there are a lot of water spots and maybe 3 bird droppings etched into the hood. I don't really know how long it has been etched, and it seems permanent. my question is should i spend, $30 or however it costs to buy a clay bar? will it actually removed the bird droppings and permanent water stains? how long will a whole clay bar actually last? I have never used a clay bar so i really don't know what kind of results to expect. how long did it take for you people to clay the whole car? did you do the whole car at one time or do it in areas ex. hood first, then doors, then trunk..etc?

 

With a clay bar, you are removing surface contaminants that are bonded enough so that a regular wash won't remove them. I do not believe that stuck on bird bomb etching, and water etching will be removed with the clay bar alone; it didn't for me.
You will probably need to find a good polish, or even compound, and go from there. However, a clay bar *should* be used anyways to ensure a proper paint prep surface.
As far as the clay bar goes, it should take you up to 1.5 hours at most to clay a whole car. I don't know what you mean about doing the whole car...it's not waxing. When using clay, you lubricate the clean paint surface with either a quick detailing spray, or clean car soapy water. Then you simply run the bar over the surface. work in small areas, and then wipe the residue off witha clean microfiber towel.
Let me find a link for you....Read this whole article for the stuff I might have missed in my short summarization: http://www.guidetodetailing.com/arti...p?articleId=14, and you should be good to go.

 

Try this link: http://www.adamspolishes.com/videos/clay_bar.cfm

It's a video someone else on the forum pointed out. It's just a real quick summary of how to clay a car.

I recently clayed both my maximas for the first time. I was impressed with the results. It produced a real nice smooth surface.

Like stated in the previous response I don't believe the clay bar will remove any etching or water spots. You will have to try a polish for that.

 

here are some pics of how my hood looks now with the bird etch marks, and other contaminents, haven't clayed the hood yet..bought some clay magic clay bar with clay lube, i'm gonna clay the car next time i wash it. I know the paint on the hood is horrible looking, but i just hope after using the bar will make it look brand new again.

 

Also, maybe something you know, maybe something you don't, but a clay bar will remove your wax, and you will need to reapply a coat of wax after claying. Are those pics after a wash, or as the car sits (dirty) as is?

 

that's how the car always looks, i just washed it maybe 2 1/2 weeks ago. is it also safe to use the clay bar on the stock wheels? because it has some greasy oily looking color all over the little gaps. I used a toothbrush and regular car wash solution to clean it, but it's still very filthy looking.

 

So that's two and a half weeks after a wash? Wash it first, that might just be bird crap (not etched paint)

 

If you need to use the clay bar for everything on your car, I would advise you to get more than one clay bar. If you're car is that contaminated, and you want to use the bar almost everywhere, then that clay bar is gonna be saturated with dirt particles, and stuff that will scratch your paint after some use. There is no doubt the paint will look much better after claying, but it may not/probably won't take out the things youre asking it to. You will probably need to follow up with a polish of some sort -- I really don't know what to suggest if you're looking locally/what you want to commit to the paint as far as time goes. To easily answer your question, you should be able to use the clay bar on your wheels -- but take my suggestion about the multiple clay bars.
If you're really serious about taking care of this problem, save your clay bars until you can do an all out detail on the car. Meaning - wash, clay, polish, wax, not just clay and wax (which is what I assume you'd be doing now). You won't be disappointed with the time you put in after you see the car's transformation. I imagine your silver paint will pop and really look good if you follow some basic steps. Head over to autopia.org to learn about some different techniques, or even ask this question there. You will get nothing but good advice over there.

 

I assumed since he made this thread that simple washing didn't take care of it, but maybe I'm wrong...

 

nope, the paint has been like that for a VERY long time, maybe 8 years? lol. I'm pretty sure the bird crap and water stains are etched into the paint because, it WILL not come off with normal washing.

btw, this is my very first time using a clay bar and pretty new to a full detail, normally i just wash and wax. so what are the basic steps for a newbie at a full detailing a car? what about polish, which brands are good?

 

I don't feel as though I am able to answer all of your questions. I think that if you were to make the same thread in autopia.org, they would be able to help much more. I don't know much about which polish would be good for a hand application (assuming you gon't want to spend the money on a porter cable buffer) so I really can't help you there...hopefully someone else will chime in, or go to autopia.org

 

I wasn't sure because you said this.

If it's been like that for eight years then it's definitely in the clear coat. Clay's not going to do anything. It would be good for the rest of the paint though so still do it.

After you wash it get some close up pics of the damaged area's. If it's not yet through the CC then it can be taken out, but even if it's not through, but just deep then you might be better off leaving it or you could make it worse.

 

today i washed, clayed, wash, and wax the car. The clay bar didn't help in removing the bird etching, but the water etching stains I can feel them and it doesn't seem permanent at all and it seems like i can pick them with my finger nail. I clayed the whole car and it still looks the same, there wasnt that many contaminets on the bar itself, so i guess the paint is in pretty decent shape, except for all the bird and water etchings that ate through the clear coat. I used the clay bar to clean the stock wheels and it did a decent job but there is still alot of oily like color on them. Is there any good products to get this oily substance off the stock wheels?

 

If you're willing to order online, you could try a product called Klasse AIO (all-in-one), again, go to autopia.org. It's pretty expensive, but is a great product. I really, really suggest you register over there. It's a little intimidating at first, but you get used to the terminology in no time. I'm sure the rest of the paint looks a lot better after cleaning it and waxing it like that...I hope you're still satisfied with the work you put in.
Probable plan of action: wash, clay, abrasive polish/compound, finishing polish, wax/sealant. That will probably take care of the water spots at least, if not the bird bomb etching too.

 

Hey man compound buffing will get water spots off , but I not sure about bird poop. I had a real bad experince with my blk i30 a couple of summers ago , I went to the beach and left my car parked for like a week. Every night my car would get soaked by my buildings sprinklers and every morning the water spot got baked by the blazing summer sun. When I came home I crapped my pants I thought someone sprayed acid on my car. It looked so bad my whole hood had huge gray and white deep **** craters. I mean it was nasty , but compound buffing solved the problem.