First allow me to apologize for the poor quality of the pics.
If you know me then you know I take great photographs. Something happened with the memory card on my camera and I was not able to get the pictures off of it. The only option I had was to plug the camera into our projection TV and view the pictures on there, then I took ANOTHER camera and took pictures of the pictures being displayed.
Nightmare situation, I know.
Anyway, on to the post...
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I've never waxed a car before, but I knew with one this awesome that I definitely wanted to make a habit of it. After reading numerous posts by Gary and studying up over at Autopia's guidetodetailing.com I also decided that I should claybar as well. So this whole thing was a learning process for me and I decided to share it with everyone else as a write-up of sorts to let people know that they don't need to be afraid of detailing their own car.
After washing and thoroughly drying your car you can begin the process of clay barring and/or waxing your car. If you have an empty garage that you can keep your car in during this process it is definitely a good idea to do so as it's best to keep it out of direct sunlight and also keep it from getting airborn contaminants (like pollen) blown onto your car while you're working. Before we begin, after you've washed and dried your car you should touch it. Feel the surface with clean hands and just store that feeling for future reference.
Here is the claybar product that I used. I've never clayed before, so I can't give a preference as to which product you should use. Most claybar kits cost roughly 14-16 bucks at a number of auto places and this one comes with the bar of clay, a bottle of quick detailing spray, and some scratch removing product that I didn't bother with:
After a good bit of trial and error, I found that I was making a mess and wasting the detailing spray by spraying it right on the car and then using the claybar. I discovered that the best method for me was to spray a couple squirts onto the claybar in my hand and use it that way:
Start by rubbing the clay back and forth over a small section of the car. If it feels like it doesn't want to slide very well don't worry, that's because there are contaminants on the surface. After your push it back and forth a few times applying mild pressure, it should noticeably feel slicker and the clay will glide easily. This means you've gotten everything up, now move to another portion:
Rewetting the claybar as often as necessary and working in 2' x 2' sections until the entire car is finished, most of the rest of the car should be dry by now and look pretty gross:
Don't worry about that, it's not like hard water spots that will damage your paint. Just get a good microfiber detailing cloth to wipe it off with. (I use microfiber cloths that I get from Target by a company called Vroom. There isn't a website and they can't really even be found on Target's website, so finding them requires going to the store and even then I can't guarantee that you have them locally.) The detailing cloth I have is soft and has a VERY small pattern to it... this one when you run your hand across it should feel kinda prickly, because it's picking up the microscopic imperfections in your skin and snagging on them. This towel will NOT mar your car's surface, it only FEELS rough because your hands aren't buttery smooth like your car. So just wipe up all the dried claybar/quick detailer residue, you may want to flip the towel to a clean side for the final swipe just to make sure you got it all up:
Now that you've cleaned it all up, take a step back and admire the gleaming surface of your car. If you are fortunate enough to have a garage to do this in you better be doing it in the garage because you wouldn't want any airborn contaminants to lay rest on your fresh clean car. If you like, go inside and wash your hands real good. Then come back out to the car and run your fingers along the surface. If you did this before you started like I said, then you should definitely notice a difference in the feel now. The car is now smoother than a baby's bottom and, personally, that smooth glassy feeling is almost enough to send me over the edge. I sometimes just rub the car for minutes on end because it's so smooth and sexy.
Now, on to waxing. It's best to wash the car again to make sure you've got all the clay residue cleaned off.
The product I'm using is Meguiars Gold Class wax, my father gave it to me for my birthday before I even got the car. Again, I don't have any experience with any other products so I can't compare.
I've never waxed before, so I'm not sure if I'm using too much or not.
Hopefully Gary can chime in here and add some insight. I usually put a dab about the size of a dime and rub it on for a bit, re-applying the dab a few times throughout the process. Usually, to give a bit of perspective; I probably re-apply the blob onto the applicator 3 or 4 times just for the hood, twice per door, twice per bumper, 2 or 3 for the decklid, and 1 or 2 for each fender.
This dab size is a bit larger than I usually use now:
When applying, make sure you get a good even layer all over and don't miss any spots. Here I am applying in a circular pattern as I have always thought how you were supposed to wax ever since Mr. Miagi taught me how.
However, since reading up on Autopia I've learned that circular patterns can create swirl marks and that you really should wax in a back and forth motion. I've waxed the car 3 times now and these pics are from the first time, the other two times I did a back and forth waxing. I must say, it just feels weird as I'm really tempted to make the circular motion.
Perhaps Gary can shed some light as to wether or not there is any validity to these claims. Because if circular patterns aren't bad for the car, then I'm definitely going back to that.
Applying the wax:
Now make sure to follow the directions with your wax, because different kinds/brands call for different procedures. Some waxes require that you buff them off almost immediately, others must dry and haze over before you remove them. Meguiars Gold Class requires that the wax haze over first, which I read somewhere that it usually takes around 15-20 minutes. I'm not sure if it's the humidity here in Florida or (lack thereof in my garage) but it takes about an hour for my wax to set up real good. The best way to tell is to rub your finger on a waxed surface; if you run your finger over it and leave a streak with a waxy residue then the wax hasn't set up yet, but if you run your finger and the car surface is completely clean in the swipe spot then your wax has finished curing.
Hazy, cured wax:
Now I used a good polishing towel to buff off the hazed wax. The polishing towel is more fine and doesn't snag on your hand, in fact it feels a lot like deerskin. (Again, I'm using towel products by Vroom which I found at Target.) Then you just wipe until the haze is gone, turning to a clean side for the final wipe to make sure its good and spotless:
I hope everyone enjoyed this post and found it beneficial.
I enjoyed writing it and again I'm sorry about the poor picture quality.
Keep an eye out as I have two other picture threads to post soon and I'll cross link them here. I did a slight mod at the same time as the clay/wax that I also got pictures of. They're not that great, but I'll post that soon. I also had a photoshoot of the car right afterwards and of course all those pictures got stuck in the camera as well, but I have re-waxed since and went out to redo the photoshoot, so look out for that thread as well.
Here is my second picture thread of the mod I did:
Buttocks Enhancement [painting the rear grille]
The photoshoot thread is now up, check it out:
Work that Camera! [#1599's second photoshoot]
It's very important to keep the clay very well lubed to reduce friction. Once you've clayed it don't think it has to be done for a while again.
I would like to see some pictures of the wax job, once you have a chance to post them.
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