How to clay a car and other detailing advice

[5.0 Silverback]

Looking for advice on how to clay a car correctly. Car is a drag and show car so I need it to look good... I wash/wax my Mustang but never have clay'd it or any other car for that matter. Never thought it to be necessary. But now seeing imbedded water spots and particles.

What brand of clay bar do detail shops use and what is the correct process of how/when to clay?

After claying I am assuming a wax is required; which wax for maximum shine/finish as well?

Also, I do have vinyl racing stripes. I know NOT to clay those. I currently use Meguiars spray on wipe away quick wax then follow up with quick detail-er with microfiber towels. However, I am starting to notice swirl marks in the racing stripes. Is there a way to get the swirl marks out and make these things shine like new? Or is it just the nature of vinyl to swirl after a while especially with a dark indigo blue vinyl?

 

[SirJAG]

hello my friend. I know something of this topic so i can share a few things.

first and foremost, grab an account over at autogeek.net

There is an how too section there with a ton of videos and threads about this very topic, but here are a few pointers:

1) all clay these days is made from a handfull of producers, so pretty much everything you find will be the same. all of the over the counter stuff is on the finer grades (fine = less abrasive). Clay will mar the paint if it is too aggresive (dont stress maring though, your later steps will remove it)


2) clay bar is old school, pick you up a nanoskin towel from autogeek, or any other online retailer, read the instructions and never use clay bars again, i mean this. I have clayed roughly 2 dozen cars/trucks in the past couple years, and using the nanoskip towel dropped my clay time from 4-6hrs per car, to about 90min, with better results.

3) use two buckets, use seperate micro fiber mits for rims/tires, one for paint.

4) get you an electric blower to dry your car. the more you touch your paint, the more damage you will do, period.

5) your order of operations should look something like this: Wash your car, dry your car, clay or nanoskin your car, rinse any dried clay/nanoskin lube off, polish your car (Compound prior to polish if damage warrants it), Seal your car, WAX your car. Done.

6) Also look into giving an Meguires DA system a look. http://www.meguiars.com/en/dapowersystem/ I an able to get out 2000 grit wetsanding marks out using this product, and unless you really try to mess things up, this system will prevent you from doing much damage to your car because of inexperence.


Good luck my friend, and I wish you well. I got into detailing around 5 years ago, and if you have a great attention to detail and dont mind putting in a ton of effort, you can really do some amazing things with car paint.

JAG

 

[5.0 Silverback]

Awesome advice thanks! I am picking up a NanoSkin sponge Fine grade and some lubricant.

How about for the Vinyl racing stripes.. any advice on how to get those things to shine and get swirl marks out?

 

[heavenly]

hello my friend. I know something of this topic so i can share a few things.

first and foremost, grab an account over at autogeek.net

There is an how too section there with a ton of videos and threads about this very topic, but here are a few pointers:

1) all clay these days is made from a handfull of producers, so pretty much everything you find will be the same. all of the over the counter stuff is on the finer grades (fine = less abrasive). Clay will mar the paint if it is too aggresive (dont stress maring though, your later steps will remove it)


2) clay bar is old school, pick you up a nanoskin towel from autogeek, or any other online retailer, read the instructions and never use clay bars again, i mean this. I have clayed roughly 2 dozen cars/trucks in the past couple years, and using the nanoskip towel dropped my clay time from 4-6hrs per car, to about 90min, with better results.

3) use two buckets, use seperate micro fiber mits for rims/tires, one for paint.

4) get you an electric blower to dry your car. the more you touch your paint, the more damage you will do, period.

5) your order of operations should look something like this: Wash your car, dry your car, clay or nanoskin your car, rinse any dried clay/nanoskin lube off, polish your car (Compound prior to polish if damage warrants it), Seal your car, WAX your car. Done.

6) Also look into giving an Meguires DA system a look. http://www.meguiars.com/en/dapowersystem/ I an able to get out 2000 grit wetsanding marks out using this product, and unless you really try to mess things up, this system will prevent you from doing much damage to your car because of inexperence.


Good luck my friend, and I wish you well. I got into detailing around 5 years ago, and if you have a great attention to detail and dont mind putting in a ton of effort, you can really do some amazing things with car paint.

JAG

Great advice! Detailed Image also provides great write-ups in their "Ask A Pro" section for more reference if needed. Autogeek is awesome.

 

[SirJAG]

I use everything but polish on my stripes.

Here's another car I've worked on. Again no issues.

