gratuitous waxing

[wastintime]

Hey everyone,

I'm sure I'm about to get flamed for my next statement, but I've been feeling bad that I've been driving my 911 a lot lately. It's never been my daily driver, but recently it has been. Today I cleaned it though, it's an RS there's really not much of an interior to do, but armor-all'ed all the interior stuff.
I used a clay bar for the first time, actually. A couple of friends recommended it, I wasn't sure if I wanted to do that much work, and it is work. I started at 11am, just finished... 20 minutes ago. Washed, meguiar's nxt speed shine and clay bar, then the nxt Tech Wax, 2 coats of wax later...





snapped a couple of pics before I quickly hid it from the sun and those $(*#(*#@ seeds that kept hitting it, this was the only one where I thought the paint just looked perfect.

I will say, I'm not sure the clay bar made it look 10 times better or anything, but you could feel it was smoother applying the wax, and the wax came off about 10 times easier.

[jhubs]

Originally Posted by wastintime

...I'm sure I'm about to get flamed for my next statement.... but armor-all'ed all the interior stuff.

The folks on this forum will give you a hard time about using Armor All....I've never used the stuff my self...., but I do use a product called Mequiar's Gold Class Rich Leather (cleaner and conditioner). It contains no silicones and it moisturizes, has aloe and a UV protection additive. I use it on all my car's leather and vinyl and on my leather furniture in the house. It smells great and does not leave any sticky residue behind. I used to use Lexol on my saddles (for horses) and switched to Meguirar's even on them. For us in dry climates, moisturizers are very important, but for those in humid climes...maybe not so important.

[mca]

Andy ... about time you cleaned that car! Jeesh!

Looks great man!

[wastintime]

I know the exact product that you're speaking of, I used it on my C2, but I don't have any leather in my interior, except the shift boot and steering wheel probably, so... not the end of the world, I'd rather just use armor-all have the trim be shiny, and it does the conditioning job pretty well.

[Gogar]

I bet that Armor-All made the interior "JET-FOKKIN BLACK", huh?

[wastintime]

Originally Posted by mca

Andy ... about time you cleaned that car! Jeesh!

Looks great man!

LOL, yeah... now if I can just afford new brake rotors and tires I can get it back on a track at some point. Actually, I'm pissed I lost my seat in One-Lap, but I'll be at Summit the 10th, and Roebling the 16th... I just got to drive an Aston Martin Vantage... I liked it A LOT more than I thought I would, that is a true sports car... it was so pretty though I felt bad and decided to clean mine up a bit.

[Mitch Leland]

Great job Andrew, what is "clay bar"?

[wastintime]

Basically, it's just clay, I use Meguiars, but I'm just picky like that, I use meguiars everything. You use a "speed detailer" which is basically a truly liquid wax as a lubricant and buff the car with it and it picks up every little imperfection and contaminant in the paint. It's kind of a pain because you have to spray on the speed detailer, then buff with the clay, then buff the speed detailer off, lol, then once you finished the whole car you get to wax it.

[tangerine911S]

Caly bar is pretty much like it sounds... Its a bar of moldable clay that when rubbed over the paint after a spray of lubricant, removes the oxidation and contaminants that build up on the paint surface. Makes it nice and smooth and shiny.

[tangerine911S]

...oops you beat me to it.

[Mitch Leland]

My car is kept up pretty well, but are you saying it's still a good application do this every so often?

Thanks you guys...

[Formerly Steve Wilkinson]

Go here...

http://www.carcareonline.com/viewarticle.aspx?art=0

and read what Larry Reynolds, one of the most knowledgeable car-care people in the country (and a Porsche guy at that) has to say about the dangers of clay bars. These are meant to be professionally applied overspray remedies, not weekend-polish tools. Hell, a bunch of 600- 1200- and 2000-grit wet-and-dry sandpaper can also make your finish look great, but the waterbucket you're using will soon be colored Guards Red (or whatever). What does that tell you?

[wastintime]

eh, you technically lose paint if you wax a non clearcoated car... besides which, we are not talking about the same thing. You are talking about an overspray clay, I'm talking about a cleaning clay those are two wildly different things

Overspray clay, and Meguiars does sell two of them, mild and harsh... are clay bars with abrasives intentionally added to them. A cleaning bar is simply clay that you use a lubricant with to lift up contaminants, you are not sanding smooth the surface of your car, you're simply cleaning it. Huge difference.

[Formerly Steve Wilkinson]

Well, then rub away.

[hcoles]

clay is the bomb... I just started using Tech Wax gen 2.. I'm impressed.
wash, clay, Meguiars paint cleaner, Meguiars polish the Tech Wax gen 2.. that's the best I've come across.

[HarryD]

Originally Posted by hcoles

clay is the bomb... I just started using Tech Wax gen 2.. I'm impressed.
wash, clay, Meguiars paint cleaner, Meguiars polish the Tech Wax gen 2.. that's the best I've come across.

Gosh, way too much for me... wash.... dry ..... drive is my manta.

[RoninLB]

if you're using more abrasive than is in polish then your paint better be screwed up to start.

[wastintime]

Have you ever noticed how the car never looks that great the day you wash/wax it? Maybe because you're feeling that it's not worth all the work you just did? But the next day it just looks incredible? Yep, today it looked breathtaking, especially driving it in the sun, where you can all of a sudden see every reflection off of the fenders... sweet.

[1911Guy]

Clay Bar ROCKS!

Armor-All BAD

[Palum6o]

I wouldn't have used the speed shine with the clay bar - that's probably why the wax was so easy to take off. The better lubricant is the quick detailer or another QD with the clay. I would have then followed up with a good cleaner wax to remove the natural oxidation of the red, then the seal, then the wax. Speed shine is used the following day.