Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Aesthetics Cleaning my black car

Okay, first off, I dont have the money for Zaino... I have to admit, I have neglected my car's paint finish for the past 8 months or so while I have been away at school. I want to get the car back to a nice finish. I am not too keen on using an orbital polisher, or stuff like that. I was thinking wash with dawn, clay bar'ing it, wash with car soap, then waxing it? I plan on using Meguires, or other products like it, but nothing rediculously expensive. I already own Meguire's Gold Class Wax, and plan on using that. Well, what steps do you all recommend taking, and with what products? I dont know much about this, so being as specific as possible would be a great help to me! Thanks... -Nick

After claying and washing use some 3m perfect-it swirl remover. I did 3 times with gloss enhancer in between coats. Then put a few coats of show car polish on with gloss enhancer in between coats. Then put a few thin coats of any wax you choose with gloss enhancer in between coats. I've heard Meguiar's #20 polymer sealant is good after waxing.
Just a little elbow grease and a fresh start early in the morning.

Hell, after seeing your car's pictures, I will definately look into what you say to do, nice car!!

i dont know how much of a fanatic you are but i use turtle wax color cure, works great and i only use a couple soft rags, i`d rather drive then clean

Thats what I have been saying for the past 8 months now, lol! Thats why I am going to take a nice day and get her shining up, that way it will only be a nice easy wash to get her back shining, and a wax every couple weeks.

I agree with Bernie.

Dawn wash
Clay bar to remove paint contaminates
Use 3M Perfect It II #39002 until the swirls are gone.
Then use your Gold Class wax or any other wax or sealant.

I used Meguiars and am quite happy with the results. I used the Mothers claybar, Meguiars Clear Coat Scrub (very good for cleaning/removing scratches), Meguiars Deep Crystal Polish, and Meguiars Gold Glass Wax. It worked very well with the metallic in my paint.



See the rest here

Don't wanna start a huge argument over dishsoap here, but... Dawn will strip your wax and eat your clear coat. It's just not good. I used Dawn for years until I decided to switch to wash with car soap. The wax seemed to bead water much better for a longer time.

I donno, just my opinion on the whole thing. Bear in mind I'm running on no scientific facts here, just word-of-mouth and own observations.

Well the pics you see are from a simple wash, not polished in a while. I just recently started over with dawn, clay bar, 3m swirl, and a few coats of zaino. I will post pics of that soon after a few more coats of zaino.

Bringing this back from the dead.... I went out and bought some more stuff today. I got the Mother's California Gold Claybar System, Meguires Deep Crystal System Polish. And I already had the Meguire's Gold Class Wax. I forgot about the 3M swirl remover, any ideas how much that will help, and if its worth it to make the trip to autozone again? Oh, and I found a local place that has one of the Zymol cleaner wax's. Would this be a better alternative to one of the products I already have? Heres my steps I think so far...
1) Dawn wash
2) clay bar
3) Wash with car soap
4) Meguire's Crystal Polish
5) Meguire's Gold Class

Am I missing anything that would make a big difference??? Thanks for all the help! -Nick