Hey everyone

[KyleaM23]

New to detailing,not a profession just wanna take care of my car as best i can and. Meguiars is the only brand i use, its the brand my father gave me and i have had no problems with it so far. I have a 96 Lincoln Continental Black and it doesnt look like it was waxed and whatnot like i plan to do to it i have read the steps on the site so i have an idea of what i need i was wondering if it was a bad idea or not if i 1.washed the car 2.used ultimate compound then 3.waxed or do i pretty much have to clay before using compound? and do i have to polish after compound?

[HockeyCrazi]

Re: Hey everyone

Hey KyleaM23, is this a new car, and when I say new I mean, new to you? Do you know when the last time if it was clayed? If not, definitely clay after the wash. If you're not sure, best to clay. Rest of the steps seem good. Would recommend polishing after compounding, but it's not 100% necessary.

[KyleaM23]

Re: Hey everyone

thank you for the response HockeyCrazi. the car is new to me, my guess is it was never clayed before but i cannot say for sure. ill grab some clay when i can then before i compound. one question about polishing and compounding real quick. what exactly is the difference between the two? they both have abrasive features right? one more then the other if im correct. so is polish JUST a less abrasive coat or does it do something that the compound doesnt do?

[Nick Winn]

Re: Hey everyone

Welcome to MOL kyleaM23. We would agree with HockeyCrazi that is it definitely worth your time to clay if needed. If it much more difficult to use a compound, polish or wax, when the surface is rough with bonded contaminants. They are also not going to perform as well when they are essentially being blocked from the surface they are trying to work on by bonded contaminants.

You are correct that a compound is more aggressive than a polish, if we were comparing Ultimate Compound and Ultimate Polish. Remember not all polishes have abrasives. As far as what they do differently, compounds are mainly designed to remove defects within the paint. Polishes have an ability to remove mild defects if they have abrasives, but they are mainly for adding additional gloss to the paint, especially on a dark color.

[KyleaM23]

Re: Hey everyone

thank you Nicholas Winn i have ultimate compound and carnauba wax paste the more i read into it i may just wait and grab the clay and polish living in pa as everyone here knows the road salt eats cars up so i worry about my paint like theres no tomorrow its not in the absolute best shape as is so until the day i can actually do something to it (which who knows when thatll be unfortunately) i will do everything to keep it in good shape