 

[luke1333]

hello my friend. I know something of this topic so i can share a few things.

first and foremost, grab an account over at autogeek.net

There is an how too section there with a ton of videos and threads about this very topic, but here are a few pointers:

1) all clay these days is made from a handfull of producers, so pretty much everything you find will be the same. all of the over the counter stuff is on the finer grades (fine = less abrasive). Clay will mar the paint if it is too aggresive (dont stress maring though, your later steps will remove it)


2) clay bar is old school, pick you up a nanoskin towel from autogeek, or any other online retailer, read the instructions and never use clay bars again, i mean this. I have clayed roughly 2 dozen cars/trucks in the past couple years, and using the nanoskip towel dropped my clay time from 4-6hrs per car, to about 90min, with better results.

3) use two buckets, use seperate micro fiber mits for rims/tires, one for paint.

4) get you an electric blower to dry your car. the more you touch your paint, the more damage you will do, period.

5) your order of operations should look something like this: Wash your car, dry your car, clay or nanoskin your car, rinse any dried clay/nanoskin lube off, polish your car (Compound prior to polish if damage warrants it), Seal your car, WAX your car. Done.

6) Also look into giving an Meguires DA system a look. http://www.meguiars.com/en/dapowersystem/ I an able to get out 2000 grit wetsanding marks out using this product, and unless you really try to mess things up, this system will prevent you from doing much damage to your car because of inexperence.


Good luck my friend, and I wish you well. I got into detailing around 5 years ago, and if you have a great attention to detail and dont mind putting in a ton of effort, you can really do some amazing things with car paint.

JAG

It takes you 4-6 hours to clay a car?????? Are you serious? I use conventional clay and takes me roughly an hour and that is usually taking my time.

Megs DA System is great works perfect for cars that arent hurt too bad

 

[luke1333]

hello my friend. I know something of this topic so i can share a few things.

first and foremost, grab an account over at autogeek.net

There is an how too section there with a ton of videos and threads about this very topic, but here are a few pointers:

1) all clay these days is made from a handfull of producers, so pretty much everything you find will be the same. all of the over the counter stuff is on the finer grades (fine = less abrasive). Clay will mar the paint if it is too aggresive (dont stress maring though, your later steps will remove it)


2) clay bar is old school, pick you up a nanoskin towel from autogeek, or any other online retailer, read the instructions and never use clay bars again, i mean this. I have clayed roughly 2 dozen cars/trucks in the past couple years, and using the nanoskip towel dropped my clay time from 4-6hrs per car, to about 90min, with better results.

3) use two buckets, use seperate micro fiber mits for rims/tires, one for paint.

4) get you an electric blower to dry your car. the more you touch your paint, the more damage you will do, period.

5) your order of operations should look something like this: Wash your car, dry your car, clay or nanoskin your car, rinse any dried clay/nanoskin lube off, polish your car (Compound prior to polish if damage warrants it), Seal your car, WAX your car. Done.

6) Also look into giving an Meguires DA system a look. http://www.meguiars.com/en/dapowersystem/ I an able to get out 2000 grit wetsanding marks out using this product, and unless you really try to mess things up, this system will prevent you from doing much damage to your car because of inexperence.


Good luck my friend, and I wish you well. I got into detailing around 5 years ago, and if you have a great attention to detail and dont mind putting in a ton of effort, you can really do some amazing things with car paint.

JAG

It takes you 4-6 hours to clay a car?????? Are you serious? I use conventional clay and takes me roughly an hour and that is usually taking my time.

Megs DA System is great works perfect for cars that arent hurt too bad

 

[5.0 Silverback]

View attachment 35724
I use everything but polish on my stripes.

Here's another car I've worked on. Again no issues.
View attachment 35725

I see those are small flat racing stripes. I have the big ones all the way down the middle of the car like a Shelby. They are a indigo blue vinyl. I found some megs products that are safe for them and picked up some new high quality MF towels from Chemical guys.

 

[5.0 Silverback]

View attachment 35724
I use everything but polish on my stripes.

Here's another car I've worked on. Again no issues.
View attachment 35725

I see those are small flat racing stripes. I have the big ones all the way down the middle of the car like a Shelby. They are a indigo blue vinyl. I found some megs products that are safe for them and picked up some new high quality MF towels from Chemical guys.

 

[SirJAG]

You will be fine. UQW will be your friend. Use one towel to apply. And a second to buff off. Don't let it dry.

Ultimate Quick Wax

 

[hoamskilet]

Agreed a prep towel is the way to go. Also do yourself a favor and pick up a rinseless wash like UWW+ or Optimum no rinse. Among their other uses, they work great for clay lube

 

[Mach1USMC]

My take is a little different. If you are going to be doing multiple cars a nanoskin towel is a great product. If you are only doing one car IMO it's hard to justify the extra expense of a NS towel.

And 4-6 hours is crazy long for claying. 60-90 minutes max for clay IMO, and yes, I've clayed my share of cars. The towel dropped my prep time to under an hour.

