[chevycruze2012]

Ok cool thanks. Never heard of them before a week or so ago. Still to cold here to do it. Is there a brand that's better to use??

Hi..Matt here. Im a professional detailer. May I be of some assistance. Clay bars are quite important when it comes to detailing. Why?. Because its the second most vital and crucial step into paint care. Not only does it remove those harmful and damaging contaminants on the paint, but it creates a smooth as glass feel, AND it allows the wax and polish to do its job. It allows the polish to deepen the gloss of the paint, and it allows the wax to adhere to the surface by giving its most upholding protection to the elements. Ive found meguiars, mothers, detailers pro series, and blackfire detailing clays to be the best brands to use. If you need anything detaling related, please feel free to PM me. Ill be glad to help more as you ask questions. Thanks

 

[chevycruze2012]

This man speaks the truth. A few things to note. Once you clay, you have to put some sort of sealant on the paint. Clay in the shade. If you don't do either of these, your paint is stripped and exposed. The clay bar just doesn't remove imperfections, it removes all previously applied products. I am personally a huge fan of Adam's products. Keep an eye on their webpage, and other forums they are part of. They are always having amazing deals.


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Be warned, detailing and detailing products are more addictive than crack! Before you know it, you will have 2-3 cabinets full of $1000's of product and will be looking over your car with a fine tooth comb every sat or sun am!

Thanks for the little compliment man...its people like you that helps me enjoy what I do. Ive also forgot to mention this as well...even though I can start another thread on this, but I strongly recommend using a synthetic wax or paint sealant. Paint sealant is expensive but it does more than wax does. Wax cant protect the car completely from salt, sand, and other chemicals used in winter months..But it protects the paint from everything else during summer months such tree sap, fallout, dust, and other airborne particles that can land and etch in/on your finish. Paint sealant is what we detailers like to call Body Armor lol. It does the same things as a synthetic wax but BETTER =]. Personally I don't have any paint sealant in my arsenal because my cruze is never driven in winter, and when I do its on a day I need to but usually its when the roads are clear and dry. I apply 4 coats of my personal favorite wax, Meguiars Ultimate Liquid Wax. Im amazed at how well this stuff works. Good stuff. Ill upload a picture here in a few to show you how shiny the paint is with 4 coats of wax and after a clay job prior to waxing. I haven't even detailed the outside yet with a spray wax or spray detailer and it looks this good lol. I used meguiars ultimate quik wax and meguiars ultimate quik detailer. I am a sucker for meguiars ultimate product line.

 

[chevycruze2012]

Here's some photos I just took foe you guys to give u am idea how good it feels to have your paint this shiny lol.


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[chevycruze2012]

Too bad it doesn't get all of it out, you need to do more then just clay.

Actually claying alone gets ALL contaminants off the surface. A paint cleaner is for getting defects out of the paint like scratches, oxidation, swirls, and water spots. Theres a much greater difference between cleaning and prepping. Prepping is removing tree sap, fallout, dirt, road grime and tar, paint overspray and other environmental contaminants, that's where the clay bar comes in. Cleaning the paint, which is using for example meguiars ultimate compound, meguiars or mothers scratch remover, or meguiars swirlx swirl remover. Im just pointing these out. ALOT of people misunderstand this or don't know what product types to use because they have no idea. obviously that's where I or someone in my profession comes in. We help steer someone in the right direction. You can ask me any question, and I will more than likely give you an honest and correct answer because ive been there and learned from the pros to be where I am today in detailing. Ive been a professional detailer for about 5 years now and I have it all mastered by now. Sure im 23 years old, a young gun, but I learned early. I started taking a keen interest in detailing when I was about 15 years old, by the time I was 18, I had it all down to science. Im not picking an argument here just to let u know, as I stated earlier, im just giving some details. Idk how much u know about detailing, but I want to correct you on this and help you understand the differences. Claying actually does the most work between the two.

