Clay Bar Aftermath

[k.leeming]

Right, I regularly wash, and polish my car - around once a week. I heard so much about clay kits that i finially decided to go out and buy one. I used Autoglyms clay bar kit and lube ( quick detailer) on my Zed about 1 month ago. WOW ! Did an amazing job. It was as smooth as a babies bum!

I used the Clay and the lube as the instructions told me so. I have noticed however, that ever since then my car is getting dirtier and dirtier, quicker and quicker. What seems to be a perfectly beeding, mirror like paintwork, has turned into a tar magnet. One month from claying it and there are more lumps and bumps of tar than there was to start with! Its now rough, lumpy and the beeding has seemed to have vanished. :x

Maybe one of the following is where i am going wrong.

Shampooing and Conditioning my car with hot water - autoglym shampoo.

Not starting from scratch when i bought the car, IE removing everything on the car and cleaning from a 'naked car'.

Claying my car whilst not realising that i had taken the wax and polish off in the process.

So my question is now:

1) If i wash a car with hot water will it remove layers of wax or polish ?
2) Does claying a car remove layers of wax or polish ?
3)I now want to start my car from scratch and apply the appropiate layers of chemical on in the correct order. (IE shampoo>rinse>dry>polish>wax) Which is the correct way ?

Really starting to bug me. I hate having a car that i cant see my own reflection in. :evil:

Kane

 

[StevenH72]

If you have 'clayed' your car and not polished/ waxed since then the car will have no shine/ protection as the clay bar will strip it all off.

Once you clay, you need to polish/ wax to add protection to your paintwork.

 

[Maniac]

What he said... The clay bar is there to remove almost everything, so you need to wash it again, clay it again, then immediately seal it / wax it. It's a ball ache and needs a good few hours to do right, but once done it will last up to a year with a good sealant/wax. I've still not had time to do mine, and I have a full tub of HellShine Abyss whispering at me from the garage! I guess I'll have to do it before Silverstone at least...

 

[srhutch]

Using hot water will probably strip wax off as well.

 

[the cueball]

So my question is now:

1) If i wash a car with hot water will it remove layers of wax or polish ?
2) Does claying a car remove layers of wax or polish ?
3)I now want to start my car from scratch and apply the appropiate layers of chemical on in the correct order. (IE shampoo>rinse>dry>polish>wax) Which is the correct way ?

Really starting to bug me. I hate having a car that i cant see my own reflection in. :evil:

Kane

1) no it doesn't harm it, from what I've found.
2) there should be no polish to remove, but yes clay will remove wax on the car.
3) your method is correct, although you should only be polishing once or twice a year - maximum (IMO) same with clay to be honest.
4) if you have tar on the car, it's best to remove with a tar remover like Tardis and not clay it, this could cause damage to the paint and wastes clay.

Using a chemical is far easier, quicker and used correctly, safer

 

[billz]

The best way of detailing the bodywork is.
1. Wash
2.clay bar
3. If needed decent scratch remover. I use G3
4 Body renovator. Again i use G3
5. Polish
6. High def polish
I also got confirmation from a pro detailer that what i did was correcr. Then it is just wash n polish as often as you want.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Maniac]

You surely can't just finish with a polish? Polish won't protect... step 7 IMHO should be SEAL, step 8 should be WAX, then for madness sake, step 9 should be Quik Detailer to make the car almost godlike. With that approach you'll have a next to perfect finish (wash, remove tar, clay, polish, seal, wax, detail). I know lots use either seal or wax, but I had my car done by a pro and wax on sealant looks stunning...

 

[StevenH72]

The best way of detailing the bodywork is.
1. Wash
2.clay bar
3. If needed decent scratch remover. I use G3
4 Body renovator. Again i use G3
5. Polish
6. High def polish
I also got confirmation from a pro detailer that what i did was correcr. Then it is just wash n WAX as often as you want.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

Fixed your post.

Every time you polish you will be stripping off some of the paint's clear coat. If you polish every week you'll soon have stripped it all back.

However, you can always re-apply wax as often as you like without the prior polishing.

 

[the cueball]

The best way of detailing the bodywork is.
1. Wash
2.clay bar
3. If needed decent scratch remover. I use G3
4 Body renovator. Again i use G3
5. Polish
6. High def polish
I also got confirmation from a pro detailer that what i did was correcr. Then it is just wash n polish as often as you want.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

You want to shot whatever detailer told you that... Seriously.

 

[ben g]

You surely can't just finish with a polish? Polish won't protect... step 7 IMHO should be SEAL, step 8 should be WAX, then for madness sake, step 9 should be Quik Detailer to make the car almost godlike. With that approach you'll have a next to perfect finish (wash, remove tar, clay, polish, seal, wax, detail). I know lots use either seal or wax, but I had my car done by a pro and wax on sealant looks stunning...

