GTech - thank you!

Dave - everyone has their ways but here's what I am planning to do:

1. Wash with dish detergent (not sure if using dish detergent is needed if you are claying the car?)
2. Clay
3. Wash car again (regular car shampoo)
4. Zaino (Z1 + Z2 or using their accerlerator) - Zaino is not a wax but polish.
5. More Zaino after Z6

 

Original Question:
Does my paint surface require the application of detailer’s clay?

Is the paint surface showing one or more of the following; coloured or yellow stains, water marks (spots) black metallic coloured flecks, a rough texture, etch marks (concave depression) oxidation, bug or bird excrement.

‘Bag Test’
Place some saran wrap or a zip lock bag over your hand and rub across the finish lightly. Every snag you feel is a surface contaminant that the clay bar can remove but you may not be able to see, especially on white or light coloured vehicle surfaces.


1. How often should I use detailer’s clay?
Usually twice yearly is average, but that would depend upon your environment and how you maintain your car see ‘bag test’ above, If you find the need to use detailer’s clay on a regular basis use a mild clay- Sonus SFX Ultra Fine or Pinnacle Fine Clay

2. If I’m going to polish the car with an abrasive, do I still need to use detailer’s clay?
Polishing and detailer's clay are very different processes. One good reason to clay before you polish; polishing can result in smoothing and rounding the surface contamination it making it significantly harder to remove later. Although a polish / compound will remove the contamination there is a risk is that the abrasive particles will become embedded in the foam pad, which will cause surface scratches / marring by making the foam /polish more abrasive than necessary and may cause deep scratches



Zanio Process:
The final result can only be as good as the surface it’s applied to. Zaino is almost optically perfect, which means any surface imperfections will be highlighted / magnified so surface preparation is of paramount importance.
1. Optimum no rinse (ONR) wash or a traditional two-bucket wash
2. Z-18 clay with Z-7 car wash as lube
3. Re-wash
4. Dual Action Paint Cleaner Swirl Remover Z-PC
5. Or Z-AIO All-In-One (one step cleaner, polish and protectant) removes minor flaws and cleans embedded debris
6. Two coats of Z-5 PRO Show Car Polish+ ZFX Flash Cure Accelerator Additive
7. Swipe test - the best way to determine if it is ready to be removed is to do the swipe test. Run your bare finger across the paint and if the product doesn't smear it is ready to be removed.
8. (Z-6 Ultra Clean Gloss Enhancer Spray between each coat)
9. One coat of Z-2 PRO Show Car Polish for gloss
10. Z-CS Clear Seal dries clean and ‘optically clear’ in approx.15 minutes (65° F - 21°C) and leaves no residue on the surface.
11. Once Z-CS is thoroughly dry use Z-8 Grand Finale Spray Seal
For maximum durability and gloss; use Z-AIO, followed by two coats of Z-5 PRO Show Car Polish+ ZFX Flash Cure Accelerator Additive, then 1 coat of Z-2 PRO (Z-6 Ultra Clean Gloss Enhancer Spray between each coat) and finish off with an application of Z-CS Clear Seal. Wait 12 hours, and then wipe down the vehicle with Z-8 Grand Finale Spray Seal


An extract from one of a series of unbiased Detailing Technical Papers, a library of educational materials that has become the #1 reference for car care on the Internet.© TOGWT ™ Ltd Copyright 2002-2010, all rights reserved.
Chances are you'll learn something and advance your knowledge of detailing if you read any of these.

 

Great info, thanks!

 

Here's a slight change I'd recommend:

1. Wash w/ car soap. Dish detergent is way too harsh for the delicate finish on today's cars. It robs the paint of its natural moisture.
2. Clay
3. Rinse...no need to re-wash the whole car
4. Polish - Zaino
5. Wax - Zaino

This is just my suggestions.

 

Thank you MoeMistry

 

Hey Moe or others - do you have to dry the car BEFORE you clay? I presume you want the car dry so that the lubricant is full strength as opposed to being watered down? Thanks

 

Wow, that explains it up very nicely! Thank you! Looks like i have my work cut out for me when the weather warms up!

 

Actually you don't have to dry it. You do have to be conscious of spots from the water that is left on the car, but if you are using a spotless water system like the CR Spotless, then you don't need to dry it before you clay.

We go immediately from the washing process, to claying. After you are done claying, you wipe off all of the clay lubricant along with any remaining water, then blow out all of the crevices to ensure that you removed all the water and lube from the car.

You can of course dry first if you want, or if you aren't using spotless water, but that is adding another step. If you can cut it down to be more efficient and save on time, then that is definitely a plus.

 

Ideally everyone would have a cr spotless. But for those that don't, dry the car after the wash, then clay. The reason we can bypass the drying of the car is because we use di-water which actually helps us further enhance the cleaning ability of the clay because we're relying on the purity of the water as a solvent as well. This also saves us time.

But, you can definitely dry the car, clay, rinse the car, then dry again for a proper claying routine.

 

Moe - thank you so much!

 

Glad we could help

 

Washing usually doesn't take me too long - so, could you essentially wash the car again after claying? In order to make sure all the clay lube and such is fully removed? Any reason this would not be a good idea, besides taking more time of course?

 

Washing, using soap and mitt, isn't really necessary after claying. The whole point of washing is to loosen dirt and debris from the exterior surfaces and have a clean surface. Claying pretty much picks up the things you couldn't get by washing but the stuff you're removing is going into the clay. What's left behind is the clay lube which does have some contaminants. The lube and contaminant can easily be rinsed off.

With that said, there's absolutely nothing wrong with washing after claying. Other than saving time, there's no reason why you shouldn't. So, if you enjoy washing your car, have at it and enjoy the experience

 

Thanks again, Moe!