I went to the local rice shop, Autofreaks in edgewater, and picked up a claybar.
I was little doubtful of its outcome, but i did it and yeah the whole car and front bumper especially is smooth like crazy, but you realize how cheap your paint is.
My bumper is smooth but looks terrible, even with mcguiars swirl + yellow wax 26, it looks terrible, endless amount of rockchips, tiny ones, big ones, medium ones.. oh well.

Listen anyone know how i can get a factory Mercedez Benz paint job. Can i just put S600 on my maxima and send it to germany to get painted?

Roger
tonight i will post pics of painted silver calipers, the new rims, and the actual claybar!!!!!

 

The first time I used a clay bar on my car I thought it looked like it just left the showroom again. Best $20 I ever spent.

 

speaking of clay bar.. I need to get another one... no one around here carrys it... need to check more places... I love the feeling of after you clay bar it.. and it feel soo smooth.. and plus Mcguire's quick detailer smells good!!

 

What brands have you guys used and which do you prefer?

Mothers, zaino bros, ....


thanks

 

I have only used Mecgular (SP?) clay bar.. I think they are pretty much the samething.. just remember to keep turning it.

 

Not sure how price competitive they are, but they have great service.
Some products are kind of pricey, but they carry a lot different kinds.

http://www.properautocare.com/

 

The last one I bought was the Mother's one. I haven't seen any of their products around lately, though.

 

Do you just wax as usual after using the clay bar? I'm looking to use a clay bar to get the water spots out from the first time I washed my Max (damned black paint)

 

Yes, you can wax as usual. You defintly should too, the clay bar strips everything off your paint, and if you don't wax, the paint will be completely unprotected. Besides, after claying and waxing the car will look absolutely stunning.

 

Should you spot test an area on the car before you go bust out on the whole car? And will it remove slight clear overspray?

 

Thanks for the info. I will definitely do this once the weather is better and I have a whole weekend to detail the Max.

 

just do the whole car.. believe me.. it's worth it... the car feel so smooth.. and yes it will remove slight overspray... just keep turing the claybar.. and don't drop it... make sure you keep spraying Mcguaire Quick detailer.. it may not seem it's doing anything when you first clay your car.. but believe me.. it does..

 

what's the estimated time to clay the whole car, concentrating on the front bumper? i've been wanting to do this, but i can't imagine spending too much time rubbing out insect blood.
at the same time, i've gotta do something about my bumper, it looks horrible.

 

how do u use this stuff, i want to try it out but dont want to mess up

 

serin: for a new user... I would said... 45-50 min will be enough to do a goooooood job...

Dario: what U do is...(I am going to reference back to Mcguire product.. since that's the only one I have used.. but I am sure others are pretty much the same).. basically you buy two product, the Clay bar and Quick Detailer.. Spray some quick detailer onto your paint.. and just rub the clay bar across the wet area.. DON"T rub the clay bar on the unsprayed part. and then repeat through out the whole car.. and that's it... easy stuff... but find a rough spot on your paint.. feel it.. then use the clay bar on it.. then feel it again.. you will see the difference

 

cool thanks, looks like i have a project ahead with some detailing

 

I spent 45 minutes on the front bumper... put some cardboard down and lay on it and take your time.. I filled one of those squeeze bottles with the car wash soap and water and just squirted and rubbed/turned. It's worth it, as for the rest of the car i focused only on the lower part of the car. And places on my car where i knew were nasty, not smooth. I took off the mudguards and front license plate holder also. For those of you with 21k+ miles on your car, take the front license plate holder vinyl thingie off and compare the paint under that with the other areas on your bumper, its gonna make you mad, then sad, then its gonna want to make you get a new paint job.
Roger