OK. So I thought I'd try my first clayjob on my Boxster. I used Meguiar's Clay and Quick Detailer (I think I read one of Moe's old posts that said Meg's was very non-aggressive clay with less chance of mistakes for a noob like me). It took FOREVER; almost 5 hours or so. The front and rear were quite dirty, but the sides were very clean. I went through 2 bottles of Meguiars quick detailer (and had to dilute the last one just to make it go the distance); I only used 1 bar, and it's not very dirty so I will save this for the windows and wheels. Overall, I found the process quite enjoyable/relaxing. Just spray gently move the clay back and forth, up and down, mash up the clay, and repeat

A few questions:
1 Is there a more efficient/cheaper clay lube than Meguair's Quick Detail? Two bottles for a small Boxster (not even a roof!) seems excessive. Everything I've read says you HAVE to keep the surface lubed, so I was spraying that stuff all the time. I also read that you can use soap and water, but then read that you shouldn't...?

2. Is there a "better" clay than the Meguiar's? I used it because I read a post from Moe that said it was one of the least aggressive and the safest for noobs like myself. I wonder if I should try reclaying with a "real" clay? Again, need a more efficient/cheaper clay lube. I might actually reclay, unless someone tells me that's not worthwhile or could damage something.

3. I assume you can clay anywhere and everywhere? I clayed below the license plate on the front and rear plastic bumpers. Also tried to clay the side intake horizontal plastic pieces (but they were too dirty, need to wash better). I didn't clay the "bumpy" bottom side skirts of the Boxster; wasn't sure if you can because they are, well, bumpy.

Thanks again for all your help. Moe, you are a great resource and thanks for all your time and guidance.

Next steps: rewash (reclay?), taping, and polishing with Flex.

 

You can use dish soap and water which is cheaper and will last longer...

Next steps should be
- wash
- dry with good towels as always
- tape off
- polish is DA PC or similar
- sealant/wax

And lastly enjoy!!

 

Joe, the Meguiar's clay isn't a very good one. The clay itself may be OK at best. But the detail spray it comes with is the problem. You cannot effectively clay a car with detail spray since there are always some sort of wax in the detail sprays out there. Only detail spray I know of that doesn't have wax or silicone is Meguair's Final Inspection.

As for a better clay and lube, try Lumiere. It has four discs of clay and each clay disc will probably do about 4-5 applications. It comes in a sealed jar to keep the clay fresh for a long time. The lube is a special type of an all-natural, sulfate-free, solution that will cut your 5 hour job to about 15-30 minutes.

http://www.glisteningperfectionstore...cant%2C/Detail

You can clay a lot of surfaces. Paint, glass, wheels, etc. You don't clay porous areas like rubbers and soft plastics.

Hope this helps.

 

You should NEVER use dish soap on a vehicle surface. Dish soap is an aggressive solution that is designed to strip fatty acids such as grease, and our case wax, off surfaces. You do this and you also damage the soft surface of the paint and pull out the natural oils in the clear coat.

As for using dish soap as a clay lube, because of the high alkaline, basic, nature of the soap, it will break down the plasticizers in the clay making the clay soft, brittle, and eventually fall apart.

Always use the lube provided by the manufacturer. If cost is an issue, I have good think about using Optimum ONR that can be greatly diluted and used as a lube.

All the other steps of the process are right on...

 

Moe, is nice that you are trying to educate people on the Dish washing Soap subject. I was fascinated with the subject and tried very hard to understand why “Pro” Detailer's will encourage people to use this product and how this has become accepted very widely in the car care detailing industry, with that said I did a lot of research on this subject, and these were my findings;

In the automobile world, it seems that the brand “Dawn” is the one particular brand that everyone referees too, maybe that particular brand of dish washing soap is stronger or is just the branding. I suspect the second one.

With that we will concentrate on that brand.

Based on our experience and to make it fair, we asked the product manufacture, since I'm not into the dish washing soap business so it only makes sense to ask them. So we did,

This is posted on Dawn's site in their customer support section.

Question

Can I wash my car with dish washing detergent?

Answer

Your car surface and the dirt that gets on it are a lot different from the food soils and dishes that dish washing liquids clean effectively. We don't recommend them for cleaning your car.

"Can I use Dawn to clean things other than dishes?

Dawn is so effective in cutting grease on dishes that over the years, consumers have used Dawn on other greasy messes around their homes, from cleaning kitchen messes like grease build up on the stove range hood to oily spots in the garage. Dawn is not recommended for window cleaning, car washing, body wash or washing hair.

This is coming from the product manufacture, just in case here is the source directly from them.

http://www.dawn-dish.com/en_US/questionsaboutdawn.do

So the main question reminds, WHY go against the product manufacture recommendations?

I hope some of you will find this information useful.

 

Thanks for the great FYI Tito. Hopefully this will help a lot of people.

 

Good information.....

 

I've used the Girots garage product along with their speedshine and absolutely love it.
http://www.griotsgarage.com/category...by=newArrivals

Knowing Moe and his passion for detail, I would not hesitate any bit to go with Moe's recommendation. Dish washing liquid on a high end car....Y I K E S.

 

If the Optimum ONR is a good lube, then that works. At $16 for 32 oz., and 2 oz per gallon of water for lube, it's probably the cheapest alternative around ($1/gallon!)

 

Not only that, but depending on how you dilute it, you can also use it as a quick detailer or waterless car wash. Other than spray wax for the clear bra, I don't buy QD's anymore since the one 32 oz bottle of ONR I have will last me forever

 

Moe, this is interesting info given that so many people seem to recommend using Dawn to strip old wax/sealant off the car.

What products do you recommend using to strip old wax/sealant prior to a new wash/clay/wax job? Thanks.

 

I would assume if you are claying and polishing the car that most of the wax/sealant will be taken off- no?

 

By the time you've clayed and polished, most of the wax previously applied has been removed.

 

Precisely!!

 

Moe, thanks for the info. But what if you're not going to polish. I've got a new car that was waxed by the dealer at some point, but I'd like to start from scratch and wash, clay and wax again. I'm not going to polish at this point. Do I need to use a product to strip the old wax, or is it sufficient to just wash, clay, and wax?

Thanks in advance.