Polish or Clay ?

[shinymopar]

Just finished washing my car today and when I was drying it I noticed the paint felt a little gritty i.e. not smooth like glass.



It`s four years old now and I was wondering what is the best way to get it like glass again.



I don`t have any problem with the shine or the depth of the shine. It looks gorgeous with a deep lustrous shine and I`m always getting asked what is my secret. It does look like you`re looking into a mirror.



I wax it every 3/4 months (Collinite Marquis D`Elegance) and am quite happy with the wax. When I do wax her there is no paint residue on the applicator (even when i use a cleaner wax for minor scratches).





Any help would be most appreciated.



Thanks.

[White95Max]

Clay





And welcome to Autopia :wavey

[Tasty]

Clay it. You can buy Meguiar`s clay at almost any local auto parts store, and some stores (Autozone near me) even sell Clay Magic. After four years do you have swirls in your paint? Before I came to this website I didn`t even know about some of the imperfections out there. Good luck!

[imported_Jinba ittai]

I`d recommend claying it. The other day I put a coat of NXT on my `03 Honda. The finish looked fine but when I ran my hand over the surface of the paint it felt gritty. It had been the shop for some paintwork last month and probably had contaminents on the paint, not to mention that it hadn`t been waxed all winter. I applyed some Color-X but it didn`t have the desired effect. Finally I clayed the hood and fenders and they were restored to smooth-as-glass.



Now the plan is to clay the rest of the car and put another coat of NXT on. Claying is definitely the ticket for getting a smooth finish and prepping it for your wax job.

[spotpad]

CLAY!



Don`t waste your money on Collinite #915 Marque D`Elegance. You`re better off with their Insulator Wax.



Check this out:



http://autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=47488&highlight=915+Collinite



:D

[Casebrius]

Originally posted by shinymopar

When I do wax her there is no paint residue on the applicator (even when i use a cleaner wax for minor scratches).



You shouldn`t have any color on applicators or buffers unless you have a single stage paint (no clear coat).

[shinymopar]

Thanks to eveyone for your advice !!!



Clay it will be. I`ve never used it so I`ll be searching through Autotopia for hints etc.



I have no swirl marks anywhere on either of my cars.



I`m also not giving up the Marquis wax. I love it.



I learned about it while watching the Barrett- Jackson auction. They were in the million dollar room and the guy who detailed those cars said he only uses Collinite Marquis so I figured I`d try it. I`m very happy with it.

[Mochamanz1]

Clay then polish... use a light polish, but why not ?

[Casebrius]

go very easy with the clay, don`t push it. I had some slight marring recently when I tried to speed it along by pushing down.

[shinymopar]

Again thanks to everyone for the great advice.

[imported_Jinba ittai]

Good luck! :xyxthumbs

[Glossmaster]

Clay then polish. Works for me!!