Am I doing it right ?

W

Wicho

New member
First I wash the car with dawn, dry then clay, then dry again then wax with Zymol "cleaner wax". Am I doing this right. I really want to get a wet look with the paint. Also, I have read about glazes and paint polishers. In what order do these go on ? I was thinking



1. Clay

2. Paint Polish

3. Glaze

4. Wax

5. Some type of sealent ?



Any help will be greatly appreciated. Sorry about all the posts but I've been looking around and can't find the exact answers to my quesitions. Thanks again guys
 
only thing I would change in your order is reverse sealant and wax. I wouldnt put cleaner wax over top of a sealant because it will probably strip it off.
 
wash the car with dawn,(dont need to dry) then clay, then dry again then wax with Zymol "cleaner wax"



1. Clay

2. Paint Polish

3. Glaze

4. Wax



OR

1. Clay

2. Paint Polish

3. sealant

4. pure Wax
 
It's probably slightly safer to wash after claying, or claying while you wash so as to ensure removing all that is harmful. That is not to say that spot claying in the garage would require an all-out second wash. Use your better judgement. If you are tearing up a claybar on a neglected surface, finish with a second wash (I did an H2 that ate up an entire CM bar). If you are hitting specific sections, or the car doesn't seem too neglected and you are following with a paint cleaner or polish, don't worry too much about it.



That could have been written more succinctly:o
 
Can I do it in these steps



1. Wash car with dawn

2. Clay while still wet

3. Dry with MF towel

4. Apply Zymol

5. Buff out with MF towel
 
If you want the best look possible for your car, you'll have to properly prep it by using a polish. It will return oils to your paint in turn deeping the color and making it look more "wet". It will also remove some swirls and other imperfections. If you were to put wax on a car with some noticable swirling it would only highlight them and you definitly would not be happy with your results.

Any time i clay my car, it's black, i always follow with a polish. Claying can sometimes create some marring if you drag particles from teh claybar across your finish.

Any great look start with proper prepping, i would suggest polishing before applying wax.
 
What kind of clay lube are you using? I've always washed after claying...I know a lot of folks will say the wax or polish should remove anything but I prefer to wash anyway. Sonus Glyde lube must have a lot of soap in it because if really produces a lot of suds; its kind of funny because their car wash has no suds. I got more suds when I wet the car after I was done with claying than I did when I washed it.
 
I will just be using distilled water as a lube. What glaze or sealant do you guys recommend that I can buy locally ? What paint cleaner ? I ordered 3 clay bars and a ragtop cleaner for my car and can't wait to get it in. I don't want to have to order online again and have to wait another week to clay my car. Maybe in a month I'll order a big batch of stuff but until then Im limited to local stuff.
 
Stop washing with Dawn!



Use regular car wash soap. The only time you would need to use Dawn is if you were to begin using Zaino, otherwise don't do it!



You can clay as you wash (using regular car wash soap), follow with a polish, glaze and wax or sealant first, then wax. Take pics, post on Autopia. :xyxthumbs
 
Does it matter if I wash with rainx soap (the one with little wax beads) before I clay and do all these steps ?
 
Scottwax said:
Stop washing with Dawn!



Use regular car wash soap. The only time you would need to use Dawn is if you were to begin using Zaino, otherwise don't do it!



You can clay as you wash (using regular car wash soap), follow with a polish, glaze and wax or sealant first, then wax. Take pics, post on Autopia. :xyxthumbs
Click to expand...



I could not have said that better. That is harsh stuff. I like to use a ph balance car wash when I begin my clean-polish step at the beginning of the year.
 
Navindra- yea thats the one. I bought it at walmart for $12.95 I belive. Have you used it ? If so how'd you like it ?
 
Wicho said:
Does it matter if I wash with rainx soap (the one with little wax beads) before I clay and do all these steps ?
Click to expand...



It is perfectly fine. If your goal with Dawn is to strip the old wax, don't bother. Claying and polishing will do that for you.
 
yeah i used it.. on a red lotus and a yellow porsche.. results were incredible... but then i used it on 2 black mercedes... forget about it... that stuff streaks like crazy, and is almost impossible to buff off... im guessing it streaked on the other cars but i was not able to tell because of the light colors they were. also, i have learned that stuff is made by turtle wax, which i tend to stay far away from (even tho i am sure they do make some good products). to tell u the truth, for the price, u could pick up some meguiars nxt wax which is 10 times easier to work with, and has good if not better results.



ps: the smell from the zymol can be addicting tho.. watch out



scottwax: if u are using the clay to strip the wax, doesnt that theoretically mean that the clay is doing twice the work, while picking up dirt ontop of the wax, and the wax itself, not really "deep cleaning" the paint itself? just confused... could u enlighten me please? lol
 
NavindraLR said:
..scottwax: if u are using the clay to strip the wax, doesnt that theoretically mean that the clay is doing twice the work, while picking up dirt ontop of the wax, and the wax itself, not really "deep cleaning" the paint itself? just confused... could u enlighten me please? lol
Click to expand...



Scottwax and I might have different opinions on this, so we'll see what he posts. I find that claying aggressively enough to cut through LSPs is *IMO* claying incorrectly. Yes, you're asking the clay to do more work. But yeah, you can do it and if you're gonna be polishing anyhow it shouldn't really be a problem. It *will* clean the paint, just has to get through the wax first.



I just don't really like the idea of aggressive claying...claying "properly", i.e., gently enough that you don't remove an appreciable amount of LSP, is sorta tricky and takes practice, and IMO people should always try to do things the right way. Even if you trip off all the LSP first, claying gently is (again, just IMO) preferable as it's less likely to induce marring.



Oh, and to minimize the marring even further, I'd use a shampoo mix as lube when claying. Yeah the plain water works but I consider it sorta an "advanced technique", something to try when you're experienced at claying. More lubrication = less chance of marring = generally good.



mtodde- Yeah, that stuff *does* really suds up! Not an issue if you clay while washing and do a thorough rinse though.
 
What glaze or sealant do you guys recommend that I can buy locally ? What paint cleaner ? I'll probably start saturday afternoon. I'll post how it turned out:bounce
 
I'm a big fan of the least aggressive approach first. Clay your car only if it is needed. If the paint is really smooth skip the clay, you will cut your chances of scratching the surface no matter what technique you use. Maintenance is always easier than fixing. I know people disagree with me on this but water and clay don't work well together. It does not lubricate the surface well enough and it increases risk.



Soap in water or claying while washing is a better option but the clays will start to break down in the presence of a detergent. Again, I think a few will disagree based on the posts here. Then again many of these guys, including myself, think nothing of pulling out some sand paper then cut and buff a few scratches out with the rotary.



Everyone has a different skill level here. I don't know what level you're at but based on the question I'd guess you wouldn't be willing to pull out the rotary. It's best to error on the side of caution. It's usually best to use the products as directed. Reputable companies spend a lot of time and money with R&D figuring out what works best for their product.



The only thing worse than having a difficult time with your paint is having a difficult time with some one elses paint.



My preferred steps:

1. Wash

2. Pre-cleaner (2 time a year)

3. finer polish and/or glaze ( as often as you like)

4. Wax (as often as you like and a quick wax job on the horizontal surfaces every other time you wash)
 
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