First time clay bar user... wow!
 

So, like the title says, I clay barred (clayed?) my car for the first time today, and I REALLY like the result. The paint feels much smoother and is absolutely crystal clear. This is the first nice/new car I've owned, so I'm trying to put in a lot of effort to keep her looking brand spanking new. It's a LOT of work though... took almost 3 hours to do a wash and a clay. Didn't mind at all, although I did run out of daylight by the time I was done, and couldn't wax her. Question time:

1. Will it be OK to wax the car tomorrow, even though I washed and clayed today? She's parked in the garage for the night.
2. I bought the clay in a Meguiar's kit which came with some "quick detailer" spray thing (this kit: [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-Smooth-Surface-Clay-Kit/dp/B00063X7KG"]Meguiar's Smooth Surface Clay Kit : Amazon.com : Automotive[/ame]). The instructions said to spray, clay and wipe. Is the spray necessary? I did find it easier to clay with the spray than without, but is it OK to leave out that extra step?

I'm no detailer, but my understanding is that the quick detailer spray is a lubricant for the clay to pick up the contamination from the paint...

1. Yes, it should be fine to wax the car tomorrow assuming it isn't exposed to anything until then.

2. As the poster above me said, that is the lubricant for the clay bar. Do not leave that step out. I normally wet the clay in my hand with the detailer, then spray a little over the spot I'm working, and then add more to the car if necessary.

Lubricant is necessary for clay barring or anything you are touching the car with. I like to spray the entire car with detail spray before drying mine to prevent scratching.

I might be a stickler for detailing but I like to do the wash-claybar-wax in one go . I wouldn't suggest waxing the car even if garaged for the day. You spent the time to claybar why not do a quick wash before waxing.

This is probably the best answer. Quick wash definitely won't hurt.

Quick question, is it ok to wax a car when it is wet, or should you always dry the car before attempting to put wax on?

I wet the clay with spray, then wet my hands, then pick up the clay and form it into a flat shape. Then I spray the part of the car I am working on before using the clay. Wetting my hands with detail spray helps keep the clay from sticking to them. When the clay spreads out too much from use, I respray my hands if necessary and fold and shape the clay again for another round.

I have been using this clay for years:
http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/...ortby=ourPicks

Dry the car first

Griots products are expensive but damn, I've never used nothing better. I love them!

Thanks for all the great answers and suggestions guys!

Interesting... I will definitely try that next time.

I wanted to do everything in one go, but it was getting too dark too quickly while I was clay barring and I've got too much crap in my garage to move around the car to wax indoors. And I was running out of clean microfiber towels. Apparently you can't have enough of those! Hopefully it's not too rainy tomorrow to do a quick once-over wash and a wax, like you suggest. Stupid ADD Georgia weather...

Alright guys, another noob question:

It's also my first time waxing. Is there a maximum time I should keep wax on the car? Will it have any negative affects on the paint or anything? It's taking me forever to get around the car buffing out the wax, and I was just wondering about this.

do a panel at a time and wax need to sit long enough to haze over the product you use should tell you the necessary time to let sit. Id recommend checking out the adams youtube videos

^what he said. If I'm applying wax by hand, I normally do each panel and by the time everything is done, the first panel I did is hazed over and ready to be buffed. With the random orbital I finish everything and let it sit for a while before buffing.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXopfjk7ZS8"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXopfjk7ZS8[/ame]

Done.

Don't need spray wax, save your money!

Yeah, that's what I did, but the wax seems to be getting more difficult to buff. Or is that just me getting more tired? ha. Either way, once it's off, it looks gorgeous

What's the temp. like? If it's cold out, it can definitely make it harder to buff off. Just be thorough, take your time and yes, there's nothing quite like a freshly waxed car.

Spray wax and Detail Spray are totally different things. I also wouldn't use soap like that guy as it could be too much of a lubricant and hinder the purpose of using clay. Yeah you'll get crap out of the clear coat but you'll also leave stuff in it. On top of that your just swirling the crap out of the paint since you've then loosened it up with the soap and mit to just rub it bak in with the clay since your too lazy to wash the vehicle down. It's counterproductive and doing more damage than good.

Yep it's pretty cold outside. Was in the mid 40s the whole day. at least the rain held. Would putting too much wax also make it harder to buff out? I think I either may have used too much, or didn't spread it out as much as I should have.

