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Comments
Any ways all the long term members know how anal I am about keeping my car clean. I have always washed and waxed regularly. I have always been skeptical though of the hard-core detailers, how much better could they get the paint than what I have been doing, my car always looked great I thought.
However I decided to buy a Porter Cable Random orbit buffer and in the interests of proving I could do just as good job by hand, I assembled all the products needed to do a four step process.
First I washed the car with dawn soap, to remove all wax, then I clay barred the paint, first smack in the gob, you would think after washing the car it would be clean, WRONG, after claying the clay bar was black with dirt , I skipped the swirl removal process as I didn't have any swirls.
I power buffed it out with Optimum Poly seal, and then waxed with Meguirs Ultimate wax, all I can say is WOW! I am now a believer, what I thought was shiny before ,is almost dull in comparison to the paint now.
The shine is so deep you would almost be tempted to try go for a swim in it.
The Poly seal is mildly abrasive so all the minor scratches are removed in the process.
This is on a silver car which is hard to have a really deep shine on.
I don't know how to post pictures here now, I have tried adding links from tinypics but all I get here is a red X. I don't why it is so difficult on this site every other site I just post the link and the picture shows up. However even the pictures do not do the result justice.
Cheers Pat.
Any advice for a water stain on the hood of my Miata? Not even sure how it got there, but the paint is dull in a one foot square area, shiny everywhere else.
Waxing only helps temporarily.
I picked up a clay bar last summer to try and deal with a problem spot on my '10 Forester, and after working on just that one area, I don't know how anyone could have the stamina to do a whole car with one of those things, let alone all the other work in that 4-step-process you detailed.
I feel like i am doing well if I can get a single wash/wax cycle in per year. :sick:
Actually, even less than that. It's under a car port.
It gets rinsed when it rains and I'm out driving.
Cheers Pat.
Had luck with their other products in the past.
Cheers Pat.
You don't have to lay into it hard either, this is another misconception, you don't rub until your arm falls off, you spray a lube like a quick detailer, and then rub the clay lightly over the paint.
If you are doing it right you can actually feel the clay grabbing the dirt particles. and you won't be worn out in the process.
You will actually like me, be amazed at how dirty the clay gets even after starting with a freshly washed car.
As a test do one side of a hood and then feel the difference by rubbing your hand over it, the clayed half it should feel much slicker than the untreated half.
Cheers Pat.
I scrubbed until my elbow was noodly, but, whatever it is, it is impervious to cleaning attempts. The clay bar had no effect either, though it did, as you noted, make the surrounding area smooth as a baby's rear.
I actually didn't wax the car last summer due to that spot, but I really would like to get it done this year.
After you clean be sure to wax.
Cheers Pat.