Also - depending on how bad the water spots are Clay or NanoSkin may not be able to get them out. You could be looking at a strong compound or wetsanding to fix the paint. All I can say is start with the least aggressive method and go from there.

GL

 

[Mach1USMC]

My take is a little different. If you are going to be doing multiple cars a nanoskin towel is a great product. If you are only doing one car IMO it's hard to justify the extra expense of a NS towel.

And 4-6 hours is crazy long for claying. 60-90 minutes max for clay IMO, and yes, I've clayed my share of cars. The towel dropped my prep time to under an hour.

Also - depending on how bad the water spots are Clay or NanoSkin may not be able to get them out. You could be looking at a strong compound or wetsanding to fix the paint. All I can say is start with the least aggressive method and go from there.

GL

 

[Black Sex]

I agree on roughly an hour for claying. After the claying process it is a good idea to polish or do your paint correction and then wax. Just waxing after the clay will not fix any imperfections, only mask them. If you do buy some clay and you drop it, throw it right in trash. It will pick up every rock and piece of debris and then scratch the shit out of your car. Instead of the nano skin towel, they make a wash mit also. They are a little more money than clay but last much longer. Plus its not a big deal if you drop it. You should be able to wash and decontaminate your paint all in one step. That should save you more time.

 

[low03tb]

The Nanoskin sponge is the exact same as the mitt and towel, but costs WAY less. Makes sense to go that route in my opinion. I still have normal clay, but the Nanoskin sponge seems to be well liked. Mine is on its way

 

[RSKtakR]

What is a good polish to use after the clay bar and before the wax and what's the purpose?? I have a 3M polish that I bought with a rubbing compound from when I had a friend polish one of my previous cars to get light scratches and swirl marks out with a polisher. Out of all the cars I have clay bared etc, I have never applied a polish in between as I didn't know it was suggested. I haven't clay'd my 15 yet, only waxed it once but I am looking into a new wax other then the turtle wax ice. I love the dark blue colors but MAN they show everything like black if not worse.. my Kona 2011 GT got scratches and swirl marks all over it so I figured I would be doing things much different with the DIB 15 now. I have waxed it once and exploring options. Don't know if it needs clay'd just yet.

 

[RC-5.0]

What is a good polish to use after the clay bar and before the wax and what's the purpose?? I have a 3M polish that I bought with a rubbing compound from when I had a friend polish one of my previous cars to get light scratches and swirl marks out with a polisher. Out of all the cars I have clay bared etc, I have never applied a polish in between as I didn't know it was suggested. I haven't clay'd my 15 yet, only waxed it once but I am looking into a new wax other then the turtle wax ice. I love the dark blue colors but MAN they show everything like black if not worse.. my Kona 2011 GT got scratches and swirl marks all over it so I figured I would be doing things much different with the DIB 15 now. I have waxed it once and exploring options. Don't know if it needs clay'd just yet.

I personally use Adam's 2-step polish. Swirl/haze remover, then the fine polish. You must use a machine for this.. A DA like Porter Cable is a good entry machine. If you have blue and never did it, you may need both steps. For well-maintained cars, the fine polish is "fine". For cars that are outdoor-kept, I would also recommend a sealant before the wax. I use Adam's for this also. Just make sure that you know the "cure" time before applying over it. That is the best combo of protection and shine.
RC

 

[hoamskilet]

I'm a big fan of HD Polish, but there's lots of good options out there

 

[Dynobrat]

If you clay you always go north to south never east to west and if you have swirl marks you are washing in a circular motion when you don't need to. One direction once twice at most and flip to a clean side for the second time then rinse your wash cloth for the next body panel.

Say for example your car is coated entirely with road grime after driving in the rain. Most people will grab their soapy wash mitt rinse the car and then start washing the car in circles. You don't have to. You just gently glide over the paint in one direction. It requires very little to lift the film off the surface. Once over should be enough. Little soap for little dirt more soap for more dirt, as the soap acts as a lubricant during washing.

Once you have swirl marks in vinyl it's probably impossible to remove them. It would probably be worth your time to apply a clear vinyl over the original. That's what I would try and do.

 

[Mach1USMC]

Say for example your car is coated entirely with road grime after driving in the rain. Most people will grab their soapy wash mitt rinse the car and then start washing the car in circles. You don't have to. You just gently glide over the paint in one direction. It requires very little to lift the film off the surface. Once over should be enough. Little soap for little dirt more soap for more dirt, as the soap acts as a lubricant during washing.

Once you have swirl marks in vinyl it's probably impossible to remove them. It would probably be worth your time to apply a clear vinyl over the original. That's what I would try and do.

FOAM AND RINSE FIRST - good lord man!! If you don't you are grinding dirt into the paint.

And ALWAYS use either the 2 BM or the GDWM.