A few clay barring questions
A few clay barring questions Been searching and couldn't exactly find what I needed to know about claybarring.
I just waxed my car with some cheap turtle wax a couple weeks ago and was wondering if I should wait a bit for the wax to wear off before I clay bar. Or does the clay basically take the wax right off anyway?
Also, I have some pretty bad wirl marks from washing with a crappy car sponge (bought a microfiber mit now). Will the clay take care of those or should I get some Meguiars swirl remover and use that after I clay bar?
Also planning on doing some minor polishing on some very light scratches on the front quarter. Can clay barring remove really small clearcoat scratches like that? If not, some minor polish work should take care of them.
And finally, let me make sure I have the steps right...
1. Wash car
2. Clay bar car
3. Wash again
4. Polish scratches (if needed)
5. Apply swirl remover (if needed)
6. Go over with some microfiber towels to get off the dust
7. Wax
Thanks!
I just waxed my car with some cheap turtle wax a couple weeks ago and was wondering if I should wait a bit for the wax to wear off before I clay bar. Or does the clay basically take the wax right off anyway?
Also, I have some pretty bad wirl marks from washing with a crappy car sponge (bought a microfiber mit now). Will the clay take care of those or should I get some Meguiars swirl remover and use that after I clay bar?
Also planning on doing some minor polishing on some very light scratches on the front quarter. Can clay barring remove really small clearcoat scratches like that? If not, some minor polish work should take care of them.
And finally, let me make sure I have the steps right...
1. Wash car
2. Clay bar car
3. Wash again
4. Polish scratches (if needed)
5. Apply swirl remover (if needed)
6. Go over with some microfiber towels to get off the dust
7. Wax
Thanks!
Clay bar will take off any surface contaminants/wax. Wont take out swirls. Need polish to take out swirls, preferably with a machine. With a good polish like menzerna intensive polish, you really dont need swirl remover. Your steps are right, I might reverse steps 4 and 5 though. If you really wanna up your detailing invest in a pc7424 or a Flex XC3401VRG.
The clay bar will not remove the swirls and scratches. The PC and some Menzerna with get rid of them for you. Using the Menzerna and swirl removal by hand, your paint correction will be minimal. After the swirls and scratches are removed you can then polish/wax. On a dark car every little thing shows as you know. Just work one section at a time and get the paint how you like it then move to the next section. That way you can see what works and what doesn't.
Clay bar will take off any surface contaminants/wax. Wont take out swirls. Need polish to take out swirls, preferably with a machine. With a good polish like menzerna intensive polish, you really dont need swirl remover. Your steps are right, I might reverse steps 4 and 5 though. If you really wanna up your detailing invest in a pc7424 or a Flex XC3401VRG.
Sweet, thanks guys. So I'll be using the swirl remover first and then polish the hell out of the thing. Hopefully everything turns out alright with the random orbital buffer. Practiced on my other car and it went pretty well. That was silver, this is black. We'll see how it goes! 
don't know if you know this already but with black or dark color cars.
do all your work in the morning ie washing, ect. when the paint is the coolest.
black paint scratches so easy so every little bit helps.
do all your work in the morning ie washing, ect. when the paint is the coolest.
black paint scratches so easy so every little bit helps.
Trending Topics
Yup I'll be doing this all out of direct sunlight in a climate controlled shop so I think I'll be alright (having a farmer for a dad kicks ***!)
How many times do you guys go over your car with an aggressive polish like Menzerna IP? I want to get rid of all the swirls but I don't wanna overdo it and screw things up.
Maybe I shouldn't have even got the swirl remover if I'm going to hit it with the Menzerna. So maybe...
1. Wash car
2. Clay bar
3. Wash again
4. Polish with Menzerna IP
5. Wipe car down with microfiber and wax
How many times do you guys go over your car with an aggressive polish like Menzerna IP? I want to get rid of all the swirls but I don't wanna overdo it and screw things up.
Maybe I shouldn't have even got the swirl remover if I'm going to hit it with the Menzerna. So maybe...
1. Wash car
2. Clay bar
3. Wash again
4. Polish with Menzerna IP
5. Wipe car down with microfiber and wax
LS1 Tech Stories
The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
6 Common C5 Corvette Failures and What's Involved In Repairing Them
Pouria Savadkouei
Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked
Pouria Savadkouei
Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!
Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP
Verdad Gallardo
Coachbuilt N2A Anteros Is an LS2-Powered C6 Corvette In Italian Clothes
Verdad Gallardo
Awesome K5 Blazer Restomod Comes With C7 Corvette Power
Verdad Gallardo
10 Camaros You Should Never Buy
10 LS Engine Myths That Refuse to Die
Verdad Gallardo You might need the swirl cutter after the Menzerna. The Menzerna can leave some swirls, especially on dark colors. Just work the product until your happy with the paint condition. I use the orange foam pad to apply the Menzerna
So you're saying instead of going with the IP and then a finishing polish I should just go with the IP and then the swirl remover? I have the IP now and am wondering whether or not I need to order a finishing polish or use the swirl remover to get rid of any swirls the IP leaves.
Actually nevermind, everything I've read says it will finish hazy so I'll still need a finishing polish
With the IP and finishing polish maybe I should just return the swirl remover lol.
With the IP and finishing polish maybe I should just return the swirl remover lol.
Every car is a little different. I detail a NBM Z yesterday and used the PC with Menzerna SIP. After wiping it all down, there were no swirls. I went straight to the TC3 polish. You just want the paint clear after all the corrections. Once clear, add polish/wax. Most polishing/finishing pads have no cutting ability, so there will be no correction with that pad.
Thanks again guys! The Menzerna IP and finishing polish arrived today and I got right to work. Started with a wash and rinse and spent a while clay barring. With the fresh paint, not a whole lot came off but I wasn't expecting it to.
After another wash I hit it with the intensive polish on some light scratches and rough spots on the finish. The results were pretty amazing. I had a few scratches from a few weeks ago when I put the headers and intake in and it took them right out! The finishing polish took care of any haziness and then I hit it with the Swirl Remover all over the car. That definitely worked better than I expected it to. Finally, I applied a coat of NXT and carnauba wax. After about an hour of getting the left over wax out of cracks and microfibering the **** out of it to remove all of the dust, the results were just incredible. Hopefully I'll get some pics up soon.
After another wash I hit it with the intensive polish on some light scratches and rough spots on the finish. The results were pretty amazing. I had a few scratches from a few weeks ago when I put the headers and intake in and it took them right out! The finishing polish took care of any haziness and then I hit it with the Swirl Remover all over the car. That definitely worked better than I expected it to. Finally, I applied a coat of NXT and carnauba wax. After about an hour of getting the left over wax out of cracks and microfibering the **** out of it to remove all of the dust, the results were just incredible. Hopefully I'll get some pics up soon.
Looks like your right on track!
I NEVER use anything but a microfiber towel on my car (for detail spraying, waxing, polishing, claybaring spray, polishing up wheels. Didn't take me long to realiza that even 100% terry cloth can scratch the **** out of the clearcoat!
Just a-waiting to see your pics.
I NEVER use anything but a microfiber towel on my car (for detail spraying, waxing, polishing, claybaring spray, polishing up wheels. Didn't take me long to realiza that even 100% terry cloth can scratch the **** out of the clearcoat!
Just a-waiting to see your pics.