Wash, Polish Wax?

[WIP]

Ok folks... have been doing a variety of searches... anyone have the steps to make the paint shine as best as possible?? And, what products did they use?

I'm thinking:

1.) Wash and Dry

2.) Polish
- Now, should I use Mother's Polish
- Should I buy and use the Mother's Power Ball?

3.) Follow with Mother's Wax?

Just returned from a trip to the local auto supply store... empty handed.

Just too darn many products... too many choices.

I have a power ball that I received for Christmas... thought I could just run out and get polish... after talking to the clerk... decided I need to do some homework before I spend $$$ on too many products.

What do ya'll recommend? I have the Ivory colored '84 Spider (not that color may make a diff).

Almost bought some McGuires Color Restore... but then the clerk was ranting and raving about some product 3M makes... then he raved more about using a clay bar... then "you better buy 2, 1 will not be enough"...

I'd really like to:

1.) Polish the back window (plastic)

2.) Get the finish of the car itself to shine as best as I can.

3.) Use the powerball if it makes sense to?

Thanks folks.

Ron F.
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[90Quad]

There's actually a detailing section of the form. Take a look at some of the discussions there. Here's a good one with links to detailing sites.

Compounds, Polishes and Glazes (Long)

The products used depend on the type and condition of your paint and the method you intend to use - multistep vs all-in-one, hand or machine? Not sure what you intend to use the powerball on. It's not for the paint, it's usually used on aluminum wheels or to polish metal.

Usually if you clay, polish then wax you will get good results if the paint isn't too bad. Brands usually seem to be more a preference issue, but if you use the right products correctly from a good company you should get great results. Keep it clean and detail often.

[WithanF]

Autopia.org is the alfabb of auto detailing. In fact, you'll get information overload.

Everything depends on the condition of your paint to start off with. If you've got good paint, with a nice clear coat shine to start off with, you can still improve it by leaps and bounds.

First, wash the car from top to bottom. Microfiber towels are the way to go.

Make sure you get rid of every single tar drop, etc.

Get yourself a clay bar and rub the car down with the clay bar. If you get the Mothers Clay Bar it will come with a bottle of detailing spray that you use to lubricate the surface for claying. Don't worry; it won't hurt a thing. It WILL remove little irregularities you can't even see. I believe the clay bar is a MUST.

After a good claying, wash it off again and rinse.

Now comes the tricky part. If your paint is not the best, you'll need to select a polish with the correct amount of abrasion for your level of oxidation, etc. Use autopia.org to find out what you need. You'll also need an orbital buffer. If you are going to be doing a lot of detailing, you'll want a PC (Porter Cable) buffer. If you are going to do your car once or twice a year, a $20.00 Pep-Boys buffer will work fine.

If you don't need to polish your car (and polish implies abrasion) you are ready to apply some "wax." More layers is better.

A glaze product is suppose to seal swirl marks, which you won't have if you use clean microfiber to do all your washes.

There's a polymer product called NXT that is really the bomb. I apply a coat of that (which I put on and take off with the orbital buffer). Once your car is clean, you can apply and remove wax in 30 minutes. It's fast and easy.

After the NXT, I rinse the car with cold water, to harden the NXT product. This is summer time advise.

Next comes some pure Carnuba. I put it on and take it off with the orbital. I usually do two coats, but if it doesn't rain by the next weekend, I find myself putting on two more coats. It gets addictive.

That's it for the paint. You want to polish the metal bits and use some "Ragtop" on the canvas, etc. Then you're good to go.

[WIP]

Thanks Guys and Pete thanks for the step by step... am printing this out... have waxed and waxed and waxed... first the wax is very hard to get off, seems no matter what I use... then, the end result has not thrilled me in the least. I used to have a show muscle car ('74 Chevy Laguna, ahhh, how sweet it was, fasssssssst!) anyways, it was black and maroon, used to get it to shine real nice... want my Alfa to do the same... no luck as of yet... however, have never used a clay bar etc... will try this - thanks again!

