glockmail
09-25-2012, 08:46 PM
Recently I've discovered three car care products that have really made my efforts to keep cars looking great much easier.
The first is the clay bar. It's a little 4 oz wad of clay that you rub over the newly washed car to remove embedded contaminants. Wash your car and glide your hand over the wet surface; if it feels gritty at all then you've got crud embedded into the paint or clear coat. I haven't been able to find the stuff for less than $20, which makes it more expensive than a filet mignon, and you can only use it once or twice before it gets too dirty to use, but damn it if it doesn't do a great job. If you drop it on the ground it will be ruined with grit and you have to throw it away. Wash the car again after clay bar then dry it and you'll be amazed.
The next is Liquid Glass. This shit has been around a long time and is easily dismissed by the average shopper with its 60's style metal can and all the competing products on the shelf. It's basically a synthetic wax that lasts 6 months, where a Carnuba wax will last just a few weeks. After wash and clay bar apply sparingly in the shade, let dry to a haze then buff out. Wait 4 hours then apply a second coat, then put the car out in the sun to bake it in. You have to plan the whole day to put this stuff on correctly. Once it's on you can put a third coat on and keep layering it on at 3-6 month intervals, and the finish just gets deeper.
The third is the simplest, these microfiber towels that lots of suppliers sell for ridiculous prices. I got a pile of them at Costco for cheap. I keep them in a covered bin to keep abrasive dust off, and use them to buff wax, polish, but mainly to dry the cars after washing. It's really the only way to avoid water spots on a clean car. My old deerskin chamois went in the trash when I found these. Use one to get the beaded water off, squeezing it dry as needed, then two more to get all the water off. With a good wax (or Liquid Glass) the bugs left on after washing will easily rub off onto one of the towels. Then use the clean wet towels to wipe down the dash, interior, and work your way out to the door frames. I toss them in the laundry and they get clean and ready to be used many times over.
The first is the clay bar. It's a little 4 oz wad of clay that you rub over the newly washed car to remove embedded contaminants. Wash your car and glide your hand over the wet surface; if it feels gritty at all then you've got crud embedded into the paint or clear coat. I haven't been able to find the stuff for less than $20, which makes it more expensive than a filet mignon, and you can only use it once or twice before it gets too dirty to use, but damn it if it doesn't do a great job. If you drop it on the ground it will be ruined with grit and you have to throw it away. Wash the car again after clay bar then dry it and you'll be amazed.
The next is Liquid Glass. This shit has been around a long time and is easily dismissed by the average shopper with its 60's style metal can and all the competing products on the shelf. It's basically a synthetic wax that lasts 6 months, where a Carnuba wax will last just a few weeks. After wash and clay bar apply sparingly in the shade, let dry to a haze then buff out. Wait 4 hours then apply a second coat, then put the car out in the sun to bake it in. You have to plan the whole day to put this stuff on correctly. Once it's on you can put a third coat on and keep layering it on at 3-6 month intervals, and the finish just gets deeper.
The third is the simplest, these microfiber towels that lots of suppliers sell for ridiculous prices. I got a pile of them at Costco for cheap. I keep them in a covered bin to keep abrasive dust off, and use them to buff wax, polish, but mainly to dry the cars after washing. It's really the only way to avoid water spots on a clean car. My old deerskin chamois went in the trash when I found these. Use one to get the beaded water off, squeezing it dry as needed, then two more to get all the water off. With a good wax (or Liquid Glass) the bugs left on after washing will easily rub off onto one of the towels. Then use the clean wet towels to wipe down the dash, interior, and work your way out to the door frames. I toss them in the laundry and they get clean and ready to be used many times over.