Car polishing tip

[bobarry]

Here's a good polishing 'tip', for those not familiar with it. I'm no genius - I learned it from the Zaino polish web site. That's polish, like wax, not Polish like the people.

My car had what might have been 'tree sap droppings' on the hood and trunk. Take your fingernails and lightly go over the hood. If you feel/hear little clicks then you have them too! I tried this on a NEW one in the dealer showroom and it had them too. If you look very closely under the right type of lighting you can actually see them. Needless to say, they don't help you put a shine on your Sky.

After cleaning/washing your car, Using a weak soap/water solution for lubrication, use a CLAY BAR. (a soft piece of clay putty). Wipe lightly, cleaning/folding the clay as neededd to keep it clean looking. It takes the 'stuff' off easily, and NO ABRASIVE polish is needed.

Then I did 5 or 6 apps of the various versions of Zaino and I was really proud of the finished product. (I saw a neat test of a car hood, where 1/4 was done with various polishes and waxes, and then the hood left in the sun for a while. I went with the winner and haven't looked back.)

One interesting observation comparing my previous car, a Z3, to the Sky. For some reason I don't have any 'brake dust' on the wheels! A constant pain on the Z3.

Bo

[shamayim]

My car wash told me to use gasoline.

[cerberus]

Claying is great to remove surface junk. Check turbomangt's First Detail thread and some of the other stickies in the detailing forum. Gas, vinegear, and some of the other "remedies", I'd avoid.

[joker70]

For those that use clay it is not good if you clay your car you are scratching it with very fine scratches so minuet that you can't see them in daylight try pulling your car into an area that has a fluorescent light and then clay a small area you will see what I am saying I did it for some stuff that was on my car and it scratched the f*** out of the paint even with a lubricant made for claying

[cerberus]

Originally Posted by joker70

For those that use clay it is not good if you clay your car you are scratching it with very fine scratches so minuet that you can't see them in daylight try pulling your car into an area that has a fluorescent light and then clay a small area you will see what I am saying I did it for some stuff that was on my car and it scratched the f*** out of the paint even with a lubricant made for claying

Hmm. It shouldn't. But your car does have to be properly prepped before you clay it. That includes very very clean. You should strip any wax or polish as well. If you do have surface debris when you clay, then yes, you're just scratching the surface material into the clear.

[Celt03]

And you need to replace the bar on a regular basis OR you will end up scratching your paint from the impurities it collects.

[PieintheSky]

If you drop the clay bar trash it or it will become like sandpaper.

[seal9]

use Ice Liquid clay Bar and save a lot of time and work, you get the same results with out the scratches.....seal9

[bobarry]

Originally Posted by seal9

use Ice Liquid clay Bar and save a lot of time and work, you get the same results with out the scratches.....seal9

Thanks for the tip - I may try some.

I found a couple of 'conflicting' words on the Turtlewax site. It says polish is the same as wax. Zaino folks say wax has wax in it, polish does not and polish is better.

Also indicated that multiple coats aren't useful - definitely not true. Lots of folks do it, and it helps in my opinion.

As for the clay bar - if you follow the instructions (about cleaning & lubrication) and look at (& fold) the bar as you use it , no scratches are created. It works fine.

Again thanks for the tip about Ice Liquid. (Interesting name)

Bo

[sky in pdx]

Originally Posted by seal9

use Ice Liquid clay Bar and save a lot of time and work, you get the same results with out the scratches.....seal9

I've used this also,with very good results.

[lil goat]

Ice Liquid Clay Bar = polish, there is no such thing as a liquid clay bar that would be called mud. Not saying it doesn't work it is a very fine polish and works quite well. Yes use polish to get out the fine scratches, whatever they call it. I did the clay bar on my black Solstice and wasn't real happy with the results and I prepped the car well. I just use a good polish on a Porter Cable DA now and then a good wax or sealant.
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[Sunny Ragtop]

I found the "clay bar" process removed ALL the "rough" stuff covering my car. This rough stuff was there when unloaded off the truck from the factory.

