Cleaning Bug

[ge45ton]

After a bit of convincing I thought it was time to have a go with a clay bar, so yesterday I spent most of the day going through the whole process. It's one of those things where you think 'hmmm why haven't I done this before', The Z has a really deep shine to it now, not show standard by any means but it looks great to me (a good start anyway), many thanks to Badman Gee for advice..
Renovo'd the hood too..

 

[badman gee]

Excellent Keith,

you need a good prewax cleaner now and a decent wax to follow.

2 or 3 layers of wax will do!

 

[ge45ton]

so not the rusty old tin of Turtle Wax I found in the shed ...

 

[badman gee]

Nope

 

[Summit Detailing]

Looks good! Amazing how much difference proper paint decontamination makes, as Mark said above you now just need to lay down some protection

 

[ge45ton]

thanks gents, just need to wait for the rain to stop now!

 

[Jamezee]

Must admit I keep putting off using the clay, will give it a go now

 

[Summit Detailing]

I can see how it looks daunting if you've never done it before, however in reality it's dead easy.
Making sure the panel is kept well lubricated is the most important thing, along with folding/turning the clay frequently.

Don't try and do a huge area in one go, take your time & you'll feel the panel become smooth and slick (contaminant free) which is then the time to move to the next part of the panel.

Enjoy & do t forget to update the forum on how you get on!

 

[Pep]

Must admit I keep putting off using the clay, will give it a go now

I clay barred mine a few weeks back and I was really impressed with how smooth the paintwork felt but I don't think our silver cars look that much different after a full polish and wax compared to the dark blues and greens.

I guess the silver makes up for it in not looking so bad after a couple of days without a clean.

 

[Ferdinand]

I use tap water as 'lubricant' - don't see any reason for buying expensive fancy stuff for that - works just as fine. What do you guys use?

 

[badman gee]

Quick detailer initially but now a little car wash/water mix

 

[zedonist]

+1 for clay bar, I put it off for a year, kept looking at the product I bought and sat on the shelf for that period tempting me, it was only when I saw it done on the TV tat I took the plunge, so glad I did, the acid test for me is a finger nail drag on the panel, if its as smooth as glass it's done, and I find I can just dust the car now rather than wash! Even more fantastic after 3 coats of collinite