Newbie needs help

[J. A. Michaels]

Hi everyone; I've always had a interest in having a good looking clean vehicle, with good wax protection and a glossy look. In the past I have used Zymol. Last year I bought a 05 CTS. Now is the time to take my passion for a good looking car up a notch.

I started using Gold Class Wax on the recomendation of a friend and now I am Mequiars car crazy. I'm a strict believer in Megs products and don't even think about the products I previously used.

I registered on line and tryed to pick out useful tips regarding what I'm trying to accomplish with my car. Usually, find out what I need to do, but now I need some advice. I do everything by hand. I'm disabled. Limited use of my arm. So, if you could give advice knowing this, it would be appreciated. Here are the steps I use from start to finish:

1. Simple green on rims & tires
2. Gold Class Car Wash (2 bucket method)
3. Chamois car dry
4. Dry rims & tires with MF
5. Hot shine tires
6. Vacuum
7. Gold Class Vinyl Protectorant
8. Invisible glass windows

This is my weekly routine.

As needed, I QD the car about every other day after I dust it down first.

Monthly above stips plus

1. Megs Cleaner Wax (1 coat)
2. Gold Class Wax (1 coat)

Yesterday, I noticed the finish wasn't as smooth as I would want it to be. So this means that I will probably have to clay the car?

If this is correct, how long will I have to wait to clay or can I do it this soon after I just waxed the car?

Thanks in advance for suggestions and/or ideas.

23jam

[Mike Phillips]

Hi 23jam,

Welcome to Meguiar's Online!


It does sound like you need to clay your car. You can test by drawing your clean palm of your hand over the horizontal surfaces; it should feel smooth and glossy, if you feel little bumps or any type of roughness or texture then yes, you definitely need to clay the finish.

[Mike Phillips]

Read this and you'll understand why it's completely possible to need to clay at anytime if your car is a daily driver.

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7494

We have cars come to our Saturday Detailing Classes that don't look like they need to be clayed, and sometimes they even feel kind of smooth, but when you clay the finish and then turn the clay over you'll see clay that looks like this,




The kind of contaminants you see on the clay above will diminish gloss and clarity, plus they'll interfere with how well a wax can adhere to the paint.