Do Clay bars really help? And other Meguires questions.

[Z34-5speed]

Hey guys. Tomarrow i go back to HS, as a Senior, and i am going to detail the shit out of my car. I am planning on buying the Meguires 3 step system and i was wondering if this system is really worth the time/money. I was also wondering if i can use a clay bar with it. If so, should i clay the car before or after the system? Which is a better clay bar, Meguires or Mothers. They both are roughly the same price, $17.00US. The 3 step system will cost roughly $23. So do yall think it will be worth claybarring the car?

 

Kyle

[97loudcut]

If you want a great detail system I have tried both and the Mothers gave me much better results.

 

You wash your car, clay bar, 3 step, and I would even finsih it all up with some Mothers 'Showtime' to get any access wax off.

 

Have fun in HS

 

I am a frehsmen in college this year and we don't start till Aug. 30

[Euro]

ok..when it comes to whats better, you'll get everybody's opinion. I dont think theres a real "right" answer, but its all a matter of opinion.

 

First off, yes I think the 3 step is a great thing! i did it back in march and it made my paint gleam. You'll tell a difference for sure, especially with a red car. You can use a claybar with it, just use it before you wax!!!!! Dont use it after, cause the claybarring will take off the wax you just put on(for the most part). Claybarring is simply a block of special clay(dont know what its exactly called) and it'll pick up all the little fragments/dust/dirt thats on your paint, so when you're finished it'll leave your paint smooth as glass. here's a step you might want to go through(others might chime in)

 

-Wash

-claybar

-wash again(to get all the stuff that was left behind off)

-Use 3 step wax

 

as far as what wax works best, ive used alot, and IMO Mothers is the best that i've used when it comes to STORE bought stuff. theres waxes and polishes and junk that you can order online and spend like $300 on, but IMO its not worth it.

 

and btw...sucks going back to school already!!! who starts school on a thursday?

[1990lumina]

who starts school on a thursday?

 

when I used to be in HS, we always started 2 two before Labor Day long weekend...roughly September 1st we'd start and it was always a Thursday or Wednesday lol

 

Have fun with school dude senior year inHS is a blast haha!

 

I'd recommend the 3 step process and clay barring the car before as well....especially with white paint it makes everything so perfect looking haha

[97loudcut]

and to add..

 

I don't know if it was because my cars paint was in good condition allready but the claybar was a waste of time and money. I only saw reults on the roof.

 

A good cleaner wax (i.e. Mothers) dires realy white and crusty and gets all the shit out of your paint. I personally would not reccommend clay barring

[Euro]

 

I don't know if it was because my cars paint was in good condition allready but the claybar was a waste of time and money. I only saw reults on the roof.

 

A good cleaner wax (i.e. Mothers) dires realy white and crusty and gets all the shit out of your paint. I personally would not reccommend clay barring

 

i concur....whenever i wash mine, i run my hand across it and dont feel any imperfections, so i didnt bother with the claybar. If your paint is kind of in average shape, then i'd use it

[97loudcut]

 

I don't know if it was because my cars paint was in good condition allready but the claybar was a waste of time and money. I only saw reults on the roof.

 

A good cleaner wax (i.e. Mothers) dires realy white and crusty and gets all the shit out of your paint. I personally would not reccommend clay barring

 

i concur....whenever i wash mine, i run my hand across it and dont feel any imperfections, so i didnt bother with the claybar. If your paint is kind of in average shape, then i'd use it

 

must be nice to have driftwood metallic because i I "ran my hnds along the paint" there would be fingerprints and tiny scratches haha.

[1990lumina]

 

I don't know if it was because my cars paint was in good condition allready but the claybar was a waste of time and money. I only saw reults on the roof.

 

A good cleaner wax (i.e. Mothers) dires realy white and crusty and gets all the shit out of your paint. I personally would not reccommend clay barring

 

i concur....whenever i wash mine, i run my hand across it and dont feel any imperfections, so i didnt bother with the claybar. If your paint is kind of in average shape, then i'd use it

 

must be nice to have driftwood metallic because i I "ran my hnds along the paint" there would be fingerprints and tiny scratches haha.

