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Alright guys I searched but just didnt find any answers really. Maybe I didnt search hard enough, just hard here at work. Anyway, I want to clay my car, it has never been done before and i've never done it before. I have no clue what this process entails. If someone could give a detailed description on how to clay your car the before and after steps. Including what to do before you clay, how you clay and what to do and use after you clay??? Im also wondering what products people find work the best??? Thanks for your help.

 
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Its pretty basic. If you go to a local auto shop you can pick up the Meguiars Quik Clay kit, and Mothers makes one too.

1. Wash so that you dont rub dirt around on the surface.

2. Clay. This is done by using a lubricant, like a spray detailer, and a clay bar. You just spray the detailer on, rub the clay bar around in an organized pattern so you know what you have done, and wipe off with a microfiber cloth. Make sure the surface is cool to the touch or the clay will stick. Also be sure and use plenty of lubricant so that you smoothly glide over the surface. Also fold the bar over on itself as you go around the car, this prevents scratches.

3. Wash the car again. This is to remove any clay residue.

4. This is the stage that you can use an abrasive or scratch remover to remove any surface defects. Make sure the car is completely dry.

5.Polish. Make sure you use a pure polish, they are easy to find when you get the clay bar. Just wipe on and wipe off. This step is very important because the clay bar will remove some of the paints natural oils. If you don't replenish them then the paint will fade and crack pramaturely.

6.Wax. Use the wax of your choice. Remember that 2 thin layers are much better than 1 thick layer. Apply on the entire car. Let dry 10-20 minutes. Remove residue with microfiber cloth, then reapply. If you have used a synthetic wax, wait as long as you can up to 24 hours before reapplying, this allows it time to set up for better protection. Also with a synthetic wax like Meguiars NXT, if the car gets wet within the first 24 hours, you have pretty much wasted your time. If you use a carnuba wax its not as much of a problem. So make sure its DRY and won't rain.


Thats about it. Hope all goes well.

 
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When using a spray detailer for a lubricant for the clay bar do you just spray it on the car or the car and the bar?

I tried this before and it didn't seem to do anything. I sprayed both the bar and the car and then went at it with a pancake sized wafer. Alls it seemed to do was leave a sticky residue on the hood. Car was cool to the touch and in the shade. I'm willing to give this another shot though.

 
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Spray it on the car. Use ALOT of lubricant, more than you think you need. Also keep in mind that the lubricant will only spread so far, which is often times where the residue comes from when people over extend the lubricant.

 
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So im thinking of going with meguiars can you tell me what you think about their products? This is my plan, meguiars smooth surface clay kit, and the deep crystal system steps 1, 2, and 3. Will this work on the car and will it turn out a good result? I dont have a buffer, I will be using an orbital buffer. The dual action one.

 
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If you dont have a buffer those will be an awesome option. I love meguiars products, and in fact thats all I will use until I find something better, which has yet to happen. Don't use the orbital buffer, you will just cause more problems. So you have an orbital or a dual action polisher?

Does it look like this


or like this?


If its the top one, that is an orbital buffer, the bottom one is the dual action polisher which is what anyone would suggest. If you have the orbital, don't use it you will cause more problems than you solve, just do it by hand. If you have the dual action polisher, go right ahead and the results will be awesome if you use the right technique. The 3 step system is very user friendly and offers good results. And if you use a polisher, make sure to use a different pad for each product or your results will suffer. That should be about it. Good luck, let me know if you have any other questions.

 
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When you wax, make sure it's a cloudy day, not sunny. Sun + wax = bad.

 
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As long as your in the shade you won't have any problems.

 
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lol i well i guess while were off topic, sooner why is it harmful to use the orbital? seems like i have one and i was about to use it but now this is making me think twice? what will it cause?

 
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The motion that a random orbital offers is exactly that, random. Therefore it will cause holograms and sometimes even paint marring depending on what you are doing. You can use it to remove wax residue if you want, but thats about it. It wont do any damage that isnt easily fixed or permanent, but you can avoid it by either using a DA or doing it by hand. A DA or Dual Action polisher offers a predictable motion that is as close to doing it by hand as you can get. Also the key to removing defects is buliding up heat, with the motion the orbital makes the heat will be dispersed over a larger area in an unpredictable pattern, therefore causing more paint defects and not helping the existing defect. NEVER EVER EVER use it with an abrasive of any kind unless you want to add more work, you can use it to polish but that is unneccessary effort, about all its good for is removing wax and the results will be poor. I hope that answers your question.

 
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Sooner in your pics above I have the one in the first pic, would love to have the one in the second. And would love to learn how to use it but for now oh well. Anyway I've read several different threads on meguiars forum and they said that it would be great to apply these things with. They said it works harder than your hands do and it applys everything more evenly, can also massage the oils and stuff like that into the paint better. Maybe im thinking of the wrong one. Is this not true?
I think this is the link I was mostly reading about it. click it

Also thanks for all your help man. I need all the info I can get. And I changed from the third step of the deep crystal system, to the gold class wax for the last step.

 
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Well im not saying that you cant do it, just that the results will be subpar and with a lack of experience could cause those holograms that I mentioned. Yes its easier than doing it by hand, but I just feel that the results offered by hand will be more to your likeing. Try is on a spot, look at it under different types of light, if you like it, go right ahead if not then you dont have much to fix.

 
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Yes, when I say polish I mean a pure polish with no abrasive qualities, Meguiars Deep Crystal Step 2 is exactly that. One thing people also don't realize is that carbon fiber parts require the same care as the rest of the car. They have a clear coat over them just like every other peice. If you treat them the same way the CF won't fade nearly as quick and will maintain its shine longer because these steps protect it from UV rays.

 
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well what i do is take the lube and put it...

hey would ya look at that...4 more minutes of work. i wonder how many random posts i can get in in random threads before 5...

 
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I use an orbital and ive never had any problems, its really not that hard to move the machine in a circular motion that any hand could accomplish.

 
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Yeah thanks man, I did mine this past saturday it came out looking real good. I've still got minor scratches and stuff in it so I bought some scratchx. So im going to try and do the whole car with it this saturday and see if I can get them out. Then redo my polish and two coats of wax steps. Hopefully it'll come out deeper and richer. We'll see.