Need Advice: clay bar + 7424 kit

20ls01 said:

about 1.5 years back i picked up some mequiars polish and wax(step 2 and 3, respectively) and applied it to my car.
A week ago, i purchased mother's clay bar and attempted to clay bar the car, however it was extremely difficult this time. It was picking up white residue from the paint which made it strenuous to glide the clay bar against the paint.
1.Is this left over polish from 1.5 years ago or worst case scenario...is it picking up the clear coat?
2.Is this what the "cleaner wax" is for? to clean up oxidation before claying?

The paint has seen better days, its slightly oxidized and the clear coat seems to be near its last legs(well some body parts)

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3.What porter cable kit do you recommend? i was looking at this
Pinnacle polishes, pinnacle swirl remover, porter cable swirl remover, porter cable kit

Pictures of the paint:
Picture 1:looking straight at it....very dull

Picture 2: the oxidation

Picture 3+4: looking at an angle...still hope in my paint?

I really love this car and hope to revive the paint. Keep in mind, the clear coat is probably very diminished, so i don't want to strip it with extremely abrasive material <-----what do i know, just seems logical this would happen, tell me otherwise.

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i havnt tryed pinnacle polishes but ive used pretty much ever pinnacleproduct they seel for yearsnow and there all fantastic. so if it was me id go with that package. the p/c is a must have that i do have.the foam pads as well.. looks like a great kit.

The car's paint seems like it can still be worked on from the pictures, before trying to remove the oxidation it would be best practice to get someone with a ptg to take some readings. If you have polish residue from that long ago I would recommend a decon kit to make sure you remove anything else that might be there from a year ago. You may have to step up to a more aggressive clay to get everything off, maybe the megs red clay...which will require polishing after due to marring.

The cleaner wax is used to clean the paint before waxing and following washing, claying and polishing. It leaves the paint free of fillers and other contaminates that may not have been picked up by the clay. This helps your lsp "stick" better.

As far as a pc kit goes, you really can't go wrong with the meguiars twins...they can give you the desired cut you need to do just about anything. I have never personally used the xmt or wolfgang stuff but i have heard good things. Nothing on autogeek is going to disappoint.

Another idea for the car is to try an ipa wipe down after washing and before clay to try and break up some old polish residue. This should make for easier claying.

If you are unsure about anything with the car, it might not be a bad idea to post your location and find a professional on here that can take a look for you and maybe give you some advice.

20ls01 said:

^thanks for the info + tips. i'm new to the detailing world, so i have no clue what decon kit, lsp, ptg are short for...

if anyone is interested, im in san francisco CA. i can drive out a little bit to get some advice. thanks

Before i acquired the car, it sat outside a foggy beach(Bakers) for 3-4 years.
i've owned this car for 3.5 years, about 1.5 of those years it was garaged but was subjected to two 90-100 degree summers.

Click to expand...

decon kit = decontamination kit
Finish Kare Paint Decontamination System, auto paint cleaning system, de-contamination solution

lsp = last step product, (final wax or sealant)

ptg = paint thickness gauge, (used to measure thickness of paint)

20ls01 said:

about 1.5 years back i picked up some mequiars polish and wax(step 2 and 3, respectively) and applied it to my car.
A week ago, i purchased mother's clay bar and attempted to clay bar the car, however it was extremely difficult this time. It was picking up white residue from the paint which made it strenuous to glide the clay bar against the paint.
1.Is this left over polish from 1.5 years ago or worst case scenario...is it picking up the clear coat?
2.Is this what the "cleaner wax" is for? to clean up oxidation before claying?

The paint has seen better days, its slightly oxidized and the clear coat seems to be near its last legs(well some body parts)

----------------------------------
3.What porter cable kit do you recommend? i was looking at this
Pinnacle polishes, pinnacle swirl remover, porter cable swirl remover, porter cable kit

Pictures of the paint:
Picture 1:looking straight at it....very dull

Picture 2: the oxidation

Picture 3+4: looking at an angle...still hope in my paint?

I really love this car and hope to revive the paint. Keep in mind, the clear coat is probably very diminished, so i don't want to strip it with extremely abrasive material <-----what do i know, just seems logical this would happen, tell me otherwise.

Click to expand...

i would assume that youre using some kinda lube for the clay bar right? make sure you use alot, the more the better in some cases. the stuff you are picking up might be normal for the fact it hasnt been done in a year and half. might be white from the salt air? oterwise it's probaly the oxadised white paint. work a small section at a time, with plenty of lube, small back and fourth strokes, with a medium pressure, not to heavy, should be kinda tough at first, then get smother.

what kinda car and how old? this is invalable info for your questions

20ls01 said:

I really love this car and hope to revive the paint. Keep in mind, the clear coat is probably very diminished, so i don't want to strip it with extremely abrasive material

Click to expand...

