Clay Bar & Medallion?

[WAHUSKER]

Now that my car has about 40k miles, the paint is starting to show some wear. May explain why I haven't won a car show this year. So I decided it's time to try the best & picked up a bottle of Medallion Cleaner & Wax. I was also planning to clay bar it first. My questions are, which clay bar is best (I have some swirls, water spots, and pits) and what is the best process?

Wash with Dawn
Clay Bar
Wash again
Medallion Cleaner
Medallion Wax

And should I cover it all with a coat of Carnauba or Yellow #7 like I usually do with Deep Crystal?

Thanks!

[Mike Phillips]

Hi WAHUSKER,

Welcome to Meguiar's Online!

Mike

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Clay Bar & Medallion?

Originally posted by WAHUSKER
I was also planning to clay bar it first. My questions are, which clay bar is best (I have some swirls, water spots, and pits) and what is the best process?

Wash with Dawn
Clay Bar
Wash again
Medallion Cleaner
Medallion Wax

And should I cover it all with a coat of Carnauba or Yellow #7 like I usually do with Deep Crystal?

Thanks!

Hi WAHUSKER,

Meguiar's never recommends washing your car with dish soaps like Dawn. Instead Meguiar's recommends using a car wash formulated specifically for washing and cleaning cars and all of their related components. I would recommend NXT Tech Wash, which is a safe and effective car wash soap.

After washing your car, clay the horizontal surfaces using a premium clay bar and a spray lubricant, afterwards you can re-wash the car or just wipe the entire car down with a mist and wipe product like our Quik Detailer. Meguiar's has introduced a new clay in our Quik Clay System that works awesome. Claying the car will remove above surface contaminants, but will not address below surface contaminants. For below surface contaminants you need to use a paint cleaner such as Medallion Premium Paint Cleaner, or ScratchX.

Since you already have the Medallion Premium Paint Cleaner go ahead and try this applying it and working the product one section at a time with a foam applicator pad. If this product is not getting the job done, then another popular product for removing swirls, scratches and water spots is Meguiar's ScratchX.


Here's a how-to article for using ScratchX,

How to remove a defect by hand with ScratchX

After using the paint cleaner, Meguiar's would recommend using a non-abrasive pure polish like the #7 Show Car Glaze, or the Deep Crystal Polish.

After that, you can apply two thin coats of any Meguiar's wax, if you have Medallion Premium Paint Protection then go ahead and use this product. A new wax we have out is Meguiar's NXT Generation Tech Wax.

As far as Topping goes, #26 is a popular wax for topping. Here's a little article on topping,

Topping NXT

Although it's called Topping NXT, the ideas presented are applicable to topping any wax.

Hope this helps, post a picture when you're through!

Mike

[WAHUSKER]

Thanks Mike,

I have just about every product you sell in my garage, except the clay bar. I'll go look for that at Schucks.

Last month I tried ScratchX, followed by the 1, 2 & 3 step process. It had virtually no affect on the issues with my paint. Which is why I am going to try a clay bar, and then Medallion. And I always use your car soap before I wax, but everyone I know says to use Dawn to help strip the wax off before claying the car.

I will try to send you a before & after pic of the car.

Mark

[Jose Torres]

Originally posted by WAHUSKER


Last month I tried ScratchX, followed by the 1, 2 & 3 step process. It had virtually no affect on the issues with my paint. Which is why I am going to try a clay bar, and then Medallion. And I always use your car soap before I wax, but everyone I know says to use Dawn to help strip the wax off before claying the car.

I will try to send you a before & after pic of the car.

Mark

Hello Wahusker,

In your post, you indicated that you have swirls, water spots, & pits. Let me ask you a couple questions:

1) What kind of swirls are we talking about here? Are they cloth induced (from fabric). What (accessories) do you normally use when washing & drying the finish? Or when applying & removing products? Has your finish ever been buffed on by machine? Answers to questions like these will help to determine the cause, which in turn will help determine a solution.

2) How long have these water spots been on the finish? When alkaline-rich (hard) water is allowed to dry in the finish, it begins etching into the surface. The spots get even more stubborn if they are left on & allowed to bake in the sun. If these spots have been there for a while, machine application may be necessary.

3) When did you notice the pits?

[WAHUSKER]

Hey Jose,

I use a soft natural sponge to wash the car, usually with straight water, or Meguiars Wash soap if I plan on waxing the car. And I use a combination to dry it. Bath towels, a chamois, and lately an Absorber.

I have never used any power buffers of any sort, always done the waxing by hand. I use the Meguiars sponge applicators with terry towels & the softer smoother towels for polishing. And lately I have started using the straight line method (front to back on horizontal surfaces, up & down on vertical surfaces).

The water spots (there are only a couple of them) have been there for a while. We have soft water in Seatlle, so I'm not even sure where they came from (if that is what they are). I have tried just about everything & nothing seems to touch them. The car is garaged too, so it's protected from what little sun we get here.

The pits have just started to show up. I've noticed this year that even after I wax the car, the finish doesn't look smooth. When I go to car shows, the front of my car looks like **** compared to other cars.

Mark

[Acuracl99]

Hey, im not sure if i read your last post correctly but you sometimes wash with only water? I wouldnt recomend this even if your car is only slightly dirty. Straight water provides no lubrication which can lead to washing induced swirls It sounds like you may need a stronger polish or a machine to remove the defects your talking about. Over on autopia there are some detailers that have had success with dacp by hand, it would take awhile to breakdown by hand but it may be worth a shot before investing in a machine. Can we get some pics of the defects? May help in giving you a solution to your problem.