 

I could key my car and you wouldn't notice hah..gotta love white

[97loudcut]

you ass

[fastbird232]

Interesting that you feel comfortable taking a fully-detailed car to your high school parking lot. There's usually too many assholes in high school who'd get off keying it or something.

[1990lumina]

Interesting that you feel comfortable taking a fully-detailed car to your high school parking lot. There's usually too many assholes in high school who'd get off keying it or something.

 

I always worried about that too but I never had too many problems...though I never ever parked in the parking lot we had (might as well ask someone to steal your cd player before you got to school :? ).. I parked on a busier street across from the school..I had mcdonalds thrown at my car once but it didn't damage anything so I got lucky...lotsa ppl I know have had stuff stolen, keyed, slashed, broken, torn off, etc...fucking assholes

[Z34-5speed]

Most of the people in our school know better, except for a few girls, than to fuck around with peoples cars. Plus i am surrounded by my friends cars, kinda like a buffer zone, . Well the only mothers wax they really have is the kind you are supposed to use with a buffer, which i don't have. I think i will get the Meguires. I'll try to get done before dark and get some pics for yall.

 

BTW, Freshman friday will be fun.

 

Kyle

[terryk2003]

claybars deffinatly help!...i use meguirs myself, but i'm sure the mothers one works great as well!...

[Z34-5speed]

I just got back from Advance Auto. I got the three step Meguires. I forgot to ask yall one question. Is that Meguires Tec Wax any good?

 

Kyle

[terryk2003]

I just got back from Advance Auto. I got the three step Meguires. I forgot to ask yall one question. Is that Meguires Tec Wax any good?

 

Kyle

 

yes!!...its awwsome!...i talked my friend into buying some last year, and his car looks amazing after using it!

[Z34-5speed]

I just got back from Advance Auto. I got the three step Meguires. I forgot to ask yall one question. Is that Meguires Tec Wax any good?

 

Kyle

 

yes!!...its awwsome!...i talked my friend into buying some last year, and his car looks amazing after using it!

 

Shit...i knew i should have gotten it. Does it look better than the 3 step Meguires?

 

Kyle

[terryk2003]

I just got back from Advance Auto. I got the three step Meguires. I forgot to ask yall one question. Is that Meguires Tec Wax any good?

 

Kyle

 

 

 

yes!!...its awwsome!...i talked my friend into buying some last year, and his car looks amazing after using it!

 

Shit...i knew i should have gotten it. Does it look better than the 3 step Meguires?

 

Kyle

i dunno...never used the 3 step...i usually use meguirs gold class myself, but thats just because i have a shitload of it @ my house...lol

[LukeZ34]

Claybaring should always be a part of prepping a car for a polish/wax application. Just because you can't feel anything on the surface with your fingers doesn't mean that there's nothing there. What's attached to the paint may come off while waxing/polishing and cause micro-marring(tiny, light scratches) in the paint.

Most of the store bought waxes out there have fillers in them which hide those scratches (not remove them), but they will come back after a month or so of sitting in the sun.

 

[Euro]

hmm good to know, maybe i'll have to claybar my car in my prep's for sundays huge show

[slick]

I really should do mine sometime. I can tell when I wash it, as there are some stuff that doesn't come out, even with scrubbing.

 

I use a different wax though than Mother's or Meguire's, and I have been very happy with it.

[97loudcut]

Mcguires NXT tech wax is one of he best on the market if you ask me

[Euro]

chris what wax do you use

[Z34-5speed]

Alright, i just used the 3 step on half of the car(I could only get half of it in the shade. ). I could definately tell a differance when i compared the undone side and the done side next to each other. I really like this stuff. It is pretty simple too. It took me roughly 1 and a half hours to do half of the car. I was wondering if i could use the 3rd stage(the wax) regurlarly, or is it just meant for use with the system? Thanks for all the good help and advice, now i must go back outside and do the rest, if there is some shade.

 

Kyle

[slick]

chris what wax do you use

 

Zymol. It's roughly $15 a bottle.

[97loudcut]

I use the second and third sage regularly on the cutlass

 

the second is a sealer and glaze, and the third was a carnuba.. but thats mothers