Fitchet, there isn't alot involved in claying, trust me, its like waxing your car in a way. You just spray the quick detailer on a section and rub the clay bar over the wet area and dry, that's it. Once you do that you'll be amazed at how smooth and clean the area is afterwards, check the clay bar itself for what you just pulled off of the car, its amazing and shocking at the same time. Actually do half the panel and then you can run your finger from the smooth area to the other area where your finger will come to an abrupt hault!!!!

Once you've clayed your ready for the polish/cleaner or wax or both. I've never ever had to tape anything on my car when waxing but then again I do it by hand though. Claying isn't something you've gotta do everytime you wax either. Once you've clayed and waxed, just apply a coat every month to keep things well protected. I know wax is supposed to last for monthes but I like knowing its well protected and looking good all the time, it also makes carwashes that much easier too

EVERYONE, PLEASE CLAY YOUR CAR IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY, YOU'LL BE GLAD YOU DID!!!

 

I believe you.

But perhaps I am getting older. I'm still more obssesed than the average person in keeping my car looking good BUT this clay barring seems like a relatively new phenomenon. I remember when nobody clay barred. Now suddenly you have people going at their automobiles like a Kindergartner with a new Play Doh set.

I have no doubt it works and probably does improve the starting point of the finish before you wax and polish. But given that my Fit is more or less brand new? Plus I have been washing it obsessively, I just can't bring myself to rubbing a clay bar all over it...yet. Next summer? I'll get bored and probably try it.

I don't mind the idea, of getting a cleaner starting surface and removing old wax before rewaxing or polishing but as I age? I've learned the center cannot hold and that we are all slouching towards a bird dropping on our hood, despite all the detailer, clay barring and wax and polish you apply.

Maybe a nice cool fall day next year, I'll have the strange urge to grab a clay bar and rub it all over my vehicle...but for now? All too frequent washings and occasional polish and wax is going to be enough to feed my appearance obsession.

 

I'm not too sure when the clay bar was invented, but next time you wash your car, run your fingers over the paints surface, then you feel little particles and that's the "grit" that's embeded into your paints surface. I too was sceptical about the clay bar about 8 years ago, but once I tried it, I was hooked, so hooked and its just another tool to aid you in making your cars finish the best it can be. The age of your car isn't the thing either. If you car sits in a lot for weeks at a time before you get it, its subjected to everything out there, rain, wind, fall out, dust, sun, you name it. All of this adds up layers of grit to the paint, old or new, it happens and waiting to do it just makes the job that much harder.

I know I sound like a clay bar junkie, but I'm not but I will say this though, its pretty important to the maintence of your cars finish and if you just drop the $20.00 on the kit from anybody, you'll see what we're saying. Just a little help to make the clay lube (quick detailer) go a bit longer, add water to the mix, its just a lube to aid the clay to go along the paints surface to pick up the contaminents from the paint, just keep it wet and your all set

www.griotsgarage.com is one place to get a nice kit and honestly, anybody's quick detailer will work, just dilute it with water so you've got alot more to work with and keep it wet while the clay does its work, its actually alot of fun to do. Just kneed the clay every so oftern but when you do that first panel, check out what its picked up and dry if off and feel the difference!

 

Can't wait to detail!

 

That's the spirit, where in Illinois are you?

 

I have also been using the clay bar, it does feel a lot smoother on the surface after the clay bar.

One question, does clay bar really take off the old wax?

 

I just read this thread from beginning to end

Great tips.

I've been waxing my cars for the past 7 or so years with assorted products, but am becoming more and more interested in trying the Klasse products. I've never seen them in a store, so I'm either going to have to order them online or search harder here.

Just got my 2010 fit two weeks ago and will soon be washing, claying and waxing. I may also end up using some s100 carnauba for some gloss on my BSP depending on if I can get over to the harley dealership to pick some up.

Anyways, wanted to check in and say thanks. This thread needs pics so I'll add some when I do my detail. Til then

 

I have been using Nu-Finish for 15+ years. I don't wax my car often because I don't enjoy it at all and it keeps the finish from fading and beads up for 6-8 months. Great product for people like me who spend almost zero time detailing their cars. I do follow all the maintenance schedules.

 

Meguirs Gold Class Wax work like a charm thats what i always use

 

Klasse isn't available in stores, I go here for it http://www.topoftheline.com/You'll want to get "the team", both Klasse All in One as well as Sealant Glaze. After you clay for the first time, apply the AIO and follow it up with SG. If you've got the time, follow up the first coat of SG with another coat of SG 12 hours later, trust me....it pops! You also mentioned the S100, good stuff and available at most HD dealerships. I really like the ease of use of that product.

Quick tip: you can apply the AIO on your glass...DO NOT USE SG ON THE GLASS!

Quick tip#2: get yourself a small spray bottle for the SG, this way you don't use too much product. The LAST thing you wanna do is use too much, its a bitch to remove, trust me. When applying the SG to your pad, keep the pad wet with quick detailer, it helps spread the product out over the paint and with repeated use, its just builds up on the pad until you rinse the pad out or wring it out and start over again.

I've been using Klasse for over 5 years and see no need to go elsewhere, although I do mix in Griots Garage every so often to change things up, kinda like those of you who drink a favorite beer, every so often you may drink something else

Feel free to PM with questions, I don't mind helping out with the use of this great product!

 

Great car care tips here.

