I washed my truck and used the clay bar for the entire vehicle. What a PITA. It took forever. I think that I was expecting too much from it. About half way through I realized that the clay was not going to remove swirls and stains from the paint, just smooth it out. It did this very well, I could tell a MAJOR difference between parts that had been clayed and parts that hadn't. I rewashed the truck and then applied the meguiars 3 step cleaner,polish, and wax. I am going to try to be more dilegent with the waxing in the future so that I might not have to go through all of that again as often. If I just want to polish and wax in the future, do I need to remove the old wax with dawn or something like that, or will the polish over the old wax be fine? Thanks

 

Polish over the old wax, and then re-top with wax.

If you still feel that you have enough shine, you can simply rewax.

RP

 

Thaks for y'alls help. A shinny truck just seems to run better.

 

Heck man, I agree totally!

 

Been there, done that, arms got tired.

It was the only way for me to get the rail dust off the paint. I did not clay bar the entire truck though.

Now I just sit out by my truck with the clay bar and admire the rail dust.

 

MWKellner, I understand your disappointment, but hope you don't feel claying is over-rated. As you discovered clay is just a prep tool, it won't fix swirls or make your paint look glossy. But it is an essential step if you want to get to a swirl-free high-quality gloss finish. As you said, one can really see a difference in panels that have been clayed and those that haven't.

I actually enjoy doing it. I did everything but the bed sides the other day, and I wish I could have done the whole thing but it was looking like rain and I wanted to get done in time for at least one coat of sealant.

I put a dollop of Meguiar's Gold Class shampoo into a 12 oz. spray bottle, topped it off with water and I had my lubricant. Threw a high-quality microfiber towel over my shoulder and went to town with the clay (cut in half, of course) doing about a 1 or 2 ft. section at a time and wiping off with the towel. The paint feels awesome after you're done. I must have looked like a pervert running my hands all over the truck like that

 

You did, but in a good way . . . !

 

Why not go for the whole enchilada and say "Oh Baby! Oh Baby that feels nice!" while your doing the hands thing?

 

Pick up a gallon of Meguiars Final Detail form your local body shop supply house (they may have to order it in) and use it after washing. This will keep your finish looking great and is also a good primer before appying another coat of wax. You should only have to clay once or twice a year and polish about two or three times a year. You can wax as many times as you like and by prepping the surface with Final Detail, the wax should be an easy on and off process. Meguiars NXT or S100 are great waxes to use.