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Ok I'm going to clay bar the Focus. I have never done this before and I was wondering on what steps to follow to get the best results. I know that I would start by washing and drying the car. Would my next step be doing the clay bar? Also after I have completed that step would I need to apply a good wax? Something like a carnauba wax.

When applying the wax would it be best to do it by hand or can I use my random orbital buffer? Any assistance I can get would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

EDIT: Completed the task, Pic's @ the end

Focus man, Focus.,Apr 4 2009, 08:39 AM Wrote:Ok I'm going to clay bar the Focus.  I have never done this before and I was wondering on what steps to follow to get the best results.  I know that I would start by washing and drying the car.  Would my next step be doing the clay bar?  Also after I have completed that step would I need to apply a good wax?  Something like a carnauba wax. 

When applying the wax would it be best to do it by hand or can I use my random orbital buffer?  Any assistance I can get would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.
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IIRC (standing by to be corrected) it's basically a 5-step process:

1) Wash with proper auto soap
2) Clay bar with some sort of lubricant (I use Mother's liquid detailer spray)
3) Polish
4) Glaze
5) Wax

My personal preference is to apply the wax by hand and then use the buffer to take it off.

Ken's got that idea, but glaze goes last it's just a wet looking layer and fill in the missed sopt.
Get some spray detail anyone will do. do a 1ft by 1ft area at a time roughly. Spay the clay make sure its nice and soft.
Make sure you have 2-4 microfiber cloths.
Spray the surface and the glide the clay over top. once done gliding then wipe with one cloth. once done a panel use a second cloth to wipe it down again.
do the same for the next part fo the car too.
Excpet, spray the clay once again and mold it around untill there is an equal amount of clean clay showing to the surface of the paint.
The whole purpose of the clay is to take off debris and fallout from the railcars.
White cars are the worst for showing fallout.
the once done the clay bar you can take some quick wax. Weather it be in spray form or bottle form and apply to the surface let haze up and wipe off. do not let set for too long it will only get harder to wipe off and easier to cause clearcoat scratchs. Best results is with a orbital when wiping off.
Good luck buddy don't get any of it on the plastic panels and you should be golden or shinny liqude grey lol.
You got my number if you need something.

Cool guys, thanks for the info. Now just need to get permission and the time on a nice day to get it done. I would assume the same rule applies when doing this and applying wax. Not in direct sunlight, right?

you can do it in the sun just work faster lol it dries about 100X faster than normal lol.make sure your hood it not hot either after running it.

Scorcher000,Apr 4 2009, 01:24 PM Wrote:Ken's got that idea, but glaze goes last it's just a wet looking layer and fill in the missed sopt.

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Hmmm ... on both the Mother's stuff and teh Shining Monkey stuff I have (both 3 step systems) ... Step 1 is the polish as a final deep clean ... Step 2 is the glaze to fill in the microscopic pits etc and for the shine ... anbd Step 3 is the wax to add protection ... both say to polish before waxing.

BTW - make sure you check out the Shining Monkey page below - scroll down for some interesting pics.

Mother's clay bar and 3-step process

Shining Monkey - Polish, Glaze, Wax

That's strange because glaze just comes off when you put wax on, you could really take it off with your finger. Ohwell, think about this lol they just want you to buy all the products so they make the sales and make you think you need it. There some steps you can skip to save money and time.

If you get wax on your mouldings just use one of those white erasors, comes right off.

hardk0re,Apr 4 2009, 09:36 PM Wrote:If you get wax on your mouldings just use one of those white erasors, comes right off.
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Yup. Or a good stiff brush and some armor all.

ANTHONYD,Apr 5 2009, 07:24 AM Wrote:
hardk0re,Apr 4 2009, 09:36 PM Wrote:If you get wax on your mouldings just use one of those white erasors, comes right off.
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Yup. Or a good stiff brush and some armor all.
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But I always understood that Armor All was bad because it dried things out? :unsure:

NefCanuck

well thats what everyone says, even I said it before too. But I think if you leave it with out moisturizing the plastics and rubber it will dry out either way so. Users choice.

So I just finished with the Clay Bar and now I need to apply a new coat of wax. So far I am very impressed with the results. Its almost like a fresh coat of paint. I will post pic's after I get the waxing done.

Here is the end result.
[Image: IMG_3478.jpg]