Yeah, I think the temp was your problem. Too much wax also would make it little harder You only really need enough to coat everything, but you'll figure out how much to do the more you do it.

Why wouldn't you wash down your car after clay baring?

He is the guy detaling million dollar Ferrari's, i take his word over any of yours.

I'm not going to take a side in the soap discussion, but just because they are paid to detail expensive cars, doesn't necessarily mean they know what they're doing. Ex: http://www.monkeysee.com/play/1571-c...iling-exterior

Thats the same argument with any professional, why should we trust Opti coat?

Why should we trust any detailer??

Why should you trust your barber?

Why should you trust your lover?

You are going off on a weird tangent here. Again, I'm not going to tell you to do anything one way or the other, but you're on here telling people they're waisting their money on spray detailer because of a youtube video and I'm sure it would take me ten seconds on google to find a bunch of how-to posts by pro detailers saying to use spray detailer. You're kind of acting like what this guy is talking about is dogma. No need to be so defensive about it.

I'm not being defensive about it, i'm just stating information.

I trust that detailer more then others because i find his methods to work better than others, he also doesn't tell you to buy his stuff only, but to experiment with other brands and so forth.

Hes more, economical without being sacrificial in a sense.

He does say you can use spray wax or clay bar spray or whatever you guys call it now, but you can get pretty much the same results with just using soap and water you would use to wash your cars. Assuming its good soap per say, i wouldn't use dish detergent.

Well thanks for all the advice and suggestions guys! Car is finally buffed out. One last question: is there any way to soften the wax if it gets too hard? Buffing that crap out was a workout ha.

What? You don't use 409 and wash with doors, trunk lid, and hood open? Shame!:eyebulge:

I've been told spray wax can help loosen it, but I've never tried it. Just try applying a thinner layer next time (you really only need to coat it) and it should be fine.

There are a couple of scary things about that. How has this man been able to sustain a business for a couple of decades with that complete lack of detailing knowledge? How many peoples' cars has he screwed up over the years? And finally, who in their right mind lent him a Bentley?

I by no means meant to attack your knowlege on the process of washing and clay barring a vehicle. You obviously missed the very simple unbiased logic i typed out in plain english. I was trying to convey to you and the OP that unless your going to follow up the clay barring with a paint correction and wax/sealant that it is counterproductive to loosen up the dirt and grime on the car NOT WASH THE SOAP OFF YET and then clay bar it. Your just rubbing the dirt on the paint you just loosened up right back into the paint thus scratching the clear coat. Yes you will get the b.s. out of your clear coat with clay but your scratchign and hazing the paint in the process causing more damage unless your polishing it afterwards. There is a reason that detail spray is around and a spray wax is around. you dont use a spray wax for clay as your resealing the paint and leaving streaks on the paint. The detail spray albiet will still streak but will be a hell of a lot eaiser to remove. Again im sorry you took this to heart so personally it was intended to educate toher readers and the OP on how not to scratch and swirl the ever living shitout of the paint up on thier new car. I am in no way saying that i am right and that you are wrong if thats how you treat your paint to each thier own. i on the other hand love scratch swirl free paint with a concours quality shine. i regularly polish and do full paint correction job on other cars in my area so i have quite a bit of experience in this. Also this guy was detail what he called a collecter car. form the looks of it the car was a 3 series bmw and given color not an m3 could be wrong. It was definitley not a "multi million dollar" ferrari.

To each thier own bud. Sorry i dont "trust" your "expert" on youtube.

Leave it on your window sill in the sunlight and it will warm up and soften. Have had to do that with my paste wax more than once

He's talking about once it sets on the car. Put a little too much so buffing off the excess was difficult.

yeah just a thinner coat of wax! Multiple thin coats are better than one thick coat.:happy0180:

Yep will definitely remember that for next time! Thanks for the help :) she's looking good!

:needpics: no worries! Glad it's shiny!

Quick pic in the garage before I came in today. Pretty grainy, but at least you can see how shiny/reflective it is. Definitely adds +5HP :lol:

http://i.imgur.com/5J0UYBS.jpg

I can tell that it looks good!

these videos will help you not mess your paint up and maintain a perfect shine.

subasteve you on the Adams Forums?

I'm on the forums under subarusteve I don't really post that much though.

I thought I recognized the screen name haha you quoted my mystery box pic earlier today! Thats badass knowing I'm not the only twin on Adamsforums!