How to properly wash our beauties

[MiniNinjaRob]

I have managed to restore an older cars paintwork with my DA polisher and a whole weekend attacking it but it’s not for the faint hearted!! I swear the paintwork on my 25 year old Volvo 940 Turbo has kryptonite in it or something. 

[J.R.]

1 hour ago, MiniNinjaRob said:

In future years? What does that mean?

 

When and if you have the benefit of hindsight and wisdom and can read or hear people saying outrageous things and reflect "thats exactly what I would have once said"

 

I know in many areas where I said "I will never become like that" or worse I have indeed and can look back and appreciate that the changes in the main have been positive ones.

Edited 14 September, 2021 by J.R.

[Joss1733]

Showing my ignorance,what is a clay bar and how to Use?

[MiniNinjaRob]

28 minutes ago, Joss1733 said:

Showing my ignorance,what is a clay bar and how to Use?

Is it as described, a mouldable clay which you rub on the paintwork gently. 
Even when you wash a car thoroughly you can’t get the paint properly smooth, when it’s dry feel the paint and it has very small bits of roughness. That makes it difficult to wax (you’ll see the wax bring out those imperfections) and you won’t get as good a finish. 
A clay bar need lubrication to work - most need a special spray (my Meguairs need Quik Detailer) but some are more simple and just need water in a spray bottle (I think Bilt Hamber only needs water and it’s cheap too). 
Basically you run it gently over the paintwork and you will feel it picking up the imperfections and ground in dirt. Every so often when it gets dirty you fold it over itself to get a new clean section and continue. 
 

First time I used a clay bar it didn’t take as long as I thought but it isn’t a 5 minute job. However if you need to do it again its a lot faster. I do it a couple of times a year at the most - I do have a clay mitt now which seems to do a decent job but really fast. 
 

The big advantage is when you’ve done it wax goes on SUPER easy - it’s ridiculous. It was so easy the first time I did it I put on a second coat of wax just for fun. 
 

If you do on a new car you’ll still make an improvement and it’ll very very easy. 
 

There’s a lot of detailing things which aren’t essential but if you want to go from a basic wash to something which will stand out amongst the other cars it’s essential. 

[J.R.]

Thanks for the explanation re clay bar, I had often wondered exactly how they do what they do, I sort of knew the end result.

 

Are they ever used in paint preparation, before spraying a clear coat etc? - thats more my sphere of interest, in that regard I have the same end goal as you guys, the best finish possible, I am just far more relaxed about maintaining it than I once was, priorities change over the course of life.

[Joss1733]

5 hours ago, MiniNinjaRob said:

Is it as described, a mouldable clay which you rub on the paintwork gently. 
Even when you wash a car thoroughly you can’t get the paint properly smooth, when it’s dry feel the paint and it has very small bits of roughness. That makes it difficult to wax (you’ll see the wax bring out those imperfections) and you won’t get as good a finish. 
A clay bar need lubrication to work - most need a special spray (my Meguairs need Quik Detailer) but some are more simple and just need water in a spray bottle (I think Bilt Hamber only needs water and it’s cheap too). 
Basically you run it gently over the paintwork and you will feel it picking up the imperfections and ground in dirt. Every so often when it gets dirty you fold it over itself to get a new clean section and continue. 
 

First time I used a clay bar it didn’t take as long as I thought but it isn’t a 5 minute job. However if you need to do it again its a lot faster. I do it a couple of times a year at the most - I do have a clay mitt now which seems to do a decent job but really fast. 
 

The big advantage is when you’ve done it wax goes on SUPER easy - it’s ridiculous. It was so easy the first time I did it I put on a second coat of wax just for fun. 
 

If you do on a new car you’ll still make an improvement and it’ll very very easy. 
 

There’s a lot of detailing things which aren’t essential but if you want to go from a basic wash to something which will stand out amongst the other cars it’s essential. 

Many thanks for the information,now another question what would the best polish to put on after using a clay bar.i know there would be many answers but I thought I would ask you or any of the guys out there

[SC03OTT]

I’d still be advising non-contact decontamination before clay bar. Or even instead of, I’d you’re not going to DA afterwards. That clay is just going to drag contaminants over the surface. And there will be a lot, if it’s never been done before. But hey, that’s my preference. 

[MiniNinjaRob]

1 minute ago, SC03OTT said:

I’d still be advising non-contact decontamination before clay bar. Or even instead of, I’d you’re not going to DA afterwards. That clay is just going to drag contaminants over the surface. And there will be a lot, if it’s never been done before. But hey, that’s my preference. 

That’s the best way but then you have to buy more product. I’ve done it both ways and as long as you are careful it’s ok. Best maybe to try on the bonnet for a first go with a proper wash, clay bar, polish if needed then wax. 
 

 

[SC03OTT]

1 minute ago, MiniNinjaRob said:

That’s the best way but then you have to buy more product. I’ve done it both ways and as long as you are careful it’s ok. Best maybe to try on the bonnet for a first go with a proper wash, clay bar, polish if needed then wax. 
 

 

My comment was more directed at those who I assumed were new to this, asking what a clay bar is. Sure, I’d expect someone like yourself with a bit of knowledge to be ok doing it. Plus, you have the facility to correct any issues that may be caused. I suspect those asking above, don’t. That may be an unfair assessment; I don’t know 🤷🏻‍♂️ 

[MiniNinjaRob]

1 hour ago, Joss1733 said:

Many thanks for the information,now another question what would the best polish to put on after using a clay bar.i know there would be many answers but I thought I would ask you or any of the guys out there

Remember polish is there to remove defects before waxing. You may not need it. But if you’ve not done it before it probably is needed. 
 

There will be a million different opinions on what to use and how to use it. People will argue about it a lot!

 

Personally I use Auto Glym Super Resin Polish as it’s only a very mild cut, then the AG deep shine stuff (can’t remember what it’s called now). 
 

I once used a Meguairs polish stuff that was especially intended for dark cars and that was a lot easier to use on my previous dark blue car than the Auto Glym. 
 

 

[Jim2015]

Very helpful MiniNinjaRob. I'll look for a Meguairs bucket as well as Scott03OTT's suggestion of a microfibre mitt. My bugbear is dirty windows, so I regularly use Invisible Glass and Rain-X. The car was parked under trees recently, so it was covered in sticky stuff. After yesterday's heavy rain, I washed the car, hosed it down and then left it out for the next shower to rinse it again. No air pollution here next to the coast!

[Greezy56]

Always in the Autotrader top 10 is Simoniz , been around for many decades. Does a lovely job but murder to buff , you really need to work hard. Upsides , good long lasting protection, v cheap at around £7 a tin

Edited 15 September, 2021 by Greezy56
spelling

[Frenchtone]

^2 just salt!! ;-))

[Baxlin]

If you really want to find out if the paintwork is smooth, put your hand in a thin polythene bag, and gently wipe it on the paint.