Need help with clay, wax, polish

[thewiz8807]

Next weekend will be my first time ever detailing a vehicle.

I plan on using a fine grade nano mitt, lube for the mitt and some form of wax not too sure yet. From what I understand paste wax is the best?

What about polishing? I know nothing about polishing. I'd also like to mention I'm doing this all by hand.

So how exactly would the process go?

Wash Car
Dry
Nano Mitt with lube
Dry

Then what?

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[5-OH]

Autogeek.net

Check their forums they're very helpful for newbies.

 

[Khyber]

watch junkman on youtube to start learning.

 

[thewiz8807]

Still waiting for account on autogeeks to be approved by an admin.

Gonna check out that youtube personality you referred me to.

 

[thewiz8807]

Had my car for 6 months. On average I wash her every 2 weeks, wash method is as follows:

Rinse with pressure washer
Foam cannon
Let foam drip off car
Rinse with pressure washer
Two bucket was method
Rinse and dry
Wax as you dry spray wax and buff
Go over car again with microfiber towel


Kind of worried about my car having alot of contaminants on it already since it's been 2 quarters and I still haven't removed contaminants, waxed and polished.

Generally in what order do you clay bar, wax and polish?

After washing the car

 

[Ultrakla$$ic]

Generally in what order do you clay bar, wax and polish?

After washing the car

clay, polish, wax/sealant

 

[drabon74]

wash with dawn, rinse, clay bar(I don't even bother drying car, but make sure you are in the shade), wash again, polish(if needed), sealant / wax.
I also use Iron X as it removes contaminates that the clay bar misses. Lots of times the clay bar will shear off contaminates and leave particles imbedded in the paint. when I get home i'll post a pic of may car when brand new treated with Iron X, I was amazed at what was in the paint from the factory.

 

[BTR75]

If you have the nano mitt, just use it as a wash mitt.

Per AutoGeek's Directions: Use only on clean and cool surfaces. Mix one ounce of Nanoskin Bubble Bath Wash & Shine Shampoo per gallon of water. Rinse surface with water to flush away loose dirt. Wash and rinse in sections using Autoscrub Wash Mitt using light pressure. Begin with the roof, and work the suds down to the hood, trunk and sides. Rinse with clean water and dry vehicle using a Waffle Weave Guzzler Drying Towel.

I've used it in place of a clay bar and loved it, granted my car wasn't heavily contaminated.

 

[Ilovemyv8]

Yes, junkman2000 is the guy to watch. He is long winded. Good wash and buffing videos. Ammo is another good one.

 

[Burger2002]

Search you tube for the Drive / Clean series. The guy from Ammo is good to watch.

 

[Nathanbrummer@SCS]

I'll second ammo nyc and drive/clean. Great videos on both channels.

 

[Harley2k]

+1 for junkman

 

[thewiz8807]

Quick question


Avoiding sunlight and rain is proving to be quite the obstacle for me. I also don't have access to a garage or bay.

Can apply a paint sealant and wax in 80+ degree South Florida sun?

Seems the only time I can avoid the rain is in the early day but that sunlight is killing it earlier on in the day. What's a guy to do?

 

[wmsky33]

Quick question


Avoiding sunlight and rain is proving to be quite the obstacle for me. I also don't have access to a garage or bay.

Can apply a paint sealant and wax in 80+ degree South Florida sun?

Seems the only time I can avoid the rain is in the early day but that sunlight is killing it earlier on in the day. What's a guy to do?

Do you have someplace where you could set up one of these? http://www.walmart.com/c/kp/pop-up-canopies The 4-legged 10x10 ones are easy enough to set up and take down by one person. My wife and I used to use one whenever we went to my daughter's swim meets. It's a necessity in the Texas summer sun. 10 x 10 would allow it to straddle the car. And, IIRC, some even allow you to adjust the height. You do have to worry about wind, but you can weight down the feet as long as the wind is not too strong - we used to use the flat weights from our exercise weight set. If you do decide to try it, I would get some A/C plumbing pipe insulation to wrap around the legs, just in case a leg does contact the car.

 

[thewiz8807]

Thanks for the tips all, finally was able to successfully detail my car. Time constraint didn't allow for a wax but I'll be doing that this weekend.



So I learned not to apply JetSeal to the plastic and rubbers haha....damnit.


How the heck do I remove this shit? It's all over my plastic trim, grill, etc.

Aside from the white streaks on the plastic, my car is shining like the freaking Sun. Hot damn can't wait to wash her and hit her with some Wax.

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