Re Waxing Process

joshheat25 said:

I Want to strip off the old wax job and put a new one on. I have searched on here and come up with this. 1. Wash car with dish detergent 2. use a clay bar 3. wash again 4. Paint cleaner? 5. Wax. I Just bought Zymol Wax and I was wondering where to get a paint cleaner. I also have never used a clay bar and any tips would help. Also I have some liquid glass Polisher. I was wondering if I should Polish the car and then Wax it??? thanx

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Wash the car with dishwashing detergent to get all the old wax off....If your car sits outside all the time or you do not wash and wax very often then try a clay bar, just follow the instructions that come with a clay bar and you can't go wrong. If you use the clay be careful, if you drop it on the ground its history!!! Throw it away and go buy another one. If you try to use the one you dropped it WILL scratch your paint no matter how good you cleaned it off. If you took good care of your paint keeping it clean then try a paint cleaner. I recommend you get Meguiars deep crystal system car care products.... They make a paint cleaner, a paint polish and a wax. do the paint cleaner then the polish and finally the wax..... in that order. You can buy this stuff at just about any auto parts store....I used it on mine and it made my stang paint explode in color, depth and shine.....

No need to wash the car with dish detergent. That's a horrible practice IMO. Just wash it with regular car wash soap, clay it, and wash it again. The clay bar and cleaner/polish will strip out whatever old wax buildup you have.

"Dawn is for the kithen, keep it their"
You asked about klasse I responded and highly recomend it. Check the link in you other thread I left.

The key to using any clabar system is three things. One, make sure the cars' surface is cleaned to begin with. You do NOT want to use a clay bar on a dirty surface. Two, use plenty of lube that comes with the clay bar. Don't be afraid to use so much that it's just running everywhere, cause in this case the more you use, the better off you are. Three, be sure to frequently turn and fold the claybar, same as you do a cloth when wiping your windows or car surface clean. Something else that is good advise is this; if you decide to use a claybar system, be sure to cut the clay bar in two pieces. This way, if you drop one piece on the ground and it becomes contaminated with dirt, you have a spare clay piece to use.


I recently talked with a guy who has been in the detailing buisness for over 30 years, and he advised me to use the clay bar with dish-liquid in water. He said thats the "original" way to do it, but you have to have the right concentration of dish-liquid, cause too little won't provide enough surface-friction protection. The way the dish liquid works is it breaks down any oils, old wax, and hard surface debris that is stuck to the paint. The clay bar then works to pick this up.

ok, if u want a nice shine GET AN ORBITAL BUFFER. They work really well and increase the cars appearance even more than by hand. Mine only costed $60. When I added Meguiars Hi-Tech Yellow wax it really made my car stand out. Its not that hard to use, just dont press hard on it lol(I am gentle with it). Believe me its worth using with your wax.

Orbital buffers are a great way to apply products to a cars' surface, assuming you know what you're doing. If you decide to use an orbital buffer, avoid using wool bonnets, as they have a cutting/cleaning action that will only put more swirls into the paint. I'de even avoid using a terry cloth bonnets. The only bonnets I use with my orbital buffer are soft yellow foam/sponge bonnets. They work well and keep swirls to a minimum.

On a side note, I personally am not a fan of Meguiars products anymore. I think Mothers is a step up from them. Just my experience. I made another thread about "Miracle Wash", which is a product produced by Amsoil under the label "Brite side". I personally think its some of the best stuff I've ever used. They also make a pure polish, which I'm going to try out. I'll let everyone know what results I get.

dish detergent? interesting.