Clay, Polish, Seal and Wax
- Thread starter peddy
- Start date
Give yourself a day wash clay polish seal and wax take your time few cups of tea as you go unless its summer time couple of beers goes down well when nearing the end of the job 
Try just doing a front wing to start with see how you get on then you can judge how long your going to need
Try just doing a front wing to start with see how you get on then you can judge how long your going to need
Did mine the first time a few weeks ago... on the claying side, the first panel took as long as the rest of the car! I kept stroking it astonished at how smooth it was 
(that sounds wrong 
) Took about an hour on the claying... about another hour to polish... lunch... wax - which only took about half an hour or so. Definitely worth it.
I used the Megs clay kit, their stage 2 polish and then NXT was - modern polish and was is soooo much nicer / easier to use than the last time I tried it myself!
GAZA62 [EDIT & Mikey] had a good tip (have to quote him as he's here!) - if it's cold use a bucket of warm water to keep the clay malleable.
And yes, lots of tea.
(that sounds wrong ) Took about an hour on the claying... about another hour to polish... lunch... wax - which only took about half an hour or so. Definitely worth it.I used the Megs clay kit, their stage 2 polish and then NXT was - modern polish and was is soooo much nicer / easier to use than the last time I tried it myself!
GAZA62 [EDIT & Mikey] had a good tip (have to quote him as he's here!) - if it's cold use a bucket of warm water to keep the clay malleable.
And yes, lots of tea.
i usually do it over a weekend, wash car with fairy liquid to get everything(old polish / wax) off. then dry and then clay. on the sunday ill then go through my normal polish (2 coats of AG SRP) then wax (2 coats AG HD WAX). youll be amazed how tiring it can be, in the summer months avoid doing it around mid day as the polish and wax are harder to use in heat, i tend to start late afternoon, in summer around 5pm.
i find the effects of wax / polish last about 2 months, i can tell when it needs re doing as rain doesnt bead as uniform on the bonnet or there are a few light scratched on the body that the polish usually hides, so if i can see it it time to get the polish & wax out. claying ive only done once, i only plan to do it 2 or 3 times a year. only way i know of to tell is if the paint feels rough to the touch it may need to be done, so far i find the best area to check is the side skirt in front of the rear wheel. when i clayed this area had a lot of muck where as most of the other panels had minimal deposits, previous owner must have looked after it im thinking.
i find the effects of wax / polish last about 2 months, i can tell when it needs re doing as rain doesnt bead as uniform on the bonnet or there are a few light scratched on the body that the polish usually hides, so if i can see it it time to get the polish & wax out. claying ive only done once, i only plan to do it 2 or 3 times a year. only way i know of to tell is if the paint feels rough to the touch it may need to be done, so far i find the best area to check is the side skirt in front of the rear wheel. when i clayed this area had a lot of muck where as most of the other panels had minimal deposits, previous owner must have looked after it im thinking.
Looking at the other posts, I think the reason I got through it so quickly was that I did just the one coat of polish and wax. Also, the times "quoted" were just for those bits - roof, wheels and interior tackled another day.
I'd be careful using fairy liquid (or anything like that) as it can damage the paint... the salts in it or something... for me, mostly because the time between doing it there's not going to be much on the paint other than insects and tar! Megs Gold shampoo.
I'd be careful using fairy liquid (or anything like that) as it can damage the paint... the salts in it or something... for me, mostly because the time between doing it there's not going to be much on the paint other than insects and tar! Megs Gold shampoo.
klarky said:
Sorry, the bit about not using fairy was for the OP, who like me may not have anything to remove!
I think I'll build up to more coats once my technique improves. A little worried this might be the beginning of an obsession for me. May need to start bulk buying quick detailer!
:wink:
i was surprised about fairy liquid, but read it on a manufacturers web site, but yes i wouldnt use it normally.
it does get expensive, but saying that i think its money well spent, a £15 bottle of srp polish has lasted 7 months now, and im sure it will last till the end of the year. same goes for the £40 pot of wax. best thing i can advise is by quality cloths, makes detailing so much better. i also bought a large drying cloth, sucks all the water off a car in one go! i bought them from http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/
my next purchase is a total protection zaino kit.
i was surprised about fairy liquid, but read it on a manufacturers web site, but yes i wouldnt use it normally.
it does get expensive, but saying that i think its money well spent, a £15 bottle of srp polish has lasted 7 months now, and im sure it will last till the end of the year. same goes for the £40 pot of wax. best thing i can advise is by quality cloths, makes detailing so much better. i also bought a large drying cloth, sucks all the water off a car in one go! i bought them from http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/
my next purchase is a total protection zaino kit.