I see there are plenty of stickies on the subject. I'm interested in repairing a few light scratches and some chips, and then want to attempt to clay bar the entire car, and finish with a coat of wax.

Speaking of wax - I waxed the car last year after I bought it. Must this be removed before I begin the process? I haven't yet seen any mention of this - sorry if I missed it. If so, what to use?

 

clay will remove you wax...
that or polish will do the job-

other choices include dawn or alcohol - but clay would be my first choice

 

If the car hasn't been waxed since last year, there is probably no wax left to remove. Clay bar will work. Some car soaps, when enough is used in the bucket, will remove wax. I think Chemical Guys CWC is like that.

 

If you're going to a diff. brand/type of wax Zaino recommends to strip the old wax by using dish washing detergent (ex. dawn) and a clay bar. This will leave the paint nice and clean and ready for a new coating of wax.

 

I agree with Wanabe--no need worrying about doing anything special about removing the wax. Clay, wash, polish, and then apply the wax (preferably two coats for uniform coverage). What products have you decided on?

You might also consider using some form of cleaner wax, e.g., Meguiar's ColorX, for your first coat of wax. This will clean the paint and provide an initial layer of protection. Then top it with your preferred wax/sealant. ColorX is readily available at Walmart and local auto stores. Your process might look something like this:

1) Wash
2) Clay
3) Spot scratch removal
4) ColorX
5) Preferred wax/sealant

You may find of interest the following wash & wax regimen: Your Daily Driver.

 

Thanks for the help & replies!!

I haven't settled on a product yet - wow, there's lot's of names of products I've never heard of! Then again, I've never detailed before, so..

Zaino, Menzerna, etc. More reading to do......

I'm still trying to learn if I can use my old Black & Decker orbital polisher instead of buying a new PC. The only trouble as I see with my B&D is lack of various pads. It has a foam backer that you're supposed to slip (back in the day, terry cloth) microfiber pads over. They have an elastic rim to keep them on the pad. Also not certain what step removes very light scratches??

I'm leaning toward going this route:

1. wash
2. clay bar (Mothers OK?)
3. repair chips
4. ? ColorX
5. wax

 

When you say you are going to repair chips, what precisely do you have in mind?

 

I was going to follow this,

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?act=S...=0#entry4696450

but use the clay bar method of bringing down the paint blob vs. the wet sanding teqchnique.

 

Sogno, I have never had good luck touching up the rock chips in my paint. I'm not sure if one can do it well without wet-sanding, and one should not wet-sand unless one is also skilled enough with a rotary to effectively remove the sanding marks.

I do not think you will find that a clay bar will "level" the paint blob. In any case, check out this thread, especially Mike Phillip's comments:

Paint Chip Repair

Some folks have had good luck using the Langka paint chip repair kit (though I did not) and the Dr. ColorChip repair kit (which I have not tried).

Good luck!