Clay Bar & Hand Polish...?
 

Hi all - I've searched the forum for product recommendations that meet my needs, but I'm still left with a few questions... hopefully some of you detailing experts can help.

Background: My car is a jet black 2002 BMW 330ci. The paint is in relatively good condition for a car of its age. I had it professionally detailed about 18 months ago, and I've washed/waxed every 3 months since then. I store it in my garage at all times, but it's a daily driver so it sees plenty of rain/snow/slush/road salt/sunshine/etc. It's not a show car by any means, so I'm not too anal about removing every last swirl and scuff in the paint... I just want it to look clean and well-maintained. I'd also like to have the paint finish as deep and shiny as possible.

Questions:

1) What is the non-professional best clay bar kit under $40? I've used the Mother's kit before, and this seems to be popular online, but I see that Meguiar's has a similar kit and I typically really like Meguiar's products.

2) What is the best hand polish product under ~$25? I don't have an orbital and don't feel the need to buy one. I just want a polish that will bring out the paint shine a bit and prepare the car for wax... not looking to remove every last swirl.

3) I really like traditional paste waxes... I find them much more satisfying than the liquid form. I've used Meguiar's Tech Wax 2.0 the past couple of times I've waxed the car, and I like it a lot - but is there something better in terms of protection and shine? Is there any advantage to using a caranuba wax rather than a polymer compound like Tech Wax 2.0?

4) I plan on doing a comprehensive spring cleaning sometime in the next couple of weeks... below is my plan, does it look reasonable?

- Wash car with Dawn dish soap
- Clay bar
- Hand polish
- 1 or 2 coats of paste wax


Many thanks in advance for any answers/advice!


http://borlandstudios.com/car/bmw5.jpg

I am in no way an expert or a novice, but more of a noob that may be able to answer some of your questions.

1) I recently used Meguiar's Clay Bar kit on my car and a friends and it provided great results. It comes with a bottle of quick detailer that acts as a lubricant and a sample bottle of cleaner wax.

2) I would go with Meguiar's Cleaner Wax for this, it will prep the surface for applications of a wax or sealant. Since you are not doing major corrections or anything, something like that should be enough.

3)I don't know much about waxes myself but all I can tell you is that from what Ken taught me, polymer is ideal for cars with a metallic finish because it helps bringing out the shine. So if your car is metallic, go with polymer. Other than that, I know nothing about them.

4) Sorry but I"m not a fan of dish soap. No matter the brand or what they state, I will only use car soap to wash my car. I hope you're using the two bucket method for washing your car (one bucket for soap, one bucket to clean the mitt). Hand Polish is tedious, make sure you worked the polish enough for it to work its magic.

Like I said before, I'm not an expert so don't quote me on any of this. The answer I provided are not "incorrect" answers, they just may not be the "best" answers.

I'm a noob myself xD but good luck with your car. It took me 8 hours to detail my car with a porter cable....man it was tiring but well worth it! :thumbsup:

Would people like to organize a clinic of somesort in the near future for detailing?
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1) I say mother's kit is value for money, you get 2 bars :)
2) well grab 1z PolishWax. Slight cleaning properties along with sealant. ultra durablez
3) sealants are durable but in general lacks the deepth and warmth. So I mean its your preference. If you can always sealant up then top with carnuba wax. So 1z PolishWax then you can top or not.
4) buy a bottle of meguires gold carwash or something, dawn will strip everything off of ur paintwork (which is good if you're gonna go correcting the paint) but I mean you're not going to be paint correcting or anything, get some car shampoo, it allows for less chance for god like scratches from your wash median.

how bout clinic up at the meet?

1) Never heard of a bad clay bar really. Stick with best value. All the OTC claybars are usually pretty mild so you won't see any scuffing.

2) Hand polish... hard to say. Polishing by hand is a lot of work, maybe Ken would fill you in what product he has used with his hands that has worked for him! You will probably be looking for an AIO type product to reduce some swirls, or just paint cleanser to prep paint for wax/sealant. Poli-seal is a nice cleanser / swirl remover but lacks protection. Zaino AIO is one of my favourites for cleaning and it leaves good protection, has very minor swirl removing capabilities.

3) NXT 2.0 is a pretty good sealant. Carnauba wax versus polymer sealants difference is something you are going to have to try on your car for yourself and see. If your looking to boost shine/protection, then the work prior to applying your waxes is your best bet, not buying a different wax.


4) Pick up some proper car wash soap, dawn will just strip your wax and is not meant for prolong use on car paint. Megs gold class is a good soap you can pick up at Ctire, but it is expensive. For its price I would rather pick up some soap from Ken!

Wash
Claybar
Wash again really quickly
Hand polish
1 or 2 coats of wax

Thanks for all the feedback!

Good to know, thanks - my paint finish is indeed metallic, as you can prob tell from the picture, so that may be why I really liked NXT 2.0 as it's a pure polymer compound IIRC.

Thanks - I checked this stuff out online, looks like a solid product that would meet my needs. I assume it would make sense to follow up with a coat of NXT 2.0 for top-notch protection and shine?

