My new paint "detailing" routine.
 

Got done detailing the paint on my car this weekend, which is about six months old. First I washed and chamoised the car. Then I did the detailing clay (Pinnacle), which mainly seemed to clean any remaining schmutz off the paint. It was quite shiny after this step. Then I used Nanowax, which is a microparticle carnauba wax. Brought out the color further in a very nice way. Finally, I applied a second coat of wax, this time Turtle Wax Ice sprayon.

The results were nothing short of spectacular! My wife and I went to dinner that evening at NXNW in Austin. On the way out, a guy walked by my parked car, did a take, a double take, and then a triple take. :thumbsup: I didn't blame him; it looked that good! I had a swelled head all the way home. I know because my wife told me. :D

:needpics:

Never use a chamois... And claying the car should only be used before polish since it causes marring to the clear coat.

What do you use in place of a chamois? Also, regarding marring, I didn't see any of that.

I'll post pictures later. It started raining buckets this morning and will continue raining for a couple of days. A touch-up will be in order...

Agreed, clay should only be used before polishing. You can do more harm than good with an inexperienced eye. Not trying to blow your head off, but you can save a lot of time and money doing it right the first time. Spray wax is fine after waxing to remove residual residue.


I'd recommend looking into a waffle weave towel for drying. They don't trap dirt like a chamois does, and more often won't scratch your clear.


If you're feeling brave, pick up a porter cable DA, a few light cutting and polishing pads, polish of your choice and go to town. Stay away from a rotary buffer. I've been reconditioning cars for about 8 years, now as a side gig. If you have any questions, just ask.

go out at night with a camera... and take a photo of the paints surface with the flash on..
im sure afting claying... the paint isnt going to look so nice...


you should/need to polish the paint work after claying the car

Thanks for the comments. I did as you suggested and photographed the car's hood, roof and trunk lid in a dark environment (my garage with the lights off). I found nothing unusual about the appearance of the paint. In fact, it looked very good.

With regard to the clay, I don't know about all brands, but both Pinnacle and Meguiar's detailing clays state explicitly that they are safe for clearcoat. Perhaps you're thinking of a different brand?

Before I tried this out on my car, I clayed my wife's 2013 C-Max to see what kind of results/problems might come up. The car has a wonderful sort of translucent pearl white finish (triple coat), somewhat dulled with two years of not so great care. Again, all that happened was that the paint looked much better, really almost new except for some rock chips. I waxed it with Turtle Wax Ice spray wax afterwards with very good results.

It has rained three inches today here in Austin, so the lower half of the car is covered with road dirt. I will wash it again once the rain quits, photograph it and post that to the list in a few days. In the meantime, I bought a bottle of Meguiar's polish this evening and will give that a try this Saturday, followed of course by waxing again. Thanks for the tip.

:D

I also stopped using chamois. What I do is I usually have 4 microfiber towels. I completely wet 2 towels and ring so that they are damp. Then I fold into for and spay a quick detailer on it (about 3 sprays) then I continue to dry the car panel by panel. First with the damp mf towel which leaves a sheet of protection as I dry the car (drying the car actually is the step that most people damage the paint). Of course I flip to a clean side and repeat this process until I am completely done. You might call me crazy but I do this every time. Also if you want to use the chamois, I suggest you cleaning it very often. I don't like the thought of it picking up any dirt and rubbing it on the paint. After all we are human and make mistakes. Sometimes missing contaminants.
As for the claying, you can purchase a very light claybar. I stay away from store bought brands but meguiars is a very good and reliable brand. I buy very fine detailing clay and make sure it is very lubricated as I use little to no pressure going across paint and folding it multiple times over each panel.
Like I said I may be crazy to some but I care about my paint. If you want to really protect your paint sealant is the best thing to use. You do not have to use a machine if you do everything properly and if you want maximum shine and protection may I suggest this method:
1) Wash car (2 bucket method of course. I also layer by using a foam gun and/or cannon first then go in with the mitt)
2) You can dry the car at this point but since you clay bar you can do that first and wipe after each panel.
3) Layer down a glaze. Either meguiars or any other brand you like
4) Layer your sealant. I like to use Jetseal from chemical guys
5) Layer your wax. (Tip: Leave it on over night to let the wax adhere to the paint, remember thin layers only. When you wipe off in the morning or before an event spray a little spray wax or quick detailer to help take off the wax)
Do this and the micro swirls or scratches you may have put down on your car specifically will be filled not fixed. I can however guarantee immaculate shine.
Also most dealerships wash your car before you get it unless told to not do so by customer (ex. Me) so some of the swirls implanted in your car might not have even been your fault. Thanks for taking the time to read this. You can call me crazy but my white BRZ always looks it's best. Then again I'm just a dude who loves his car! Safe driving people!

Here's what may be some silly questions: If I plan to polish my car this weekend and it presently has two coats of wax on it, do I need to strip the wax or will the polish itself do the job of stripping the wax? If I do need to strip the wax first, what is the best way to do this, short of claying the car again? (I am planning to use Meguiar's Ultimate polish.)

Thanks.

The polish will strip the wax. Is there any reason why would want to skip claying? I would recommend just claying it to remove and embedded contaminants. And since you're polishing any marring induced by claying will easily be removed.

Usually when I polish I'll also use a more aggressive wash method by adding all purpose cleaner to car wash soap and use it at a higher concentration.

You're going to have to wash the car first anyways, so wash it with a more aggressive soap (or even dish soap) to take the wax off. You could also wipe it down with alcohol.

Simple, I just did claying about two weeks ago. It went very well, but several people on this list said that I should polish after claying. I simply waxed over the clayed surface, so I plan just to pick up where I left off and polish, then wax again.

Anyway, if polishing alone with do it, then I'm good to go! :w00t:

Thanks!

50/50 isopropyl alcohol will do the trick just right. You can clay the vehicle but if you are doing it right before a polish I suggest a foamy wash mitt as lubricant for the clay instead of spray wax. Technically yes the compound or polish will do it but for longer use and saving pads and having them more effective I would strip the paint first. Good luck!

My baby -- detailed paint job
 

Finally had time to do it all in one weekend and it wasn't raining! :happyanim:

First I used Griot's Garage Paint Prep spray to clean off any old wax. This was followed by Pinnacle detailing clay, Meguiar's car polish, Meguiar's #21 Mirror Glaze sealant, Meguiar's Carnauba Plus liquid (2 coats) and finishing with Turtle Wax Ice spray. The results are pretty good; see photos attached.

I might experiment next time with using Nanowax after the Meguiar's Carnauba but before the Turtle Wax Ice. The particles of carnauba in the Nanowax spray are supposed to be much smaller than those in the regular carnauba wax. I think it may fill in any tiny irregularities in the regular carnauba, providing an even smoother surface for the Ice wax spray to adhere to.



The Meguiar's mirror glaze sealant 21 is extremely good. I also liked the Griot's Garage cleaner, which did a great job of getting the paint ready for claying and polishing. The Meguiar's sealant did a nice job of concealing some very fine scratches (appearing when viewed in direct sunlight as if single spider web strands had fallen across the paint surface.)