Do i need to wash?

[ski_tzo]

I spentr 6 hours yesterday detailing the out side of my car but as i only managed one layer of wax before it got dark, and then i drove the car last night, im guessing i need to wash it again before applying more wax?

Also does everyone wash their car again after using a clay bar?

 

[gulzar]

would advise a wash mate as even the smallest drive in the weather were having will coz some dirt build up so trying to wax the car with that stuff on it may result in small scratches. personal experience lol.

with regards to clay bar im not too sure as i stick with autoglym resin and then deep shine which has awesome results.

 

[stpete]

I would wash down after clay to remove clay remains.

 

[JamJay]

If you lubricate the surface well enough when claying then you can get away without washing again & go straight to waxing.

Like said above though, I'd wash your car again now though before waxing. This weather is p*ssing me off, I hate having a dirty car and I've cleaned it 3 times this weekend . Everytime it drys up I clean, then when I drive it rains . I've had to give up with detailing, I don't have enough time in my life what with my car cleaning OCD. Clay bar every three weeks, wax after if it's still dry but other than that I've had to resort to brief wet washes as the weather seems to dictate doing anything more.

 

[Rubbish Boy]

Yeah, definitely wash before adding more wax if you've driven it. It only takes a little speck of grit to introduce some lovely marring.

Washing after claying, some people do, some people don't. I tend to give it a rinse off myself, just to get rid of any residue left from claying.

Clay bar every three weeks, wax after if it's still dry but other than that I've had to resort to brief wet washes as the weather seems to dictate doing anything more.

Clay every 3 weeks??? Unless you park in a factory car park wher eit picks ups industrial fall out or near a rail way line, a couple of times a year should be plenty.

 

[JamJay]

Clay every 3 weeks??? Unless you park in a factory car park wher eit picks ups industrial fall out or near a rail way line, a couple of times a year should be plenty.

I live in the country. 2 mins down the road, with the weather in its current state, the car is covered in salt, grit, horse sh*t (literally), muck spreading sludge (farmer wants to fertilise the road?), mud and maybe a few dead rabbits.

I am probs being a bit OCD about it but I find that the road salt can have damaging effects on painwork so I like to get it all off.

 

[Rubbish Boy]

Personally I wouldn't clay it that often. The claying process is for removing bonded on contamination such as welded on bug guts, tree sap, fallout, tar (although for lots of tar a dedicated tar remover would be better) etc. The mud, horse sh*t, salt etc can all be removed by washing. Course it's up to you and but I would suggest looking at doing some form of pre wash to loosen the nasty stuff before doing a normal wash.

What wax/lsp do you you use? You should be getting some kind of protection from the salt from that.

 

[rye#1]

If you lubricate the surface well enough when claying then you can get away without washing again & go straight to waxing.

Like said above though, I'd wash your car again now though before waxing. This weather is p*ssing me off, I hate having a dirty car and I've cleaned it 3 times this weekend . Everytime it drys up I clean, then when I drive it rains . I've had to give up with detailing, I don't have enough time in my life what with my car cleaning OCD. Clay bar every three weeks, wax after if it's still dry but other than that I've had to resort to brief wet washes as the weather seems to dictate doing anything more.

3 times a year should be enough.not tyring to state the obvious but if you got good protection on then salt will not get the chance to etch its way.

 

[Swordjo]

I only clay me car when it needs it doing, don't see the point in having a set routine of 3/4 times a year. You can keep ontop of the contamanents if you have plenty of protection on the car. And if there is any tar etc on the car, use something like Tardis to remove it rather than resorting to the clay.

Also if i'm claying my car,i wash it afterwards and i'd always follow it up with a finishing polish to remove any marring caused by the clay, as no matter how much lube you use, there is still gonna be some marring.

 

[JamJay]

What wax/lsp do you you use? You should be getting some kind of protection from the salt from that.

Obviously I am being a little paranoid then , I'll lay off the clay now that I know.

I use Meguires Carnauba Wax, it seems to do the trick but if there is a better product then I would be willing to change.

 

[Rubbish Boy]

Obviously I am being a little paranoid then , I'll lay off the clay now that I know.

I use Meguires Carnauba Wax, it seems to do the trick but if there is a better product then I would be willing to change.

For winter protection against salt, Bilt Hamber Auto-Balm would be hard to beat, although it's a synthetic product rather than a wax.

Or Iain's wax test has plenty of contenders that should see you through the winter.

 

[christian rea]

yep , as above deffo wash before applying a new coat ,with this weather there always gona be salt remains on the roads and plenty of greases and dirt so if you wax it youl be scrathing the paint and sorta sealing the dirt in .just need to give it the 2 bucket method and dry of and apply wax again .i left my car in works showroom for 3 days applying a coat a day so id get some mega protection against this poo weather

 

[ibiza_95]

collinite 464 (or something like that) is a good wax for winter i find, really hard wearing
give it a whirl, but buy some quick detail too as getting it off can be a bit of a bitch

 

[christian rea]

the dod wax is good if you apply a coat every 2-3 weeks to keep ontop of the weather