Which Clay system? What I want to do...

[gollums_friend]

Owning my first brand new car recently has turned me into an overnight enthusiast! So much so, that I want to "do something" to my mom's white 1993 Grand Am.

Upon inspection from several feet away, her car *appears* quite decent considering its' age and the fact that she does NOTHING to it (except washing, and that happens to be occasional).

However.....get closer and you see she has many very tiny rust colored "dots" towards the bottom of all four doors. She also has a "line" of rust about 6 inches long/maybe quarter of an inch wide, on her roof, right at the edge towards the windshield.

She doesn't work on her car because of back/health issues. I want to do somthing to make her car look better....but not spend a fortune, nor break my own back doing it (all work on my own, and now hers done by hand only, no other option). I know I'm going to have to wash, dry and CLAY without a doubt. My question: What is the difference between Meg's "Smooth Surface Clay Kit" and "Quick Clay Detailing System"?? Is one *easier* to use than the other---because I have never clayed before. Do both come with lubricants included in package? (I do have a new bottle of QD that I've been using on mine).

So, this was what I was thinking of doing....is my plan o.k. to attempt? Also: Can I use all these products over the line/dots of rust, or will the products cause more damage to those areas??! (The line of rust on roof scares me most....it's quite "bubbled" in appearance. Before it's suggested, no I can't afford to take it to a professional to have them take care of it for her).

1. Wash/Dry
2. Clay (not purchased yet)
3. DC Step 1 paint cleaner
4. ColorX wax (not purchased yet...but the fact that it combines some steps will save me time when I'm busy and trying to look after both our cars!)
5. Either NXT Gen wax or GC wax (not purchased GC yet, but definately going to because I want to try it on my own car).

Thanks in advance for your advice and suggestions!!

[bullet1]

I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure the 2 clay systems are pretty much the same. I think they may have changed the clay a bit for the smooth surface kit, but for your application I do believe either will work just fine.

And yes your system you have planned should also work just fine. The rust spots might catch on your pad so make sure you don't tear it up, but what you will basically be doing is protecting all the good paint on the car. Its possible that some of the rust spots will go away with the paint cleaning if it is all on the surface and really isn't rust. If the paint is bubbling from underneath, there really isn't anything you can do to stop it besides cut out the panels which no doubt isn't an option. You can only do so much with such an old car that has been neglected.

[Top Down]

The clay in the two systems are the same, except Quick clay has one 100g bar while Smooth Surface has two 50g bars (same total). Both come with Quick Detailer as a lubricant, but Smooth Surface also comes with a Supreme Shine MF and a sample bottle of Cleaner Wax.

[gollums_friend]

Thanks for the help!

I don't know a thing about this Cleaner Wax you mention being included in one of the clay kits. Do you think it's a better idea to use it than using ColorX? Does the Cleaner Wax combine the 3 steps (clean/polish/wax) the same way ColorX does?

[MikeGT]

I would more or less toss the sample size cleanerwax they give you and use colorx

[Murr1525]

Yeah, Meguiars threw a sample of Cleaner/Wax and a Supreme Shine Towel into the Smooth Surface Clay kit, and just charges a few bucks more. You can get either kit.

The Cleaner/Wax is a very mild cleaner, pretty much the same as DC#1, if not milder.

ColorX is much better for neglected finishes, and I like it on new finishes as well.

[hondacrazy]

grab a bottle of rust-remover/jelly...its like $5 and will take the rust write off, that way you can paint over it with touch-up, and she wont have to worry about it rusting through...my first concern would be the rust and maintaining that area...

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by MikeGT
I would more or less toss the sample size cleanerwax they give you and use colorx

Or open the bottle and try it out to see if it gets the job done. Meguia'rs A12 Cleaner/Wax has been around for 33 years and that's a long time in the car wax industry. There must be something good about the formula to have this kind of staying power and a sample is an excellent way to try a product out.

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by Murr1525
Yeah, Meguiar's threw a sample of Cleaner/Wax and a Supreme Shine Towel into the Smooth Surface Clay kit, and just charges a few bucks more. You can get either kit.

The idea being to introduce a lot of people that have yet to try clay to not only detailing clay, but the idea that after you clay your car's paint you're not done yet as now the paint is completely unprotected. By including a sample of Meguiar's Cleaner/Wax and a full size, premium quality microfiber polishing cloth, the kit now enables a person to clay their car and then at a minimum, apply a coat of protection to the clayed area with a product that will work on just about anything.

The Cleaner/Wax is a very mild cleaner, pretty much the same as DC#1, if not milder.

I think I would have to disagree with this statement just for the forum record and suggest that although our A12 Cleaner/Wax is a mild cleaner wax compared to a product like ColorX, it still offers good cleaning ability that in most cases is equal to, and in some case would exceed Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner. I can check to make sure, but A12 Cleaner/Wax is an effective paint cleaner in and by itself.

ColorX is much better for neglected finishes, and I like it on new finishes as well.

