ok yea. im a nublet. flame away if you must.

basically my exterior body maintenance so far has consisted of a hose, big sponge and Armor-All body wash. i wash her about once a month.
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ive NEVER waxed or detailed a car any other way, my entire life.



i kinda wanted to get my car cleaned up as best i can for the march 16th meet, so im thinkin about trying to wax her/claybar her.

im not even sure what a claybar is supposed to do, but what i understand is that its a filler compound that is supposed to fill in scratches, which you can then wax over.


so, this is what i would like help with:

1) name the actual products i will need, exact names please, so there are no mistakes. also, include alternates in case what you say isnt available.

2) name the order in which i will be using them and how i will be using them

3) if there are any special application devices (sponge, terry cloth, etc.) please let me know

4) finally, tell me what to do with each one and for how long.



basically, give me an idiots guide to washing/barring/waxing your car.



thanks people

 

heres a claybar how to:
http://forums.maxima.org/showpost.ph...2&postcount=26

as far as waxing the basic technique is to rub the wax on in a swirling motion, let it dry, then rub it off. You should rub it in while pushing sorta hard down in to the paint. I use turtle wax.

 

thanks. that covers the claybar


what about waxing? any specific technique?

is it just rub on rub off?

do i do one panel at a time or all of them at once?

what product to you use? ?

 

Make sure to NOT wax in the sun or when the surface is hot.

Use a microfiber applicator pad, and if you are just going to do it by hand then IMO there is no visual difference if you use polish then wax...so just use Meguiar's Carnauba wax which can be found at any auto parts store. The smell is amazing...think liquid bananas...and it leaves a great shine with great protection. Apply it in a circular motion one panel at a time, while making sure not to soak the applicator, just enough to cover the area without blotching it. Make sure that it is dry before you remove it too. Remove it with a microfiber towel in the same circular motion while making sure that there are no tags on the towel to scratch up the paint, and whip the towel out or change them as needed.

I'm sure that others will have different preferences regarding wax, but that's my favorite one.

That's about as basic as you can get

 

Read the detailing EDU I posted...

 

Something thats easy and will give you really good results is going with the Mequiars 3 step Deep Crystal system. You can find them basically at any car store, the first one will be DC1 and will be Paint cleaner, that you should do after your claybar to get the paint really clean, followed by DC2 or the Deep Crystal Polish to give it a nice deep look and shine, followed by DC3 which is the Carnuba wax but i prefer to switch that last step with Mequiars NXT 2.0 wax as it performs much better in my eyes. Each one is rub on, rub off, the first 2 steps you want to clean away before it dries but as far as wax goes make sure it is dry before removing it. Thats a good basic system to start off with and then if you want you can start exploring other items to fill in those steps. Scottwax's guide is a real nice thing to read before you get started. Good luck man.

 

Please read the stickies....

 

I fully endorse this product 100%. Excellent results. simply immaculate