 

[chevycruze2012]

You really like me Meguiars !

Yes I do. But I also like mothers, detailers pro series, lake county, eagle 1, and Black fire, and 303 Aerospace.

 

[chevycruze2012]

I guess you still have more to learn, rail car dust does not come all the time with just claying. I don't bother to clay my car, it's only a cruz.

No...I pretty much know it all when it comes to detailing. Rail dust should come off with ultimate compound. Detailing is pretty straight forward and simple once you get the basics. All u need is the right products to use.

 

[chevycruze2012]

So if I clay I must wax afterward or seal it ? Because tree residue and pollen bake in the sun all the time and the only way to get out even after washing is clay. So I wash weekly then clay afterward detail mist and go. Maybe I need a spray wax after claying

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Its always a good idea to wax or use paint sealant after you clay. Especially paint sealant because that's more durable than wax is. A synthetic wax is really good for summer and spring elements but it doesn't do a whole lot of good in the winter since salt will go through it easier versus paint sealant is good all year round. Paint sealant is basically a body armor. I don't use sealant on mine since I rarely ever drive my cruze in winter lol.

 

[chevycruze2012]

The black wax and white wax is mostly a cleaner wax. It leaves wax on the surface, but a very very thin amount. Whereas a pure synthetic wax is nothing but wax made from carnauba in brazil and it leaves a thicker layer of wax. You don't need to clay your paint twice a week. Its not required. If you clay once a year and apply a synthetic wax on it like meguiars ultimate wax and you maintain that properly, it will last all year and you wont have to wax and clay as often as you think. I clayed mine the first week I bought my cruze which was at the end of june last year, and then I used a paint cleaner to remove defects out such as light to moderate scratches using meguiars ultimate compound, then I put 2 coats of wax on it of the meguiars ultimate wax. Its still slick and smooth as glass=]. I haven't re waxed it or anything since then. Only thing you need to keep in mind is always hand wash when you wax it using car wash soaps that wont strip off any existing wax, don't run it through an automatic carwash because any high pressure will "blast" the wax off. I recommend using something that's labeled wash and wax because its specially formulated for cars that are waxed. Meguiars makes a car wash solution that's their ultimate wash and wax, and ultimate wash and wax anywhere. This UWAWA is a rinseless and waterless wash that's for people that have water restrictions, or don't have water access. It has the same cleaning power as washing it by hand. All you need is a lot of clean mf towels as your towels will become dirty. I have this in my arsenal, and I love it.

 

[chevycruze2012]

I'm surprised you didn't do it the night you got it! Was it pretty bad after sitting on the lot for so long?

Actually yeah...I went through 2 clay kits which contained 2 clay bars each. Usually I only go through one clay kit from meguiars. The paint was so rough, it felt sticky when I did the baggie test..which is you take a sandwich baggie and stick your hand in it and tighten up the palm of your hand and if it kinda sticks, the paint needs clayed. You can do it by just simply rubbing your hand across the paint gently and seeing if the paint is rough that way.

 

[chevycruze2012]

Have any of you used meguers swirl x remover I think its called. Does it work well?

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I use meguiars swirl X all the time and it does actually work. I'm a professional detailer btw. I use mostly meguiars .

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[chevycruze2012]

Thanks for all the great tips chevycruze2012.

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Your welcome. It's not a problem. I had always got great results with meguiars. I'd say probably 90% of my arsenal is meguiars lol.

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[chevycruze2012]

Ya I love Meguiars as well as Mothers too. I'd rather spend a bit more on a quality product than some of the cheaper ones.


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Well if u or anyone else on this board hates having streaky glass or dirty glass I recommend buying detailers pro series Krystal vision glass cleaner. That glass cleaner is the bomb lol.

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[chevycruze2012]

The meguiars ultimate wash and wax anywhere is awesome too.

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[chevycruze2012]

Would clay barring help or remove light scratches?

No. It just removes above surface contamination. A scratch remover will be needed.

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