3 things i need to buy

[imported_matthew]

its spring, i`ve got some free time, so i plan on taking this weekend to detail my *black* nissan pathfinder.



auctally, the last time i truly detailed it was last august, and boy was that fun



anyway, its got 9 months worth of junk on it and one bad winter. i`ve been taking it to the touchless, but its been in the 50s to 70s recently (Except these past 2 days).



The three things I am going to buy are new wash mits, some clay (needed greatly!) and some kind of wax.



I have these wash mits from CMA, but they were too big for my hands, and also they were coming apart. Also it was a pain to get dirt out of them.



I`d like to find something that will be gentle to my black paint. BTW, my car is about 1 year old.



Next I will need some clay. I suck at claying auctally. I tried doing it 6 months ago because I had something on the paint but I gave up cause I couldn`t figure out how to do it. I`m going to try again.



I hear that Autozone has some good claybars, which only cost $10? Anything cheaper? Any tips for me to be more successful with my claying the car as I`m going to do the whole thing!



Lastly I need some kind of wax. I haven`t put any wax on it since last August, except for that liquid junk at the end of the touchless.



Water still beads on the hood and the top half of the car, but after the winter the lower half of the doors doesn`t bead that welland the back hatch doesn`t either.



I`d like to purchase as much at local stores as possible. This means my choices are Auto Zone, Wal Mart, Target and Pep Boys.



I am open to purchasing online. The price of the wax (or sealant) or whatever is not that important. I don`t want to spend more than $100 on these items though.

[imported_Kyle]

I got sheepskin mitt from Costco for like $7 (comes with 3 different sheepskin product).



and Clay Magic from Auto zone $10. I heard wal-mart has it on sale but not sure.



and I`ll be getting S100 $15 from CMA or your local Harley Davidson store. (SEPC $9)



so I`m sure you can get 3 things under $50

[SK2003TypeS]

Hmm... CMA mitts came apart ? I just ordered another one . I`ve been using Griot`s mitt (with liner) for a few months with no complaints. Mainly got it for the winter so my hand wouldn`t freeze. To clean out mitts, I don`t spray water into them. This will only push the dirt deeper. I basically dunk and swish the mitt in a bucket. Also tried to get water into the mitt so it goes outward, but didn`t have too much luck with that.



I used Pinnacle Clay (expensive). Not too impressed, save your money on that one. Clay Magic seems to be recommended here. Mothers makes some decent stuff.

Don`t give up on Clay. My car was 5 months old when I did it and it picked up A LOT of stuff you couldn`t see. Just lube sufficiently. And do the plastic bag thing before and after.



As far as car shampoo. Meguiar`s gold is pretty cheap at Target. It`s like $8 for one of those big containers. I went the Zaino route so I`m switching over to Z7.



I`m way over $100, but I`m sure you can manage to get your stuff under.

[imported_matthew]

Thanks both for your replies. I am a member of Costco, I will stop by this weekend and look at the sheepskin mit`s. How are they? Will they be safe for my black paint?



Next, I will pick up the $10 clay from Autozone. I might even buy 2 (just in case). I will keep on reading more about claying and hopefully I can figure it out. I know there is a bunch of junk on my paint, I can see it!



The S100 suggestion is great. I might even pick up the S100 from a local Harley dealer tommorw evening. If its $9 in store thats great. That reminds me, last time I waxed I used these cheap foam applicators from Pep Boys. Is there something better to use, or are foam applicators the only thing for wax?



I`ll stop by Target and pick up a big jug of Meguiar`s Gold Class wash as well.



This doesn`t seem that bad at all (Price wise). I`m still open to more suggestions, I`ll be around, still have to read more to figure out a plan of attack.

[SK2003TypeS]

Just a tip on the clay. Cut it up into a few pieces. If it slips out of your hand and falls on the ground, it`s NG, throw it out, you`ll have a few pieces left. The clay might grab a little at first but then slides like a melting icecube on a counter top. That description was posted here maybe a week or so ago. If you haven`t already, look up the how to clay a car article. It covers the topic very well.

Have fun and keep reading, this place has tons of great info as I`m still learning some kool stuff.