Paint looks like it's still has lots of life left in it...

The Meguiar's Step 2 Polish is a Consumer version of #7 Show Car Glaze, it is non-abrasive. The wax is a Consumer version of #26 and it too is non-abrasive.

From the looks of your car's paint in the pictures it's dull and from the description of where the car has been parked it's likely oxidation even though clear coats don't oxidize as readily as single stage paints they will oxidize especially under the conditions you describe if neglected.

What you need is some type of light abrasive polish to gently remove the build-up of dead paint, even a cleaner/wax would and should work.

The fastest and best way to restore the finish on your car's paint would be by machine but it can be done by hand, let me know which direction you want to go until then check out these article from my articles list...


The "Man vs Machine" shows that it took me 1 hour and 45 minutes by Hand and about 30 minutes by machine and this was for just the hood.



Polishing Paint by Hand
How to clay, clean and wax paint by hand with Pinnacle Paintwork Cleansing Lotion and Pinnacle Signature Series II Carnauba Paste Wax
1-Step versus 3-Step Process by Hand
Man versus Machine


This one applies too...

The practical differences between single stage paints and a clear coat paints

20ls01 said:

1.Is this left over polish from 1.5 years ago or worst case scenario...is it picking up the clear coat?

Click to expand...

The polish would tend to wipe off easily and any trace residues would be wiped off after applying and removing the Step 3 wax.

More than likely the paint is oxidized and claying doesn't remove oxidation as effectively as a true paint cleaner. The oxidized paint will actually tend to load up into your clay.

I will tend to remove oxidation before claying on oxidized single stage paints and also recommend that even though it goes against the normal recommendations of most companies and detailers.

The idea being to remove the dead paint so it won't load up into your detailing clay and then clay the paint.

Every time I give this little tidbit of advice 99.9% of the population then asks,

"Won't the paint cleaner remove the above surface bonded contaminants?"

And the answer is "some" but claying is the most effective way to remove above surface bonded contaminants and I've demonstrated time and time again that even after using a paint cleaner on dead oxidized paint, if you then clay the paint and turn the clay over and inspect it you'll find contaminants on the clay that the paint cleaner did not remove and you'll have removed them without loading your clay up with dead paint.

I actually have pictures of all the above from a Kawasaki Green 1071 Mustang, (Extremely Oxidized Single Stage Paint), on an older computer that clearly vindicates the above.

20ls01 said:

2.Is this what the "cleaner wax" is for? to clean up oxidation before claying?

Click to expand...

Cleaner/Waxes are "One-Step Products also called AIO or "All In One" products.

They clean, polish and protect in one step. You will tend to get the best results by using a multiple step process using,

1. Dedicated paint cleaner/compound/polish, whatever... fill in the blank
2. Dedicated finishing polish
3. Dedicated finishing wax

Cleaner/Waxes are typically what you will find at auto parts stores even though they won't say "Cleaner/Wax" on the front of the label, but trust me... because the average person doesn't get that deep into car maintenance, car wax manufactures are smart enough to make their retail wax offerings cleaner/waxes because that's what the average person needs.

Finishing waxes are for paint in EXCELLENT condition and that would be a brand new car that has not sat out on a car lot for months and become dirty and contaminated, a brand new paint job that is past 30 days old and doesn't not have overspray or swirls from the paint shop, or a paint finish that has been professional clayed, cleaned and polished by someone of the caliber that hangs out on Autogeek Online and knows what they are doing.

Here's an article I wrote that goes into detail on the differences between cleaner/waxes and finishing waxes.

From my list of articles, there's a secton on waxes, the article I'm referring to the "How To Choose The Right Wax or Paint Sealant for your Detailing Project" article.



Waxes and Paint Sealants
Frosting on the cake
How To Choose The Right Wax or Paint Sealant for your Detailing Project
The Final Wipe – Tips for creating a streak-free, show car finish




By the way, on the recent Motorhead Garage segment I taped, I discussed the art of polishing paint using a multiple step process ending with applying a finishing wax to the paint on a Corvette, this was the Pinnacle Souveran Carnauba Paste Wax.

Sam Memmolo asked me about one-step products in the segment and I explained the difference and included that cleaner/waxes have their place in the detailing world.