Wasting your times using a sealant aswell as wax. They both do the same job, it's just sealant is 'man made' whereas wax comes from natural stuff.

use one or the other, not both. I can't remember which way it goes round, but if you use one, the other will not 'stick' and you'll be wasting your time.

 

[the cueball]

Sorry, but I use a sealant and a wax all the time on my S8.

Sealant goes first, wax on top.

I agree it's a 'waste' of time and product, but I like it, both the look and the protection.

I haven't used a wax/sealant combo that doesn't bond to each other, there are some out there though.

 

[Ewazix]

You surely can't just finish with a polish? Polish won't protect... step 7 IMHO should be SEAL, step 8 should be WAX, then for madness sake, step 9 should be Quik Detailer to make the car almost godlike. With that approach you'll have a next to perfect finish (wash, remove tar, clay, polish, seal, wax, detail). I know lots use either seal or wax, but I had my car done by a pro and wax on sealant looks stunning...

Wasting your times using a sealant aswell as wax. They both do the same job, it's just sealant is 'man made' whereas wax comes from natural stuff.

use one or the other, not both. I can't remember which way it goes round, but if you use one, the other will not 'stick' and you'll be wasting your time.

I'm no detailer in fact I'd not heard of clay until joining the forum but I've been using a clay, polish, wax then seal routine in that order, per the makers instructions and would say the seal seems to have held up better than previous efforts, even when using a warm water wash to shift sap and bugs which come straight of with no buffing or effort. Twice a year is working well for me, I suppose you pays your money....

 

[StevenH72]

I guess instead of a sealant a Quick Detailer on top of the wax and after each wash will also help to protect the life of the wax.

 

[RubyBlueZ4MC]

What he said... The clay bar is there to remove almost everything, so you need to wash it again, clay it again, then immediately seal it / wax it. It's a ball ache and needs a good few hours to do right.

Just reading that makes me feel exhausted.

 

[the cueball]

I guess instead of a sealant a Quick Detailer on top of the wax and after each wash will also help to protect the life of the wax.

It will...

 

[jicholasnackson]

I'm no detailer in fact I'd not heard of clay until joining the forum but I've been using a clay, polish, wax then seal routine in that order, per the makers instructions and would say the seal seems to have held up better than previous efforts, even when using a warm water wash to shift sap and bugs which come straight of with no buffing or effort. Twice a year is working well for me, I suppose you pays your money....

A tip then, sealant over wax is a waste of product. Sealant needs to go on clean uncontaminated paintwork to get full effects of a long lasting bond. You should IPA/panelwipe freshly polished paint prior to applying sealant to ensure the best bond.

 

[lux]

Autoglym don't put a wax in their clay bar kit, only a polish. If wax is needed why would they not include it or at least say so?
I've never waxed a car only ever used polished so don't really know what should be used after claying!!

I have used the autoglym clay bar kit on my wife's car and it does come up a treat and still looks good after a few washes, without waxing.

 

[Bing]

Waxing will give the paint a lovely wet look when fresh (at least it does on my car), beads in the wet and adds another layer of protection. It is also the best bit of washing the car IMO

 

[k.leeming]

Thanks for all the replies people! I really appreciate it. Looks like either my Saturday or Sunday is a full all out cleaning day on my baby .

Is there any other tips to keep it clean. I only use autoglym and I see a lot of people say that they use a detailer after the wax. Are we referring to the same item in the clay bar kit?

I would like to now start from scratch by removing every layer of everything. All waxes and polishes I want gone. I will redo it all either day on the weekend. What auto glum chemical do I use for this and at which stage below?


Shampoo > clay/ tar remove > polish > wax > detail ?

Many thanks

Kane

 

[Ewazix]

I'm no detailer in fact I'd not heard of clay until joining the forum but I've been using a clay, polish, wax then seal routine in that order, per the makers instructions and would say the seal seems to have held up better than previous efforts, even when using a warm water wash to shift sap and bugs which come straight of with no buffing or effort. Twice a year is working well for me, I suppose you pays your money....

A tip then, sealant over wax is a waste of product. Sealant needs to go on clean uncontaminated paintwork to get full effects of a long lasting bond. You should IPA/panelwipe freshly polished paint prior to applying sealant to ensure the best bond.

I know nothing technically about about any of this but the Turtlewax Platinum Extra shine is a silicone polymer and is, according to their instructions applied over their wax polish. Just saying it seems to last really well, but I accept other products should be applied differently. 8)