Clayed GTS

It does! That my first time claying any car, plenty of lubricant and little to no pressure on surface and you’re good.
 
ChrisQP09 said:
It does! That my first time claying any car, plenty of lubricant and little to no pressure on surface and you’re good.
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I think I need to do mine although I've always been a bit worried I'll make a mess of it. How long did it take you and do you need to do any prep work beforehand?
 
ScaldedCat said:
I think I need to do mine although I've always been a bit worried I'll make a mess of it. How long did it take you and do you need to do any prep work beforehand?
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Ok, what I have learned about detailing cars is that whether washing, drying or finishing, always use a lubricant of some sort. Dry contact with the surface should be avoided no matter what.

So heres how I approach matters:

  1. Rinse with power hose
  2. Use iron fallout on wheels
  3. Rinse wheels with powerhouse
  4. Snowfoam car with gun
5a) Clean wheels first
5b) Rinse car with powerhose
  1. Snowfoam again with whatever is left
  2. 2 bucket wash method (upper panels first so your dirt from above is not constantly sliding down your car.
  3. rinse again with powerhose
  4. Pat dry car with large fiber towels, once few panels are done towels carry enough water to prevent circles etc. You can also use a heated air compressor for smaller cracks like door seals etc
  5. Spray plenty of clay lube on panel and use up and down motions with light claybar. Little pressure just glide.
  6. Use a polish or quick detailer for shine
 
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As claying a car takes everything off including all waxes etc you will need to apply a good quality wax for the finish to last.

As for claying, unless you have the patience of a saint, I would use a mitt, much easier, much quicker and you are less likely to damage the car. It’s very easy to pic up grit in the clay and damage the clear coat (especially for us DIY wannabe retailers) :D

It’s well worth the effort though
 
Ditto for the clay mitt.

Jet wash, wash as normal, rinse and then go over it again with the mitt and your wash bucket with fresh water / soap.

Easy to wax and smooth as a baby’s posterior.
 
Claying a car does certainly make an improvement if heavily contaminated.
However machine polishing to remove swirl marks makes the biggest improvement.
 
Don't really know if mine's heavily contaminated. How do you tell? It's a bit swirly and hologramy from certain angles but is shiny enough I think. I thought I'd waxed it too much maybe and got a build up of product.
 
If you run your fingers over the dry paint and it feels like clean glass then it's clean, if you feel anything under your fingertips its dirty.

You can also doo the same with your fingers in an empty crisp packet, as that amplifies the contaminants.
 
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