To clay bar or not?

I detailed cars for several years. I suggest using a clay pad. Witch is basically a clay bar but is a pad form. Much easier to use and A mess free clean up.

 

wow, that's awesome. I've been curious about the klasse products. I see that they are acrylic (as opposed to synthetic polymer like the Meg21). the acrylic have been around for decades. the polymers are somewhat new (or so I have learned in my research). the klasse was #2 on my list of possible sealers to use. if you've used both, can you comment on the acrylic nature of that product vs that of the polymers?

the majority of the sealers out there now are polymer. the only two acrylics I found were klasse and wizards supreme seal (and maybe blackfire wet diamond?). is acrylic "old technology" or is there still a place for acrylics? I really struggled to find a poly/acrylic comparison. lots of klasse fans out there.

 

To remove old wax, is using dawn dish soap the most effective approach? Can't normal car wash soap remove wax or is dawn the best option?

 

so i'm just a little confused and need clarification. From what im reading online, i cannot just apply the meguiars 21 ontop of the carnauba that i just applied. I HAVE to use dishsoap to first remove my wax, and then i can use the meg 21? I read on autogeek You can do meg 21, and then carnauba, but not the other way around. meg 21 will not bond to wax.

 

you can NOT apply it over carnauba. you DO need to wash it (with dish soap if you choose) before applying the meg21. what I said before- I meant that the cleaner wax "cleaned" it (it's good to have it cleaned before applying the sealer). unfortunately the cleaner also contained a wax, which you'll want to remove.

 

mixed opinions on this. some detailers say absolutely no dish soap. others say it's fine once in awhile for stripping wax. I chose dish soap because most of the "car wash" soaps also have some kind of protector or wax in it (and if it is specifically for vehicles- you wouldn't think it would strip wax?). i didn't want that on my truck before applying sealer. after the sealer/wax is on- I will transition to actual car wash soap.

 

Thanks. I'll try this next month. My wax job is only a week old, dont want to completely waste it.

 

I've done tons of research and have tried so many different products and methods. I'm super picky and meticulous when it comes to detailing. I'll share some things I've learned, hopefully can save you folks some time and effort.

1. Dawn wash should be used only occasionally. It will strip all wax on paint. If you wash once with dawn, and maintain a good detailing schedule, you won't have to ever wash with dawn again unless you want to start on bare paint again.

2. but a porter cable or similar randon orbit polisher. totally worth the cost. will save time and produce better results.

3. here's my routine:
-Dawn wash (if needed). otherwise normal wash with zaino car wash.
-Nanoskin autoscrub: replaces clay bar. way faster, way better. Super clean paint, do the plastic bag test.
-Zaino all in one: cleans and polishes paint.
-Finish Kare 1000P: very hard wax coating. I try to do 2 coats but its a pain cause it has to be done with 24 hours in between.

usually takes 1/2-3/4 of a day. Once you get the system down can take 1/2 day.

 

sounds like a great routine. I've read about some of the cleaner/polish products and have been told that some of them actually chemically "soften" or melt the clear coat for a very short time in order to level the surface. if used correctly, they work well. but I was told that with those products you have to be very cautious, especially when applying by hand, to avoid "finger marks" (google it- they're brutal). do you know if that's how the Zaino works? i wanted nothing to to with a product that chemically softens my clear coat, even temporarily, due to my being a novice. many products don't tell you that's how they do what they do. that's why I ended up going straight to the megs21 after washing with dawn. it appeared to be a very safe product (i.e. I can't screw it up).

 

zaino all in one is a pretty straight forward cleaner polisher. I haven't had any issues with it "softening" clearcoat. Its really a great product. If you wanted a single product to use rather than layering, Zaino AIO is a good choice.

 

good to know. I've heard a lot of people like Zaino products and have good luck with them.

 

harp, where can I buy megs 21? I have walmart, advance auto, and napa. I would prefer to get it at the store over the internet.

 

Ditto,

You will be amazed how sticky the paint will feel as your doing it, but once you see and feel the smooth difference it will let the wax you use work as best it can on a smooth surface.

 

No way it should take a full day. Maybe half to wash, clay bar, and wax. For myself maybe 3 hours but I do not get anal about this stuff.

 

Well, I get anal.

 

Good for you. You must have more anal time than I do.

 

I'm guessing the big box stores won't have it, but I'm not sure. I didnt see it at Walmart or target. It's a pro Line of products (unlike the Meg's gold class, NXT, turtle wax, armor all, etc). I've only seen the mirror glaze line at auto parts stores. Some of the parts stores carry the mirror glaze line (of which there are like 50 products, all numbered) and some don't carry it.

And of the stores that carry it, they very likely will not stock all products in the line (I typically saw about 4-6 products at stores that carried the line). I went to six different auto parts stores (all national or regional franchises). Three of them carried the mirror glaze line (cleaner, Polish, etc) but only one of them actually had the #21 sealer. It could be that the other two were sold out, who knows. I ended up finding it at Car Quest. It appeared to be a crap-shoot. Check your local parts stores, that's about all I can offer.

 

ive also heard good things about the nano skin. But for a once a year project, a $20 box of Meg's clay and spay will get me two years if I don't drop it. I'm ok with that. I even thought I could have gotten away with using half of one of the two bars of clay that came in the kit. Guess it depends on how dirty it is. For ease of use, nanoskin looks great. And I'd likely be more apt to get after it a little more often. I was also hesitant to clay for fear of scratching the clear coat- so I did look at nanoskin. But if you keep folding the clay and are aware of whether you pick up any grit (along with plenty of lube and very light pressure) you should be fine. I didn't have any problems and lots of guys report great results. But yeah, a sand grain in there could F up a truck real quick.

 

ok I just went and washed it for the first time since applying the megs21. it beaded very nicely. water just kind of sheeted off and it was then covered with tiny beads, almost like it was misted with a spray bottle. different that carnauba, for sure. time will tell how I like this after some weeks. these pics maybe show the shine a little better than the last ones. I'm now gonna head out and put the collinite on. will post after pics if you'd like. oh, and upon closer inspection, I'm not sure it actually got RID of all the swirls like I said before. you just can't see them. there must be some fillers in the sealer as some have suggested. in any case, it looks superb.

 

Looks silky