964russ

Cleaned the white flash today, used a clay then a carnauba wax.
Looks good, feels very smooth, iam happy

psychoideas

Looks very pretty russ!
Can you please explain this "clay" thing you mentioned?
I don't clean my cars much.

964russ

A clay, is like a piece of clay that with the cleaner, you slide it along the paint and it removes the nasty bits that stick in the paint.
I think i did it right? Never used it before. And the wax is hard work to remove.

Steven C.

Yep, looks great. Now you just need to get all that black off the wheels

hawk911

Clay is a prep step before polishing or waxing. the concept is you get rid of tiny particles of grime, wax, tree sap, etc that are on the surface. It's best used with a detailing spray to keep the clay sliding over the paint. Once done, then you can polish or wax, depending on how **** you are.

BTW- the wax comes off much better with a buffer of some kind. A Random orbital is the safest route for novices. The buffer helps keep a more consistent layer of wax, rather than gooping it on and having more or less in a particular area. That in itself makes it easier to remove. You can also squirt a bit of detailing spray on the wax, and then remove. It helps the muscles doing it that way.

Russ- nice effort, but you're about a stop underexposed on the pics. We can't see the true shine you have.

User 040621

I don't mean to hijack, but any recommendations for which clay bar, polish, and carnuba to use with an orbital buffer? I have a GP white car, and have been using maguires cleaner polish liquid and wax by hand. It looks pretty good.......but I'd like it to be really good........

Don Nguyen

You could use S100. That is what I use, but I do it by hand.

No real need to use a buffer to put on and take off wax. That will mainly only help when you are trying to take out scratches, with a swirl remover.

deep_uv

I absolutely hate waxing. I'd rather go to the dentist.

That said, last year I did a clay bar followed by the 3 step Meguiars. It was ok. I hit with Quick detailer every now and again after that. Well, this week I was washing my car and I realized it was pretty much devoid of wax. So I pulled a year old bottle of Zymol, that I'd bought and never used, off my shelf and applied it..... for two days, cursing all the way. Pretty hard work compared to the Meguiars stuff. But, the result was absolutely amazing. Big, big difference, but more work. I'm still cleaning wax out of the cracks.

Steve

psychoideas

So is this 'clay' thing like a big block of semi moist clay? Sort of like a bar of soap?
And what, you just rub this block all over the paint with,,,,Detailing spray? water? to make it slip a bit??

Maybe there's a link to a web site that explains what it is and how it's supposed to be done.


Thanks,

mcharus

Mother's wax, used their clay bar to get some of the road dirt off my GP white
964 last month. Worked real well for my first attempt at improving the paint, I wash and wax mostly.
Check out this site for info,think the Mother's kit was $12 at a local store,certainly worth it. Just some info on" how to" I didn't read enough to see if they endorse a peticular brand
Mark
'92 964, car shines,great road,help prevent fires, please use the ashtray.
http://www.superiorcarcare.net/auto-...ing-guide.html

ormy

www.autopia.org is a good place to start. I'm new to Porsche ownership (and car waxing for that matter )

"Clay" may be what it's called, but it reminds me of Blu-tack (just not blue in colour). If you're not familiar with Blu-tack or Prestik, this is the sticky resinous stuff your kids stick posters on walls with.

My advice is do it - it's made a tangible difference to my car i.e. very very smooth and the waxes now seem to shine up really well.

I also found paint cleaning made a huge difference but I understand you shouldn't do this all that often.

psychoideas

mcharus and ormy,
thank you for the valuable links.
I have learnt something today!

Now, if I can only get all this dust off...................................................................

JohnMetro

THANKS GUYS. This thread is perfect. I have ben planning to do the clay/wax thing, but wasn't sure about...
1. would it make a big difference on GP white?
2. how long will it take me?
3. actual processes and techniques?

One more question.. I was thinking about using canuba type wax instead of a synthetic kind. No real reason, other than it seems to be the preferred choice. Can I do this bt hand, or should I invest in an orbital buffer? Would the money be better spent just having a professional do it???

When I run my hand over the body, I can feel lots of small bumps and grains.. also, the paint has obviously lost a little luster after 17 years in the hot Ozzie sun.

Cheers

hawk911

Tell ya what- I'll come do your car(s), and teach you along the way about what I do if you pay expenses. I'll even throw the detail in for free. Caveat- must be to a place more exotic than Milwaukee, WI or Chicago, IL.

Carnuba is the preferred waxing product, and the closer you get to straight carnuba the higher the price will be. Synthetics are good too. I use the Meguiars NXT product with great results. There are tricks to some products, such as the NXT wax. You should leave it on the car for about an hour for it to cure, then take it off. It means you have time to clean windows, dash, carpets, etc while it dries, or you can replenish fluids (beer of choice) while it dries. Other waxes are best applied then taken off fairly quickly, before they dry completely.

User 040621

Thanks very much for sharing this great info........