Applying Clay BAR

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oh-dawg

New member
Hi guys this is my second post but i am trying to learn more about this whole "car care" deal. any assistance would be nice.



when applying the clay bar is it okay to wash the car and then garage the car and then clay bar it the next day or so? or does the dust become a factor then? the reason i ask is because sometimes i don't have the 4 hours or so to do it all at once sometimes and if you include the wheels, the clay bar, the wax etc. it can take like a whole day. so my question is, is it okay to do this in steps? meaning days, so long as i do not drive the car and it is garaged?



also i grew up with the understanding that when applying wax a buffer is not good, however when reading some of the posts it seems as if many use a buffer? whats the myth on this, and can anyone point me to a good buffer, or is the hand way the best?



lastly i am using the mothers clay bar, also i have the meguairs 3 step system, a bottle for "1" another for "2" and so on. i also have the GOLD one too. my question is is this good enough? and which is better out of what i have? a friend of mine who frequents this board a lot says my meguiars stuff is crap, but is that really true? i have a Subaru STi its not an enzo nonetheless i am anal. someone teach this rookie the ropes.



Thanks and sorry for the long post.
 
Hehe...I will try my best on this one.

Sure, if you wash the car and garage it overnight or whatever, that should be fine. I would recommend QDing it right before you start to clay it tho. A lot of us break it into steps, like what you are saying.

Buffer? Buffers are great! You can apply liquid wax or sealant with a buffer all you want. We highly recommend the Porter Cable 7424 or 7336 models. (do a search) If you want to top your buffed on sealant/wax with a paste wax, you have to do that by hand (S100, Blitz, P21S....) and remove with a MF towel.



Can't figure out what exactly you are asking in the last question, but NO, Meguiars is not crap! Fine products and a great price. If you are in reference to the Gold Class line, those are very good products, IMHO.



Hope this helps!

Happy detailing!
 
Occasionally when I'm pressed for time I will wash, dry, then clay, but do the polishing the next day or whenever I can get it done. I find that claying after a wash is the best time as the paint surface is the cleanest. Claying your car should take 20 mins so adding this step onto your regular car wash routine is easy.



People who say bad things about machines are usually afraid of them or have been brainwashed by someone who was afraid. When used correctly a machine can do things that simply cannot be done by hand. Even if it could be done by hand the process would take hours whereas with a machine the process can be done in minutes, sometimes seconds. If you want to expand your skills to the next level, a machine is the only way to get there.



The Meguiar's 3 step system is fine. Nothing fancy but nothing terrible either. At Autopia we talk a lot about boutique, high end products but most of us have used the 3 step systems as well. Lots of people here also use Gold Class and like it.



Learn to use these products to their maximum capability before you go out and spend a zillion bucks on the latest trendy products. Click on the "Learn!" pic icon at the top of the page to read detailing article. See the "Hall Of Fame" discussion board to read articles from other Autopia members. Once you've learned a few new techniques, go out and try them on your car. Don't be afraid to experiment with something new. And above all, have fun with car care.
 
Quote: Applying Clay BAR





~One man’s opinion~



I totally agree with Dale DeSteno.



As you will find this is a ‘very user friendly’ place, the people on this forum are very knowledgeable, and are more than willing to share their knowledge. The one thing that seems to stand out here compared to other special interest forums is a spirit of "open mindedness�, no opinion expressed is ‘wrong’ just different.



Everyone has a ‘favourite’ product and some things in a manufactures line IMO are not worth buying (that doesn’t mean there crap, just that *i* don’t like to use them)







>Hope this helps<





Experience unshared; is knowledge wasted…/



justadumbarchitect * so i question everything*
 
One thing you might wanna consider is claying while you wash. You just wipe your panel with your wash mitt and then clay while that panel is still wet and soapy. It works and it saves some time.

Welcome to autopia!
 
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