possible weekend project

I'm needing some help on which route I should go. I've got a 2008 BSP Tacoma that I bought used this past December and I'm wanting to give it a good detail. I normally us Meguiar's products, so I'm thinking about washing with Gold Class soap, then drying. Now comes the confusing part for me.

Do I Clay bar, then polish, then wax. OR
Ultimate Compound, then wax.

If I do the clay bar, then poish, how bad would it be if I didn't have time to wax?

I think my paint is in average condition, just not sure what has been used before I bought it. I've never clay bar'ed or polished before, I've always just washed and waxed but always owned white vehicles and not BLACK.

 

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/detailing/8957-official-ask-detailer-thread.html

Search Function

 

I actually did use the search function for clay bar and waxing black truck.

 

If you have a black truck don't ever ever ever do the first few steps of a process to correct the paint and then stop. It shows everything that is wrong with the paint very obviously. It feels like if you look at black paint the wrong way it scratches sometimes

The clay bar takes all the shit that got bonded to your paint and into the pores of the paint out. It's something you should do once or twice a year but in all honesty it won't hurt anything if you don't. Doing this usually scratches the hell out of the paint. This is where the polishing comes in.

The way to think about correcting your paint while polishing is that your using a very fine sand paper all over the truck to remove any imperfections. Hopefully if everything is done correctly when you finish the final swirl removing stage of polish there will be no visible scratches on the vehicle. You can stop here if you want and the paint will still bead like it has been waxed but not for very long. It kinda looks dumb if you polish a few spots on the truck and then don't wax it because half a door will bead and the other half won't. Doesn't look to hot.

What the wax does is put a layer of oil from the carnuba wax and it repels water and makes the paint look shiny.

Sealant is a synthetic wax and it does the same thing as carnuba wax but it lasts longer, however, it doesn't look as nice.

 

So, if I'm going to wax, do you polish the whole truck like you do wax or just the bad spots?

would you clay bar or skip it, and polish and wax? Sorry guys, never dealt with polish before or clay bar kit. As said earlier I've just washed and waxed previous vehicles.

 

I usually polish the whole truck because if there's swirl marks on one part of the truck there will usually be some on the rest of it too.


I would clay bar it if you have the time.

 

Always clay bar your paint prior to any polish work to remove any crap in the paint... I used Wolfgang total swirl remover on my black sand pearl, works ver well then put on the Wolfgang paint sealant 3.0 will make your truck shine like a mirror...

 

You don't need to clay bar before polishing...

If your going to spend the weekend detailing the truck go for it but if you just want to do a quick repair on a panel or buff up something you don't need to.

I polish scratches off customer cars for customer service probably 5 or 6 times a day on average at work and I have never had an issue.. These are people who try to use steel wool to get rid of bird shit/tree sap (which I then have to fix ) They clearly would not be clay barring their cars.

I have never clay barred my truck because I have been lazy about it and it still shines like crazy. Even with the nasty scratches from the previous owner in the second picture and all the chips and shit from going off road.

 

always clay before polishing or waxing. If there isn't much there, it goes quick. If there are bonded contaminants, you're improving the finish by removing them and restoring the smooth finish.

Even brand new cars will have bonded contaminants and require a pass with the clay bar. Sometimes it pulls up very little, sometimes you'd be shocked what you find on a 'new' car.

 

Agreed, wife's new 2013 highlander had so much crap on the paint when I clayed it, was no surprise but I was a amazed at what all came off the paint, I've always clayed people's vehicles prior to doing any polishing or, correction ..

 

If the paint is smooth why bother? Running your hand over the paint in a plastic bag has been a good test for me. If it's smooth it's good if it's bumpy it needs a clay.

Obviously if your detailing professionally you want to clay everything because that's more money in your pocket. If I'm doing my truck on my days off and the clay bar comes back clean I'm not going to waste my time.

 

Yes clay bar.
2x a year.
Wet the truck with meguires detailing spay while u are using the clay.
It helps remove impurities & reduces the risk of stratches.

 

I never got around to detailing my truck this past weekend but I had to go to walmart to pick up some stuff for our daughter and I went by the car section. I saw the clay bar kit, the ultimate compound, ultimate polish, then the ultimate liquid wax. So would I need the ultimate compound AND the ultimate polish?

 

Is it possible to scratch the paint while using a clay bar? I have very fine scratches that weren't there before.

 

Yeah usually when you clay you have to polish after I find. When you touch your paint with anything no matter how lubricated it is it will leave marks.