2001 black F-150. I usually only wash about every other week by hand in the summer and only wax about twice a year, spring / fall with Meguiars Gold Class. I realize this is crap wax and would like to hit it with something decent this weekend if it dries / warms up some. I think I will try the clay bar thing, but wonder what kind / type of wax to use. Should I use a cleaner wax or should I try to locate some Cherry Wet or Zaino? Are multiple coats necessary? Thanks guys...

BTW, I don't have any swirl marks really, but their are many tiny clear coat imperfections / rub marks from all the damned kids in the neighborhood.

-AR

 

I have used Liquid glass and loved it. I also love cherry wet wax. Cherry wet wax is alot easier to put on and looks really nice when you are done. Liquid glass looks great if you have the extra time. It just a matter of wether you wanna spend an hour waxing your truck or 8 hours waxing and waiting for the stuff to bake in. Either way you can't go wrong.

 

Don't let your poor experience with Gold Class skew your judgement upon all Meguiars products. They make an EXCELLENT professional line... with that being said...

I'd use Meguiars #7 Polish and then follow up with two or three coats of Meguiars #26 Yellow Carnauba. You'll love the results and the longevity isn't too bad for a carnauba.

If you go synthetic, (Zaino, Klasse, etc), you'll get much better durability over the long haul.

 

Thanks guys...well, I woke up Sat. morning on a mission. After checking only 3 places, I ended up with Mother's Clay Bar and quick detail spray, Meguiar's Professional #26 Hi-Tech Yellow, and some rags. I washed the truck with dish soap really well, then dried and started the clay bar treatment. I was expecting a big ol bar of clay, but all I got was this tiny hotel soap sized deal. I also thought you worked the clay onto the paint surface, but according to the directions, you are suppose to spray it down with the quick detail spray and let the clay glide over the surface with little pressure. Is this right?

The clay left junk all over so when I was done I buffed it all off before waxing and it looked and felt like I already had a coat down!!! The Meguiar's was pretty good stuff, left a super sleek finish and didn't turn my plastics white. Didn't know if I should have used any of their other products first, or afterward, but this is what I ended up going with and it workd out pretty nicely so far. So next time if I decide to go synthetic, I'll look for some Zaino. Who carries it? What are the advantages? Thanks.

 

Zaino is only available from Zaino. Zainobros.com I think...

You might not have been using enough of the detail spray as a lubricant which would explain your smears with the clay. The way that you were using it is EXACTLY correct however.

Pretty impressive results when you use clay huh?

RP

 

Meguiars Yellow #26 is very good stuff and lasts a decent while too. It wipes off just about as easy as it goes on too. Put a couple three coats on and it will look great.

 

Yeah I plan on doing maybe one more coat this evening if it's still clean enough to get done. I used the whole bottle on the truck alone and had to use water on the ol' lady's car...hahaha. It kinda seemed to paste up a little with that spray but not on her car with water. Could be because I was in direct sunlight too.

 

What do you mean by 'paste up'? You mean it got 'thick'? Hrrm...

Make sure you're shaking the bejesus out of it frequently while you're doing the application... I shake the bottle just about every time I pick it up. Creature of habit I suppose. LOL!

RP

 

Oh...hahaha, I was talking about the clay and the bottle of quick detailer spray, not the wax.

 

Gotcha...hehehehe... just making sure. I was going to refer you over to Meguiars Customer Care if the bottle was 'thickening' up. LOL!

Probably a function that the clay was getting hot from direct sunlight (tisk tisk...never work on your finish in sunlight) and the rapid drying of the lubricant/quick detailer while you were claying; hence, the smears.

RP

 

Any idea what kind of clay the claybars are made out of? I'll probably go buy one at the store (along with some wax) just to go see what it does. If its something that isn't too expensive--I'll just order a bag of it from local clay place and go crazy on my truck.

I worked with all kinds of clay when I used to throw bowls at my old High School... so I'm fairly familiar with clay....

 

I'm not exactly sure of the make up/composition of the clay for vehicles however; I wouldn't recommend going with a type of modeling clay due to grain size of the clay and because of it's specific function not being automotive. Just a thought. It's cheaper to use what's meant to be used rather than to accidently ruin your finish...

My 2 cents...


RP

 

I am pretty sure clay bars are made from a synthetic composition and not something that is dug out of the ground which can have impurities that can scratch your finish.

 

Since we are talking about clay bars. What will it do to my truck if I have alot of chips in the paint. I already have to work on it extra hard to keep the wax out, will it be hard to get the clay out?

I have a black truck and have it waxed about 2 times month and wash it with dish soap and it doesn't look to bad, other that the chips.

Thanks,
Mike

 

mville,

You might want to be careful with the clay around your chips as it may (and I use the term 'MAY' for a reason) flake up additional paint around the chips because, generally, that's what it's designed and meant to do (remove stuck on stuff).

Due to the rock chips, the paint might not be adhered to the metal as well immediately around the chip and, in turn, it might flake off into the clay. Plus, even if it doesn't, having clayed vehicles NUMEROUS TIMES, I'd say you'll end up with clay inside of the pit of the chip itself which, in turn, will be a bear to remove potentially.

My advice, first and foremost, stop using dish soap and get a good car wash (Meguiars Gold Class is cheap and readily available at Target and Wally Hell). Second, be ultra careful around those chips.

RP