looking to polish/wax my car for the first time on over a year

[dapolishdude]

well i think its time to wax my car, ive owned it for over a year now. I still have some s100 that i bought for my last car, but what do I need to do before applying that? I know i should first probably dawn the car then clay bar it, but what do i use between the claying and the s100? on my dark car i used 3m swirl remover and 3m glaze, would that still be a good option? thanks

 

[ret]

I know i should first probably dawn the car

Why?



Especially if there has been no wax applied in close to 12 months….why dawn?



Wash it good with something like NXT or Megs Gold Class, then clay it, wash it again, then determine if the clear coat shows micro marring, and or swirl marks…..if it does, you’ll need at least a PC and some good polish and pads to make any difference when working with the HARD clear coat on a Vet.



RET

 

[Envious Eric]

no polishing????



you need to remove oxidation for sure....something like megs 66 works really well....then wash it with dawn if you want to strip the wax left over, if dawn really does anything, then either hit it with s100 or a sealant first...



i would wash, clay, polish, seal it, then wax....wax alone wont help the shine....well, not as much as it would with polishing....wax doesnt shine oxidation real well...... :waxing:

 

[a.k.a. Patrick]

Agreed, (Except the Dawn part)................It sounds like you dont really intend on babying it, if so, I would opt for a polymer sealant instead of a Nuba like S100......

 

[captkirk2]

Nice car, like the photo too. What kind of camera/lens did you use? (sorry for the ot)

 

[sQuashed]

Sweet ride.... Im with the majority that says Dawn is for Dishes. Wash/Clay/Wash and then polish with Optimum(my latest favorite!!)



Then the Last step product is up to you.

 

[dapolishdude]

picture was taken with just a 200 dollar kodak 6.1 megapixel camera i picked up last christmas



yeah i guess i dont need the dawn, just thought maybe to get whatever is left by the car wash stuff i use.



Yeah I dont really baby the car, its driven daily, rain or shine (no snow in florida) but I do want it to look pretty, i try to wash it once a week, my work hand washes cars for 10 bucks so thats where its been the last 2 weeks.



What products does everyone recommend? im a complete noob, i dont have an orbital buffer nor do i plan on buying one considering how rarely i do this, should i just take it to a pro? dont really feel like dishing it out 80 bucks to have it done though (exterior only).