Auto Cleaning/Waxing

Originally Posted by kenstogie

I got macguiars soap, Klasse sealant and some micro fiber towels. Also I guess I need a clay bar but I am unsure if there's a difference so I haven't gotten that. If it's a new car is it even needed? I would have to check the actual seller.
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New cars can benefit from claying to remove any imbedded rail dust on your paint. If you've ever seen little tiny flecks of what look like rust on your cars finish you'll understand what I mean.

You can go down to AutoZone and get a Clay Magic kit for about $17 dollars that has a clay bar and a QD spray or spend about $20 and get the Meguiar's kit with clay, spray and a microfiber towel. (If I remember right).

Both are reasonable deals for OTC. There's also a Mothers clay bar kit you'll find at Target.. again it's in the 15-20 dollar range and is fine.

Split the clay bar up into several pieces and flatten a piece out and start claying your car and using the QD spray as lubricant, turning and kneading the clay to keep the surface of the clay 'clean' every panel or two. When it's too dirty to knead a clean surface out of it chuck that piece, but on a new car that's not very likely.

Keep all of the claybar in a ziploc baggy with a couple squirts of qd spray to keep it from drying out.


Here's a picture of rail dust on a tundra.




Also just to be clear: Claybars can be abrasive and leave tracer marks on your paint! Make sure the car is washed THOROUGHLY and do not apply any downward pressure on the claybar when claying! Make sure to use PLENTY of claybar lubricant. (or a 16oz spray bottle full of tap water with a capful of car wash soap works great for this duty too)

If you get some tracers, don't get too worked up.. you can probably polish them out by hand since you won't have invested in a buffer at this stage. You'll just need something with a mild abrasive action in it like Meguiars Scratch X.