Ron F.
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[WithanF]

If you have an unsatisfying coat of wax on your car already, chances are you've trapped some dirt underneath and you'll need to get the wax off to clean the paint surface and start over. Klasse AIO is what the detail guys use to get wax off. You won't find it at Pep Boys or Auto Zone. Meguires sells a product to clean off old wax. Zymol's got one. 3M will have one. Clay won't work like a wax remover, I don't think. I'd clay after getting the wax off with AIO or another product, then put on the NXT, then the carnuba. Check the autopia site for more information on how to get rid of your old wax.

Here's the lowdown on clay btw.

http://guidetodetailing.com/articles.php?articleId=14

p.s. What color is your car?

[kredden]

I didn't believe the cleaning with clay part but I ended up buying (I think the Meguilers version) and gave it a try this summer and now I'm a believer! If you take your time and use the lubricant it is pretty amazing. Feel your paint before you use it and you will probably feel some little bumps and such, and then again after using it, smooth as silk! I liked it so much I even used it on the Dodge minivan .

This is a definite must to do before polishing the paint so you don't end up scratching it with any of the contaminants that are stuck to the paint.

Kevin

[WIP]

Howdy... Pete, my car is Ivory in color (or cream colored I guess... looks off white to me )....

Ok, ran around a bit today, spent about 80 bucks... but think I am ready to rock... have already MeGuiars detailer spray cleaner to ensure it is cleaned (probably not the best idea... but here in AZ, our water is hard and will leave white spots, no matter how fast I try to dry)...

Bought the following items:

> Cheap Orbital Waxer/Polisher from Checker Auto ($19.99)
- Will buy a good one if I like the results... have never used one before...
according to directions... no pressure is to be applied)
> Clar Bar kit (from Mother's)
- Comes with the lubricant "stuff" and Cleaner Wax
> Bought another bottle of Mother's Cleaner Wax (one that came in the kit
was small.
> Bought MeGuiars Car Polish
> Plastic Polish as well... reckon I'll try and nail that cloudy scratched up
rear window
> Already Had: A variety of Polish's... Mothers, MeGuiars, Turtle and KIT
Not sure which of these I should finish with

Ok, now the plan (I know, sounds ridiculous eh)

1.) Using my detailer spray --> Clean the Car
> Done
2.) Using the Clay Bar Kit --> Clay the Car
> Wash off clay & dry car (should I use the spray detailer again?)
3.) Use the Mother's Cleaner wax
> Will finally try the orbital buffer with same, terry cloth attachment
4.) Use the Polish now
> Again, buffer with fine cloth attachment
5.) Wax again, but with one of the non-cleaner waxes?

Does all this make sense... overkill? Should I be using the cleaner wax BEFORE the polish as shown above... or use the Polish first?

Thanks folks.

[90Quad]

Not exactly the right steps. You wouldn't follow cleaner wax with polish. You either use the combination cleaner wax product or the muti-step polish then wax method.

Not sure what you've got there as the specific polish (i'm assuming consumer hand polish) or wax, but you want to polish before waxing. Think of polish as very fine sandpaper to smooth out surface scratches. Some also have scratch filling properties to hide them. Wax is the final step that seals and protects.

The cleaner wax is a sort of combination product that has some mild polishing agents for minor surface scratches combined with the wax so you don't need to polish before a cleaner wax. If it works well for you, you would 1 clean car, 2 clay and clean off residue, 3 cleaner wax. This is usually a good maintenance routine (with or without clay) and may be just fine for a white car that doesn't easily show scratches. Cleaner wax is great for cars that are daily drivers or outside a lot but probably not for garage queens.

If you do the above as maintenance, maybe once a year you go for the full-on treatment 1 clean car, 2 clay and clean off residue, 3 polish, 4 straight wax (probably go with the Mother's or Meguiars, don't use that Kit stuff it's junk). If you have a garage queen or lots of time, you probably do this multistep process 2 - 4x a year and not use the cleaner wax.

