Buck- its basically a little bar of clay that is pliable in your hands. You spray a little soapy water (or Meguires quick detail solution) on your paint, then get to rubbing. You can get a Meguires Clay Kit from Walmart for about $15 (comes 2 clay bars, spray and a microfiber cloth). The clay flattens perfectly to your painted surface and picks up the contaminants that are stuck to your clearcoat. Try this- after washing your truck, run your hand accross your hood. Feel all the microscopic barbs? Clay bar it. Then run your hand accross it again. Smooth as a baby's butt. This a huge help to your wax job- giving your paint an almost wet look. Try it and let everyone know what you think.
I spend an honest 5 hrs every Sunday tweaking out my F150's paint, plastics, engine bay, Cabin, and sometimes my undercarriage. I go to about 120hrs of clinics a year on complete auto detailing. TRY TO ONLY USE MICROFIBER CLOTHS!!
NEVER USE DRIVE THROUGH AS THE "SPOT FREE" RINSE DESTORYS SHINE OVER TIME!
Meguiar's Paint Cleaner Wax - is not to be used regularly. You may not notice now but you are eating away at your clear coat. It may say clear coat safe, but after using it for 6 years now I have seen some badly worn paint or "sunburning." Especially if you do it by hand due to non even spreading. Once a season (or 4 times a year) is safe use for this product.
Clay Bar - IS THE BEST THING THAT WAS MADE FOR AUTO DETAILING TO REMOVE oxidation, tree sap, etc. Only the pressure about the weight of an orange should be used as to not leave swirls in your paint. Be sure to also have enough lubrication between the paint and clay. DO NOT USE WATER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE. Water has minerals that will leave swirls.
COMMON KNOWLEDGE: Stay in the shade, and work on cool to the touch paint. If possible work under a carport or even better a garage to ensure as little dirt on your freshly clayed paint surface as possible. A TREE isn't shade. Most trees let out airborne sap that will give you "specks" in the paint.
ARMOR-ALL CONSUMER/Detailers Choice Products- They are petroleum based products that will "bake" your plastics/vynls and in turn dry them out over time. These products do the worst damage to any custom truck (FX4, KR, LAR) not to mention why you have alot of film on the INSIDE of the windshield.
PROPER DRESSINGS (plastic and Vynl conditioners)- Are those that are synthetic or water based. All major brands including Armor All have a professional line of dressings. Look for these online, Meguairs Direct for example offers HUGE saving when you buy gallons of product.
Well now that I'm done with my $.02 on prep....
I believe the best protection you can put on your car is that of Synthetic. I personally use a Dual Action Polisher by PorterCable with mutiple pads of "cutting or polishing power" to layer KLASSE All-in-one as a base,KLASSE Sealant Glaze as a Mid Protectant, and Meguairs NXT as a top Coat. As for the interrior I use the Meg. Prof. Rubber/Vynl Cleaner/Conditioner. Doesn't look greasy and leaves a clean matte finish; its safe to use and doesnt streak even on your guages plastic.(more apps can be applied for gloss) Exterior Plastics is protected by Meg. Pro. All Season Dressing.
Done for now but if you guys want to look up more info or view "how to" guides my resources are as follows:
Im not doubting your knowledge on Armor-All products, but i use the regular armor all protectant and the wheel cleaner on a regular basis and over the past 15 years of detailing cars ive never seen a bad effect that the product has had on vinyl and plastic. I have see glass cleaner with amonia in it dry out plastic and vinyl in a heartbeat.
I have a set of Goodyear Eagle 1 Nascar on my camaro that i put on in 2003. I go to many car shows a year and use the tire foam on the tires (not the rims) as soon as i get to each one. I probably apply the tire foam to those tires once a week from May to October, and that is over the past 6 years, and to this day the tires still look like i just had them put on.
As for glass cleaning, i have found that the Napa Glass cleaner made by MAC's in the aerosol form is great for cleaning the inside and out of windows with no streaks.
zaino bros...the only way to go. get their products online at the aforementioned .com site. Pro detailers, show car affecinados use their products along with a host of us others.
Ive also heard from many detail guys that Armour All is the worst for plastic dashboards. From my Volvo forumns, I switched over to Vynilx; Blue bottle in alot of auto stores. It leaves a shine with no greasy feeling, and its 100% UV protected.
__________________
'05 Black S/C
-S&B CAI
-SCT X3 Power Tuner
-MB 17"s
-Hell Bent 2.5" leveling kit
-Blacked Out Headlights
perfec it 3 by 3m is excellant line , although i might ad miqiuires 21 did an awsom job , body /paint distributor told me to give it a try . ive only used 3m products for years with excellant results.
Buck- its basically a little bar of clay that is pliable in your hands. You spray a little soapy water (or Meguires quick detail solution) on your paint, then get to rubbing. You can get a Meguires Clay Kit from Walmart for about $15 (comes 2 clay bars, spray and a microfiber cloth). The clay flattens perfectly to your painted surface and picks up the contaminants that are stuck to your clearcoat. Try this- after washing your truck, run your hand accross your hood. Feel all the microscopic barbs? Clay bar it. Then run your hand accross it again. Smooth as a baby's butt. This a huge help to your wax job- giving your paint an almost wet look. Try it and let everyone know what you think.
About how long does it take to clay bar our trucks? I like to keep my truck nice but hate to spend the whole weekend to do it. My truck is a truck,not a show boat! I would like to try it though.
__________________ 2005 F150 XLT SuperCab 5.4L V8 4x4, 3.73 LS Rear end, Auto Spring 2" Leveling Kit, Gryphon tuner, AEM Panel Air filter with modified stock intake
I use the Turtle Wax Ice stuff also. I use there Liquid Clay Bar to. It probably does not do as good as the other stuff but I think its a whole lot easier.
__________________ Joel 2006 F150 XLT 4X4 - AS 2 1/2 Leveling Kit with AS Blocks, Wet Okole Covers, Volant CAI, Edge Evo, Flowmaster 40 Duals, Husky Toolbox, FX4 Rims & Tires.
1993 F150 XLT 4X4 - 4" Rancho Lift, 33-12.50 BFG, Pioneer Stereo Proud Club SNL Member #10
I use the Turtle Wax Ice stuff also. I use there Liquid Clay Bar to. It probably does not do as good as the other stuff but I think its a whole lot easier.
That sounds like a good compromise.
__________________ 2005 F150 XLT SuperCab 5.4L V8 4x4, 3.73 LS Rear end, Auto Spring 2" Leveling Kit, Gryphon tuner, AEM Panel Air filter with modified stock intake
About how long does it take to clay bar our trucks? I like to keep my truck nice but hate to spend the whole weekend to do it. My truck is a truck,not a show boat! I would like to try it though.
I like treat my truck as a truck, too, but sometimes, I get to feeling it needs attention. The clay bar process actually takes less than an hour. Its much easier than I thought it would be. You'll need to wash it down good first (another 45 minutes). My truck had a lot of scratches, so I did some scratch-out stuff in various areas- mainly around the top of the rear fenders where I had scratched it up getting crap out of the bed. Add to that the Maguires wax/cleaner and if you choose, another coat of wax
(I prefer the NXT 2.0), you may have a total of 4+ hours. I guarantee after its done, you be glad.
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Detailing is my thing!
