Wash the car and dry the car and rub your hand lightly on the paint.

It should be SMOOOOOTTTHHHH like glass, if it is a little rough, then a good clay bar is in order. Be prepared to make it a very long day.

I clay every spring to get all of the winter contaminates off.

 

You should clay your car before you wax it period. Clay bar if used properly should never harm you paint and doing repeatedly will not hurt. You should be able to clay the car in less than an hour even for a first timer.

More or less depending on what you want out of the car. A good wash, then clay, then wax. And you will be good. Everything else is optional.

 

ok there are 2 reasons to clay bar a car.

1. The paint feels ruff.
2. You feel like it/ To extend the shine.

Now i work in a foundry where my truck is under consistant attack from debis.



In this pic the hood his half done and is clearly seen. You can also see what the claybar and mirco fiber removed.




Here the truck in finished

Meguires clay bar 19.99
Meguires Ultimate Quick Wax 9.99

 

^^^

now u need to buff that beast out

 

It's to cold out yet but otherwise I would.

 

you pry have about the same weather as it is here...im lucky enuff that my dad has a building to do all of our detailing in...i usually buff around 4 or 5 a day depending on how bad they are

 

so i got to thinking, and im sure this may be a silly question, can you use a clay bar on the side mirrors? i didnt want to just go ahead and do it because i wasnt sure what it would do to them for sure. Also, would it be smart to use a clay bar on the wheels since im not sure if they have a clear coat on them or not? and if i do two coats of wax, should i use a carnauba (spell check) wax and then a sealant wax?

 

You can ClayBar almost anything really. Ive buffed my side mirrors with a polisher as well. Any type of wheel can be clayed, You should use the sealant on them first. Then Carnauba, as you would on paint