Worth the effort.

 

Wash the car thoroughly top down and have and extra bucket of fresh water to wash your pad out between each refill of soap on the pad dry the car and then clay. I wash the car again spray the whole car down while still wet from the washing with detail spray and wipe down. Now your ready for your glase and than waxing a lot of work but well worth the effort.





This is me and my wife winning best of show at a local event the Monte and the Grand Prix are our. And the Grand Prix is a 96 original paint you can see what the effort will do.

 

I like the Clay Magic kit, price is good and I always find it at Autozone.

 

The clay bar is a great tool... amazing the results they can give you. Although the first time I used one, I couldn't really see a difference... you can feel one. If your car has a somewhat coarse feeling to it, it won't after a clay bar job. I have used claybars to get overspray from paint off of a spot I didn't intend for it to get on even... smooths those spots right back out. I'd recommend you clay bar your car if you haven't done so. It is much easier and more efficient than rubbing compound!

 

Mothers clay bar kits are godly. Especially on a black car. Worth every second it takes. It'll last weeks if the car is left outside, months if it's kept inside.

 

How do you know when you should clay? Run your finger along any freshly cleaned body panel. If its not smooth like silk, grab a clay bar.

Using a clay bar is an excellent way to "clean" the clear coat with out having to resort to the abrasiveness of a compound. Every time you compound a car, you are sanding away a bit of clear coat. In the long term, too frequent compounding can cause damage to the paint. Think of this next time you compound. put a dab of compound on your finger and rub it between your thumb and finger, you will feel the abrasive.

you can substitute the spray wax with soapy water. DO NOT USE A DRY CLAY BAR. when using a clay bar, make sure you knead or tear it apart and smush it back together often. This will remove the contaminates from the working surface of the clay and prevent micro scratching during use. A clay bar will get darker with each use. This discoloration is actually the contaminates that have been removed from the paint. Replace the clay bar once the color appears to be a few shades darker than new.

When using a clay bar use very very light pressure. DO NOT RUB THE CLAY INTO THE PAINT, this will cause micro-scratches. ensure that there is plenty of lubrication on the paint when using a clay bar. I generally use clean soapy water to lubricate the clay, I use a sponge to keep the area irrigated. Sponge the area, then follow with the clay bar. Make a few passes with the clay, then a pass with the wet sponge.

Start by washing the car completely. Then start your clay bar process. work in small areas. Once you have finished claying out the car, wash the car again, and dry. At this point, you can wax or polish/glaze the car.
I detailed high end cars professionally for a few years, this is the method I used, and I always achieved great results.