It did NOT remove what looks like millions of irregular water spots that I can only see in certain sun angles or flouresent light. I had to use a pre-wax type polish to get them off, and some were stubborn and refused to come off.

Getting a new Yellow Redline in 2008. What steps should I do after claying, and before waxing?

[lil goat]

I didn't clay mine I used a good polish (Poorboys 2.5) and then a good paint cleaner (Klasse All-In_One) and then a sealant with carnuba. I like Frenzy. I am sure Zaino has comparable products to the ones I used as do many other companies. I did it all with a Porter Cable DA, makes it go a lot quicker on the polishing. I use a 4" orange pad to do the polish and the the paint cleaner instead of the typical 6" pad, found it breaks down the polish faster and gives me more control. Use a 4" red pad to apply the sealant/wax. The results are much better than the picture the car looks wet. Even the dealer commented last time I took it in. They kept it in the covered service bay until I picked it up after they replaced the top, they didn't want it to get wet it looked so nice.

[Sunny Ragtop]

Did you have any "swirl" marks since you applied in a circular motion?

I've read never use a circular motion just in case a speck of "trash" gets on the applicator. Read to Go back and forth Horizontally on top pieces (as in bumper to windshield) and Vertical on side pieces (as in mirror down to rocker panel).

[Rick Tinley Park]

I clayed my car after it was about 1 year old. I have to admit -- it really did not do much. To further the experiment I clayed my 2001 Tracker -- YES a definite difference. I think claying is more for a car 2-3 years old. At least in my case... Yes I did the "bag" test -- found no real difference. Actually did not feel bad when I did it before claying. Maybe they clayed the car at the dealer??

[lil goat]

Originally Posted by Sunny Ragtop

Did you have any "swirl" marks since you applied in a circular motion?

I've read never use a circular motion just in case a speck of "trash" gets on the applicator. Read to Go back and forth Horizontally on top pieces (as in bumper to windshield) and Vertical on side pieces (as in mirror down to rocker panel).

Those rules for polishing are mainly for manual polishing. What you are doing is still possibly scratching the car it's just you are playing with the way the light refracts off the scratch so it doesn't show. Every show car on the planet has been buffed out with a rotary buffer and no swirl marks. Polishing does not make scratches go way it smooths the edges so you can't see them. When you see a scratch it is a valley and light reflects off the edges, polishing rounds off the edges so light doesn't refract off them and you don't see the scratch.
Here is a pic of my black 2003 Denali, been through a lot more than the Solstice and it's easier to see on the black.
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The Solstice
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[Drivetime]

You just sold me on getting a DA!

[lil goat]

Autogeek.net has them on sale. They even have there own brand on sale it is a little more powerful than the Porter Cable. I HIGHLY reccommend the smaller 4" pads they give more even pressure and to me were easier to use.

You should have seen the truck before I got the DA, it has been through the woods a few times and looked pretty rough. I had to use a yellow pad on it but it came back pretty well.

[ktraver97ss]

Originally Posted by lil goat

You should have seen the truck before I got the DA, it has been through the woods a few times and looked pretty rough. I had to use a yellow pad on it but it came back pretty well.

What, like this!!??

[lil goat]

See the clump of trees behind the muddy field, that's what I went threw. Lots of scratches from tree branches. The mud was the easy part, I made a wrong turn and went down a fire road and couldn't turn around. I had to go over the whole truck 3 times with an agressive yellow pad and polish. I think the acrylic sealant hides the scratches better then anything else I have tried, it is a PAIN to put on but only have to do it twice a year. Then feed with good wax/sealant or poly seal. I use that between waxing.

[ktraver97ss]

Yep, see the slight dent under the pass door in the clean pic, thats from a tree when trying to back out of a trail that my truck didnt quite fit down. Its only thing I couldnt buff out after that day of trying to follow my buddies in Jeeps offroad.