 

Greetings once again, fellow Fit owners! Long story short: I FINALLY decided upon a car wax for my '12 Fit. But is clay barring really necessary?

I want my car's finish to look good, but I don't want to be overly obsessive/compulsive about it.

Thoughts, anyone?

BTW, I'll be using Meg's Ultimate Liquid Wax. Biggest reason why? I'm sloppy when it comes to applying waxes, and my old car got what I would call "rashes" over the black plastic/rubber trim. Meg's ULW is "Me Friendly" LOL

 

Because your car is a 2012 you may not need to but better test it to make sure. To test if your car needs to be clay barred or not you must put your hand in a sandwich bag and rub your paint after it's washed & dried. If you feel a lot of bumps it needs to be clay barred in order to achieve the best shine & protection possible.

 

Here's my take on the many auto waxes/polishes I've used over the years, and some of the waxes I'd like to try.

Anybody remember Simoniz? Gosh, am I that old? That stuff was great! Had a bad chemical-ly smell but it lasted long and gave a great shine. Easy to apply and easy to remove. And this was in the days when clear coats were almost unheard of. Left TONS of powder and badly stained black rubber moldings on chrome bumbers. Yes, cars back then had honest to gosh chrome!

Turtle Wax. Not sure what type my father used. (I used to help him wash and wax our cars) ever since I was a wee tot. Didn't smell as bad as Simoniz, but left great shine and was super durable. This product excels in areas of high humidity. (born and raised in HI, recently moved to TX.) Also left powdery residue and stained rubber like crazy.

The Wax Shop Super Glaze. Now marketed by Wax Depot as VIP Liquid Wax. I've used this product before and had good results. Some of the details are hazy, since it's been over 20+ years since I've last used it. No powdery residue and will not stain plastic/rubber trim.

Meguiar's Gold Class. Remarkable shine and long lasting. Works fine on light colored cars, but better for darker colors. Easy to apply. Little hard to remove, but great results. Will stain plastic, so apply carefully. Leaves white residue in cracks and crevices and lots of powder.

Meguiar's Ultimate Liquid Wax. 100% synthetic. Supposed to outlast carnauba waxes. Just applied to my Fit about two weeks ago. Good shine, easy on, but not easy off. Left haze behind that was difficult to remove. Meguiar's customer service rep. suggested I use "Spit Shine" method. Haze marks were removed, but was an additional step. Took me longer to wax than Gold Class. On the plus side it did not leave powdery residue and did not stain plastic trim. Am planning on washing within the next two days to see if it still beads water.

Fukken Wax. I've heard of this wax, but have not tried it. I am thinking of buying a can and seeing for myself if it lives up to all the hoopla. Supposed to be a wash/wax all in one. But I'd wash car first before applying. Acts almost like a clay bar since it removes road tar, sap, bugs, bird droppings, etc., and leaves behind a great and long lasting shine, with no powder. I think it will not stain plastic trim. But product demo videos suggest it is safe for all non-porous surfaces, so I'm guessing that it is non staining on plastic trim.

Product comes in a 17 oz spray can, so not sure how effective it will be on windy days. And here in TX, it's almost always windy.

Zaino, Collinite, Zymol, and the other higher end waxes. Too expensive for me. I want to protect my car's finish, but am not obsessive-compulsive about it. If it's clean, it's shiny, and it beads water, then it's good enough for me. I'm on a tight budget. If one of the manufacturers want to send products my way for free, I'd be glad to try it out. But it'll never happen.

This is in no way a complete and comprehensive guide. It's just my observations over the years.

 

Collinite 845 is VERY good and not that expensive $14.99 online for something that will last you a long time.

 

It works fine on plastic trim. I wash my vehicles as well before use. I do know folks who use it as a wash/wax. Looking at their rides, it doesn't appear to hurt the paint. It's definitely not as thorough as a clay bar, but it does remove road tar, sap, bugs, etc. like you mentioned. Been using it a few years on my 2008 Dodge Ram. It's good stuff and leaves a great shine. I use it in conjunction with Megs NXT. I kind of consider it a detail wax on steroids.

 

Say, can someone answer a dumb question for me? What does ONR and OOC stand for, from an auto detailing standpoint. Me so stoopid. LOL

 

didn't read all 16 pages, so this might have been mentioned. if you get the white cloudy stains on plastic, rub it with peanut butter....stain just goes away.

imo the liquid waxes are great in the summer. so easy to wipe on and off. the bad is they don't last long, but it's so quick and easy every three weeks in the summer, they are great. before the illinois winter hits, colinite 845

 

ONR= Optimum No rinse, a waterless car wash product. I cannot help with the second abbreviation.

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Those of you who are claying or want to clay here's a tip to check your thoroughness. After you have done an area, put your hand into a plastic sandwich bag and rub over the area you've cleaned. It should slide effortlessly, if there is any drag it's not truly free of debris.

 

I didnt read this whole thread but did see Klasse was mentioned. there are others like Klasse. But if your still using wax, a product invented in the early 1900's at best your foolish. Wax just doesn't last, especially in a winter enviroment. I stopped using wax back in 2001 and haven't looked back. It was consumer reports that last tested many waxes and most were gone after a month or 2. Klasse or products like Klasse last around 6 months or longer. One thing wax can do is give a deeper shine but it doesn't last. Some car show guys will use Klasse then use Blitz carnauba wax over the top to give it that deeper shine. But for protection and a great shine Klasse or one of the other acrylic sealers is way way better than wax.