[Jose Torres]

Hello Mark,

Let's tackle these one at a time:

Originally posted by WAHUSKER


I use a soft natural sponge to wash the car, usually with straight water, or Meguiars Wash soap if I plan on waxing the car. And I use a combination to dry it. Bath towels, a chamois, and lately an Absorber.

First of all, washing your car very important, & it should be given the same amount of care & attention as any process. Many light scratches & swirls can be traced back to washing. Think about it. This is when your car has the most contaminants on it and will therefore be more vulnerable to swirls or scratches. The materials that are used become very important. Try to use a soft wash mitt when washing your car, and ALWAYS use a car wash shampoo. As Acuracl99 touched on in the previous post, the car wash provides lubricities while washing. One thing that is commonly overlooked (but is very important) is the use of 2 buckets while washing. One bucket contains the car wash solution, & the other contains clean water. Always work your way down from top bottom. Also, after washing off each panel, dunk the mitt in the clean water (& squeeze it out) before dunking it back into the car wash bucket. If you do not do this, you will just be placing the contaminants that you've just removed, back on the finish. When drying your car, try to a micro fiber drying towel or a very soft 100% cotton terry cloth towel (with thick naps). If you use a cotton towel make sure it is not just some old bath towel that has been around for a while. These tend to have a very rough texture. Also, anything that comes in contact with your car (weather they are micro fiber cloths or cotton towels) should be washed with very little detergent, no bleach, no fabric softener, & dried on a low cycle. That way the fabric stays as soft as possible and texture doesn't become rough from the heat.

Originally posted by WAHUSKER
I have never used any power buffers of any sort, always done the waxing by hand. I use the Meguiars sponge applicators with terry towels & the softer smoother towels for polishing. And lately I have started using the straight line method (front to back on horizontal surfaces, up & down on vertical surfaces).

Whenever you're cleaning, polishing, or waxing. Always try to use foam when applying products, and micro fiber cloths or 100% cotton terry cloth (w/thick naps) when removing them. Of the two, the micro fiber is preferred.

Based upon your answers & the fact that your car has never been buffed on before, we can conclude that you are more than likely dealing with cloth induced swirls. These can easily be buffed out with a Dual Action Polisher w/ a W8006 Polishing Pad & either M82 Swirl Free Polish or M83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish. This method is completely safe to use, but if you are not comfortable doing this yourself (which is completely understandable), look in to having them buffed out by a detailer. By hand the most effective that you can use will be the ScratchX. Be sure to refer to Mike's article How To Remove Defects With ScratchX.

Originally posted by WAHUSKER

The water spots (there are only a couple of them) have been there for a while. We have soft water in Seatlle, so I'm not even sure where they came from (if that is what they are). I have tried just about everything & nothing seems to touch them. The car is garaged too, so it's protected from what little sun we get here.

It may be from rain water. When water droplets dry on your car, they soon evaporate. The minerals & chemicals that are in the water stay on the finish where the drop was. They will stain the finish & will eventually begin to etch into it. The DA Polisher & Dual Action Cleaner Polish should take them as well. If you do not want to this yourself, then have a detailer look at it.

Originally posted by WAHUSKER

The pits have just started to show up. I've noticed this year that even after I wax the car, the finish doesn't look smooth. When I go to car shows, the front of my car looks like **** compared to other cars.

Pits are a bit more difficult. They can be caused internally (from the paint itself, or externally, from different chemicals or solvents.
If you can, please post some clear, sharp pictures of it. Or email them to me at jtorres@meguiars.com.

[WAHUSKER]

Thanks guys. Well, my process will be much different in the future. I will always use Meguiars shampoo when I wash the car.

I bought a clay bar, and plan to do the whole thing in time for a show on Sept 18th. I'll try to post some pics, or links to some. My digi camera is actually a Sony Hi 8 that takes stills, so I'll try to get my car show freak friend to some take some pics with his hi qual digi cam of before & after.

[WAHUSKER]

It's getting there

So far I have caly barred the car, used a Porter Cable buufer to apply menzerna polish ( I compared it's results with the ScratchX I had & liked it better...sorry) tho I had to do 3 applications to get it where I wanted, and it still isn't perfect. I then went over it with the Medallion Cleaner (using the PC again) and that really made it shine.

I now have 1 coat of the Medallion wax on it & it's looking pretty good. I am going to put 1 more coat on it & see what I think. If it's looks good enough, I'll leave it alone. If not, I'll put on my 'normal' top catos of #26 Yellow Wax, since I really like how that makes the car look, not to mention it's protective qualities.

I'll try to post some pics later. There a few on this thread if you want to see what my paint issues were:

http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=216975

[Desertdawg]

I don't know what menzerna polish is, but I would think you should apply the Medallion "Cleaner" first, then top it with the polish.

The properties of the cleaner are designed to remove whatever you have on your paint in preparation for the polishes and LSP's. (last step products) like NXT, or #26.

[WAHUSKER]

Yeah, I debated which to do first, or last is a better description. So I did the Medallion paint cleaner last to make sure the chemicals didn't react with my final coats of the Medallion wax.

I will say after the 2nd coat of Medallion that I am hesitant to apply #26 over the top of it. The depth of color & shine are pretty impressive! And the Yellow wax usually makes my red car look creamy instead of how it looks now.....