I actually have a giant bottle of Meguiars Gold Class wash soap; it's what I normally use when washing my car... but I was under the impression that before doing a clay bar/wax, it was best to strip off the old wax with a strong grease-fighting dish soap? Am I out to lunch on that...?

Thanks! Sounds like I'll stick with the NXT 2.0 as the final wax/sealant... and probably Mothers clay bar kit... only question left is regarding polish, now that I have several different recommended products :)

I'm just going to suggest FK1000P as a sealant, if you can get your hands on it. I had to get mine shipped from the States (bought off Amazon.com) for ~$30. It's marketed as a polymer wax, but all I know is that it puts a coat on my paint, it beads water very nicely, makes the car look like it has a new clearcoat, and I only have to apply it twice, MAYBE three times a year. That, and you can apply another wax on top of it for shine.

1) What is the non-professional best clay bar kit under $40? I've used the Mother's kit before, and this seems to be popular online, but I see that Meguiar's has a similar kit and I typically really like Meguiar's products.

As stated, most OTC Clay Bars are quite mild and won't marr the paint. We sell an ultrafine clay and have just brought in some Sonus Clay and Lube as well which are very mild.

2) What is the best hand polish product under ~$25? I don't have an orbital and don't feel the need to buy one. I just want a polish that will bring out the paint shine a bit and prepare the car for wax... not looking to remove every last swirl.

In all honesty, if your car is in good condition, I'd suggest a glaze like CG Wet Mirror to mask the light swirls. Hand polishing is time is very time consuming and hard work.

3) I really like traditional paste waxes... I find them much more satisfying than the liquid form. I've used Meguiar's Tech Wax 2.0 the past couple of times I've waxed the car, and I like it a lot - but is there something better in terms of protection and shine? Is there any advantage to using a caranuba wax rather than a polymer compound like Tech Wax 2.0?

If you like it a lot, I'd continue using it if you have some left. If you are lookng to try something new, AG Hi Def is great on metallics as is Victoria Wax Mayhem. Both are nubas with polymers to aid in flake pop and durability.

4) I plan on doing a comprehensive spring cleaning sometime in the next couple of weeks... below is my plan, does it look reasonable?

- Wash car with Dawn dish soap
- Clay bar
- Hand polish
- 1 or 2 coats of paste wax

Using Dawn will dry out paint and trim if used regularly but a few times a year to strip old LSPs won't damage anything. Your plan looks good. Give me a call if you need anything. :)

Ken just pre-empted most of my answers. :haha:

I'll chime in on the "glaze + wax" combo. I would suggest Poor Boy's Black Hole Glaze as well since you have a black car, Autoglym High Definition is an amazing wax for the price, and I'm going to be giving Pete's 53 Black Pearl (from Chemical Guys) a try soon as well. There are waxes specially formulated for black cars, take advantage of that!

The Dawn soap for stripping is ok... but remember to protect the rubber/paint afterwards with some products to ensure it doesn't dry out like Ken said. Optibond works great for that, or AG Rubber and Vinyl Care.

If you want something over the counter, just go canadian tire and grab the meguiar's or mother's clay kit, Autoglym Super Resin Polish, and pick a wax .

If you are planning to clay, you shouldn't need to really use something strong like dish soap. The clay will pick up debris and any contaminants on the paint as well, without stripping the paint from its natural oils. Like 911 says, it will dry out trim etc. The fact that you have waxed your car every few months and maintained it very well is good too.

I would personally

1)wash
2)claybar (i prefer the mothers clay over the megs)
3)compound(swirl remover, scratch remover if necessary)
4)polish may not be necessary but if you use dawn, i would definitely polish
5)wax and or sealant of your choice.


some easy hand application products for defect removable are meguiars ultimate compound, scratch x

some easy hand application polishes are basically anything meguairs or mothers.

If you do wax every 3 months like you did within the last year, choosing the most durable wax probably isn't critical. Choose whatever worked for you in the past.

Of course! I'll bring my jar over and have you apply it for me! :haha:

Sorry to bump an old thread - just wanted to say thanks to all the people that provided advice, especially 911fanatic... I have ordered the Mother's Clay Bar kit, CG Wet Mirror, and Victoria Wax Mayhem. Will likely be putting the new products to use next weekend; I'll try to take a few pics if I can!

In the past I've typically used the freebie Meguiar's hand applicator pads that come with their various polish/wax products... any reason to use something different this time around? Would be willing to fork over $10 or $15 if there's a better alternative that I can buy locally.

Thanks again to all who provided advice/suggestions! :hotbaby:

as long as the pads are nice n smoooooth actually just make sure they dont have anything dirty on em that you'll be dragging across the surface
otherwise grab some blackfire applicator pads from Ken

Anybody know where I can buy a couple clay bars in Vancouver? I need some within the next hour, and can't quite make it out to Autowerkes.
I know Lordco and Crappy Tire carries the Mother's claybar, but it always comes with the spray (which I don't need).

Any suggestions? :D

think all otc claybars are sold with spray.
how many you need and what aggressiveness? I may have some unopened riccardo claybars lying around

Looking for just a mild claybar. I just need one or two! Want to sell me one?

yeah sure, got 2 tins of blue and 1 tin of yellow, ill pm ya my number