[WIP]

Gotcha... new plan:

1.) Clean car (done) (Meguiars Car Detailer)

2.) Clay Car (Mother's Clay)

3.) Polish Car (MeGuiars "Step 2" Deep Crystal System Polish)

4.) Wax On/Wax Off (Meguiars GOLD CLASS Clear Coat Liquid Car Wax)

Good to go?

Then, later as maintenance... will follow your maintenance routine, using the cleaner wax etc... also, I plan on (for step 4) putting on 2-3 coats of the GOLD CLASS wax.

Thanks again!!

Ron F.
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Forget Cleaner Wax for this cycle... as I have never applied polish.

[90Quad]

Perfect. Don't forget the before and after pictures.

[WithanF]

You could have washed with regular car wash instead of detail spray, which I use mostly to clean a car that's 98% clean to begin with. The spray you got with your clay bar is detail spray just like the stuff you bought separately. You'll only need a quick rinse once you're done with the clay before you polish. There will not be any clay on your car to wash off, as your earlier post implies. Be careful what you mean when you say polish. As 90Quad says, polish implies abrasion not just shine, but I think Meguires makes some polish that has little or no abrasion so it is really just a shine product. Read your label. If you think you've got some dirt trapped under some old wax even after you clay, you'll need some real light polish or a cleaner wax to get it off. Easiest thing to do is look for a spot that seems dirty (or clean, you might be surprised) and try some of the polish on part of the spot and some of the cleaner wax. If the polish has abrasion, it should clean as well or better than the cleaner wax. I'm just not familiar enough with the product you bought to know about it's abrasion/cleaning properties. The cleaner wax will clean and shine, but the shine won't last as long as other products, so detailers use polish and then a wax/shine product. If you go with the cleaner wax, top it off with your Gold Class anyway.

The trick to polish and wax is not to put too much on to begin with. Light pressure on the buffer will take it off fast if you don't have more than a light film on in the first place. A very thin haze is all you need. The rest winds up on your buffer pad anyway. You should have purchased a few extra terrycloth covers so you can change frequently. Get the big surfaces with the buffer. The corner areas, such as near the headlights, etc., you can hit by hand.

p.s. Make sure your wax is dry/hazed before buffing. If there are some moist spots, you'll make a very easy job less easy with the buffer.

[kredden]

Check this site out, some good stuff, I have the Porter Cable polisher and found that article quite good.

http://store.bettercarcare.com/cardetailing.html

http://store.bettercarcare.com/how-t...-polisher.html

Kevin

[davidteachey]

Lads (especially Pete WithanF and 90Quad),

This is the absolute BEST thread I've ever seen on paint care. Thanks for the tips! This is another example of why this bb is great. Cheers all,

David

[JoeCab]

The one thing I would add to this thread is that if you use a true polish (that doesn't contain fillers), then you should add a glaze between the polish and wax steps. This will lead to a much deeper shine as it does a good job of filling micro-scratches smoothing out the surface in preparation for the final wax layer.

Joe

[WIP]

Ya'll rock! Ok, I did Just my hood last night... I had to try this... Wow!!!!

Man, that thing SHINES!

I blew one step though... as I clayed, I wiped off immediately (of course), but I did not re-rinse the car hood after I had sprayed and clayed... did I mess anything up or not get as good results as I could have?

So I used the detailing spray that came with the clay... and followed their instructions... then, using this thread... polished the hood... followed by waxing same... (just one coat so far)... and WOW! But, like I said, did not rinse off after spray and clay is that ok? (Rhymes eh). (-;

I have to say, at this point, that hood has never shined like that and smooth as a baby's bottom - great advice guys, I really appreciate it!

Ron F.
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P.S. Joe, I'll have to check into the glaze as per yor reply... for the next major cleaning/waxing - sounds like a great idea!