What does everyone use in terms of a clay bar before applying wax? I've never heard of this term before. I've always just hosed the car down, got the soap and scrubbed the car, rinsed it off, dried it, waxed it, buffed off wax with a microfiber towel.

Also its a good idea to wash all your applicants and mitts after each wash of the car as to ensure you dont have any particles trapped in them to scratch the car.

Steve

 

I have used Meguiars, Mother's, and Clay Magic clay bars...........I don't really have a preference of one over the other as they all do the job well. Well, on second thought, the QD that comes with the Meguiars kit smells the best so it gets the nod.

But seriously though, any of them will do. Claying does wonders for your paint bro, for real. It removes all the embedded contaminants from your paints surface and leaves the surface smooth as a baby's bottom and gives you a wonderfully level surface on which to polish and wax.

 

OK guys... I am not an expert in detailing but I had my fair share of cars over the years and I always took good care of them. I can tell you what I use on my Monte Carlo that has giving me great results. I do spend almost an entire day on my car when I do the detail, mainly because.... well, I pay attention to details.
As you can tell, my car is silver with black leather interiors. I always start my process in the morning, when the car is cold to the touch and the sun will not beat on it for a while (hopefully under a tree or some sort of shade). [8D]

1- Wash entire car with liquid dish washer.
2- Dry the car and vacuum interior (this allows for any dripping of water to finished)
3- Then I use the Meguiar’s Clay Kit as per the instructions (DO NOT USE THE CLEANER WAX)
4- Instead of the wax, I use a product called Liquid Glass (Auto Zone - $22.00). This is a polish cream.
5- After that, if you want to, you can use the Meguiar’s Cleaner Wax.
6- Then make sure to put the car out in the sun so that the polish and wax can make a good seal to the finish of the car. I believe that this is the key to a great shine!!!

For the interiors, I use BlueMagic Leather & Vinyl Cleaner first and then BluMagic Leather Cream Conditioner.
For the black trims, I use the BlackMagic Trim and Tire (small bottle). And for the tires, BlackMagic Wet Tire spary.
The engine I clean with Simply Green and then detail with ArmorAll.
The Chrome Wheels... I use the same Liquid Glass Polish that I use for the car finish.
Hope this work for you. I know it works for me. I have my 2000 Monte Carlo SS since new (1999) and it still looks new and shiny.

MC2K

 

sorry havent been on for a couple days. Were you askin if the wax I was talkin about worked on black cars and was duarble? If you were then the anwser is yes. I use it at the dealership I work at and EVERYONE loves it. Its body shop safe too. I also use it on my own car also. I love the stuff

 

When I had my black 2000 SS I found that most waxes would leave white residue in the tiny stone chips and blemishes around the wheel wells and lower rockers.Even the clear carnuba types would show up there after a few days.What I would do was use black paste shoe polish on those areas.It worked great.They do sell color based waxes for other colors,but on black the shoe polish works fine.Another area that will really make the car look sharp is the grill.On a black mesh type grill,it would take really long to apply a protectant and wipe it smooth with rags,Q-tips or whatever.I tried just spraying the grill with silicone spray lubricant after washing and drying the car.It makes the grill nice and black and gives it a protective coating.As for chrome or stainless exhaust tips,WD-40 does a nice job.It will clean off tar and grime that regular washing left behind and also leaves a protective film.Also,for a real clean detailed look,try spraying the wheel wells with tire shine spray.It will make them nice and black and should prevent corrosion on metal areas.

 

I've heard the trick with WD-40 before and it realy works. I use it on my wheels to get rid of stains and grim, but I wash the wheel afterwards and apply a coat of Polish to make it raly shine!!!

MC2K

 

Waxing a black car will almost always create some swirls. Out of luck on that one. however, here are some helpful tips. Make sure there is no water or dirton your wax apllicator, do not do this in sunlight (obvious), also make sureyour car is completely dry (when the water drips into the wax and you whipe it off it creates swirls),set aside some extra time and do no more than two panels a time. you can pay closer attention to what your doing and catch some mistakes. this takes a lot longer but the quality is a lot better. Using cheese cloth to take the wax off isbest.
I use a wax called black magic. i got this from a supply distributor for a dealership.if you have a friend that works at a dealershipyou should be able to get your hands on it.
Using this stuff you will have to whipe the car down twice because it does create white dust. i think thisstuff is better than mcguires.

 

Lots of opinions here, and obviously people are very loyal to their brands. Out of the many cars I have owned I have always been a Meguiars guy.

BUT!!!!

I just got back from the body shop yesterday to get my cowl hood that I had painted. The body shop guy was polishing it when I showed up. He told me about this product called "Wizards Shine Master". After I saw how well it performed on a brand new BLACK hood, I must say I am switching. This is straight from my painter, and I saw the results first hand. Trust me on this guys, as I'm VERY paticular, and a loyal Meguiars guy for decades. It pains me to say I'm switching.

 

do ya have any links for it/
If ya find it on line let us know Please.
I am also a mothers guy. have been for eyars other then that it was hitempt. but that is another story. I know they are good but they are a pro. polish and not easy to find.
So im looking for a good polish and wax and also a good swirl remover .

I still ahve a bottel of stuff ehre i need to try that i recived from Tav. here. i have yet had a chance to get ot on the car when it is not raining her all day or forcasted to rain all day.