, using 2 buckets and MF cloths, dry it carefully with MF cloths, then spray with detailer and slide the clay over the whole car, section by section, then rinse again, then wax and remove the wax. I think it took me about 4 hours all told, and the Fit is a small car!!

Make sure you take photos right after your car is done. You will love how glassy your paint is. I usually caress my car as I sit at red lights, because it feels so niiiiiiiice.....

 

I just clay bar'd this weekend and used some stuff called blue magic. It worked well but I think with pretty much all clay bars just make sure you read the directions first then follow them. The same applies to all cleaning products. This was my first time and I've had the car since July '06. Feels like new again

 

Clay magic is probably the best clay you can in stores. Its pretty simple to use as long as you have lots of lubrication. If not your just dragging all those contaminants and dirt across your paint and making it worse. You should barely be putting any pressure on it. If you can't polish the car afterwards make you sure you at least wax it because clay bars remove any previous wax or sealant. Also wash the car again right after you clay it to make sure all the dirt came off.

 

It's time for me to clay my car again...I washed it the other day but when I run my hand over it, it doesn't have that smooooooooth feel like after I clayed it last time. So as soon as we have sunshine and no rain, out comes the clay bar again....

 

I've yet to clay. A solid wash and turtle ice polish makes my car look super sexy every time. Takes about an hour to wash/dry/windowcleaner/dry/polish/buff. lol. I do need to wipe down the engine bay tomorrow and check fluids and such

 

A wash, wax or polish won't remove the contaminants that only a clay bar can remove. In fact polishing without claying can cause serious damage to the clear coat because once you cut that top layer of clear coat with the polish your just spreading all those contaminants and swirling your paint even more. Although if your hand polishing it shouldn't matter. Also if done right you shouldn't polish more than once a year. Remember all polish is is removing a layer of clearcoat to get rid of all the swirls and scratches. You polish every week and within a couple months or so your clear coat will be gone.

 

uh oh. I polished a lot over the last few months. Like once a week or 2 weeks.............if I clay now, will I be ok?

 

Well I assumed you did it by hand and that won't remove as much clearcoat as a machine so I think you'll be alright. Claying is always good if you've never done it. I recommend you wash, clay, wash again, and apply a coat of wax or synthetic sealant and you should be good for another couple of months with the protection from the wax.

 

Think I'll clay friday afternoon then, the day before cars&coffee meet :P thanks for the tips

 

Be aware that clay won't really make your car look that much better, but it will remove contaminants that are embedded in your clearcoat which will make your paint last longer and will help the sealant or wax bond longer. Make sure you apply some after you've washed the car again after the clay. And of course lots of lubrication try meguiars quick detailer in the pinkish bottle as a clay lube. Lots of it too.

 

There is so much wrong information in this thread its not even funny.

Trancedsailor do this, go grab a cigarette pack and get the cellophane off of it. Stick your fingers in it and see how the paint feels. The cellophane will actually magnify the contaminants that are on the paint. It will more than likely feel like sandpaper when you rub over it.

After washing the car with a good quality soap, WHILE THE CAR IS STILL WET, get a clay bar kit, with the lube spray, like Clay magic (as the clay is fairly mild). Spray a section at a time with the lube spray and use the clay with a back and forth motion. Do that to the whole car. Then rinse and wash again. If you have a low speed random orbital buffer, use that to rid the swirl marks with a good quality wax. Quality is not any Turtle wax products.... Theres my .02

 

Talk about misinformation... Wax will NOT remove swirl marks. Swirl marks are scratches in the clear coat. Wax has no cutting abilities and will not remove swirl marks but cover them up. To remove swirl marks you will need a compound polish such as menzerna. I do agree with you that turtle is crap. Another trick you can do besides the cigarette thing is to just stick your hand in a plastic bag and pass your fingers over it.chances are if you haven't clayed in over a year you need too.

 

Dude, trust me, the difference is night and day. Claying the car is like sex. Really good sex.

 

no way dude. Really good sex is really good sex. Washing/waxing/claying your car is comparable to the work you have to do just to get laid, and looking at it when you're done is like the cigarette after sex. lol.

 

Im not getting into a pissing match with you. He needs some POLISH

 

No, stroking the car after you're done is like sex, forget the ciggie!



God I sound like some kind of nut. But the surface of a clayed car just gets me off....

 

This thread is getting hot... Lol Imagine how it feels after you clay it, polish it, apply some sealant and wax. Feels twice as smooth as it does after the clay.

 

That's exactly what I said in my previous post. You told him to remove the swirls using an orbital buffer and wax.