I agree, ColorX is a great all around product.

[gollums_friend]

Thank you all for you advice!

Since I was planning to purchase the ColorX for my own vehicle, I've decided to purchase the Clay Kit that doesn't come with the Cleaner Wax product, and use ColorX on mama's vehicle as well.

I hope to at least wash/dry/clay today......I may have to wait until tomarrow to use DC Paint Cleaner, ColorX and GC (or NXT) wax. It all depends on how tired I am.

PS.....If I wash/dry and clay today, and wait till tomarrow to apply DC paint cleaner and both waxes (she is parked under a carport)....should I use something like QD tomarrow morning to "touch up" the car before I do the final steps?

[TKDDAD]

Originally posted by Mike Phillips
The idea being to introduce a lot of people that have yet to try clay to not only detailing clay, but the idea that after you clay your car's paint you're not done yet as now the paint is completely unprotected. By including a sample of Meguiar's Cleaner/Wax and a full size, premium quality microfiber polishing cloth, the kit now enables a person to clay their car and then at a minimum, apply a coat of protection to the clayed area with a product that will work on just about anything.

this is a great idea and I would have bought this when I first learned about the 5 step process...just to try the cleaner...the next step might be to put the 5 step process in a box and sell that !!...you could use sample size bottles of wash, clay, lubricant, cleaner, polish etc etc....just enough to do one or two vehicles...one box, one detail job...I like it !!

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by gollums_friend
Thank you all for you advice!

Since I was planning to purchase the ColorX for my own vehicle, I've decided to purchase the Clay Kit that doesn't come with the Cleaner Wax product, and use ColorX on mama's vehicle as well.

I hope to at least wash/dry/clay today......I may have to wait until tomorrow to use DC Paint Cleaner, ColorX and GC (or NXT) wax. It all depends on how tired I am.

If you're going to use ColorX, you don't really need to use the DC1 Paint Cleaner as the ColorX will do this step for you, just remember which ever product you choose to use, the cleaning step is the most important step, so focus on the task at hand and really do a good job of applying the product, working it into and against the paint. If you use the ColorX you want to let it dry before you wipe it off, if you use the paint cleaner you want wipe it off before it dries.

Read this,

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12031

PS.....If I wash/dry and clay today, and wait till tomorrow to apply DC paint cleaner and both waxes (she is parked under a carport)....should I use something like QD tomorrow morning to "touch up" the car before I do the final steps?

Yes, make sure you wipe the surface clean to remove any dirt or dust that may have settled on the finish over night.

[Jbirk]

Hi,

I don't really use the cleaner wax much as it is just not my favorite wax.

ColorX is my favorite Cleaner Wax, and Nxt Tech is my favorite Pure-Wax.

I don't know if Nxt Tech is really a pure wax like Deep Crystal 3, but my point is it takes it to the highest standards.

For these reasons, I think it would be awosme if Meguiar's would include a sample bottle of ColorX instead of Cleaner Wax with the smooth surface kit.

ColorX is just fantastic. Imagine the results someone could get on a car that is terribly neglected. They could wash, clay, and then ColorX. I bet they would get awsome reulsts.

[gollums_friend]

Oh. My. Gosh.

TWO AND A HALF HOURS last night just to wash and dry her car. The car is the kind where her (white) paint extends around the edge of the wheel well by about two inches, you know what I mean? The crud that was there......uuuughh *shivers remembering*. I dunno if it was tar...grease....but it was black, black BLACK goo. Scrub, scrub, scrub.

I was so sore and running out of daylight that I had to stop. Here's a weird thing: some of those tiny little orangy "rust" dots came off when washing, some did not. Some of these small gray (and some darker near black) spots and "lines" that I thought were scratches came off...and some didn't.

I've decided to skip the DC 1 Paint cleaner since I'm going to use ColorX. But those weird gray/black "scuff" looking marks that didn't wash off---I'm going to try ScratchX on a few small areas today after I dust the car off this morning.

So the rest of my plan.....
2. Clay
3. ScratchX a few small spots
4. ColorX one coat (first time I'll be trying!)

Make an appearance for about an hour and a half at a co-workers daughter's graduation party, return home by 5pm...
5. Top with GC wax....(first time I'll be trying!)

My own car has been shooting me dirty looks across the carport....but given my extreme soreness (I seem to be using all kinds of muscles I've uh...not used in some time!!) my car is gonna have to get over it and wait for me until next weekend!!

[miked2]

I think that the Smooth Surface Clay Kit is a great introductory package for folks. I'm buying one as a gift for a friend who has been oohhing and aahhing over my car. I'll throw in an extra supreme shine MF, and a high-tech applicator pad, and he's basically good to go! Can beat the price for essentially everything you need to get started.

My big beef with this product is that I cannot find it anywhere retail! Claying is sooo important to do if you have any kind of neglected finish. Just putting wax on such a finish after washing just won't do much . . . ..