Synthetic clay

mis3 said:

As a side note, some new waxes can be applied in direct sunlight.

“The wax can be applied in direct sunlight on a warm surface - it won't affect the performance of Meguiars Ultimate Liquid Wax. If a little wax gets on the trim, don't worry. Meguiars Ultimate Liquid Wax does not leave white stains on trim.....”

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Yes I’ve used meguiars ultimate on my car and the headlight coating but a few months ago we had a bad love bug season using waterless car wash and bug remover and washing it every day it wore down the wax. I’ve seen a couple of posts on this forum about the meguiars hybrid ceramic wax and I love the results. I want to give the car a clean slate after the bug horror show we had and yes using the meguiars ultimate did it’s job a coworkers car had stains in the paint after the lovebug massacre my car did not

mis3 said:

Elbow grease? Just apply the lubricant then slide the clay bar back and forth. I use Meguiars clay kit and it comes with a bottle of lubricant they called Quick Detailer.

I always Wax after Clay. The paint is always as smooth as a sheet of glass. Note that I clay twice a year, before and after winter.

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My SI is a year old and I'm going to wax it. Is clay bar still better than waxing?

My SI is a year old and this will be the first time I've waxed it. I was going to use Mequire's clay bar should I use that or a liquid wax?

kkalico said:

My SI is a year old and this will be the first time I've waxed it. I was going to use Mequire's clay bar should I use that or a liquid wax?

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Main purpose of clay is to remove contaminants from the surface of your car's paint. Think of it as a preparation of waxing. The end result of waxing largely depends on the surface preparation.

You should always wax after clay. Keep in mind that clay would remove whatever wax left on your car. If you do not have time to wax, don’t clay.

I’ve only used Maguiars kit but it seems to me that they don’t do well in cooler temps (they can get pretty hard) so decided to switch. I ordered a clay kit from chemical guys but haven't tested it yet.

kkalico said:

My SI is a year old and this will be the first time I've waxed it. I was going to use Mequire's clay bar should I use that or a liquid wax?

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mis3 said:

Main purpose of clay is to remove contaminants from the surface of your car's paint. Think of it as a preparation of waxing. The end result of waxing largely depends on the surface preparation.

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Just to add to the last part of surface preparation: any kind of physical contact with the paint will introduce the potential for marring in the finish. While its necessary to contact the paint during a mechanical decontamination (i.e. clay bar), you should examine your paint to see if any correcting (polishing) is needed. Then seal it up with a sealant or a wax.

oliviaiiii said:

I’ve only used Maguiars kit but it seems to me that they don’t do well in cooler temps (they can get pretty hard) so decided to switch. I ordered a clay kit from chemical guys but haven't tested it yet.

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Not sure. I never noticed this but I never did clay in cold temperature. I always wax after clay and we are not supposed to wax when temp is lower than 50C. Most wax would not bond well with the painted surface in cold temp.

I posted this thread a while ago to get information on synthetic clay I purchased surf city clayzilla
This past weekend I detailed and ceramic coated my car I’ll have to say I’m definitely sold on the synthetic clay it’s faster easier and I think better than traditional clay once again I got good info from this site. THANKS