Cleaning questions and rain sticking to car

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jimmievan14

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Hello I have a white 2010 Mercedez E350 4MATIC . I was wondering how I could make my car whiter. I've cleaned it a bunch of times. I also clay bared the whole car. I was wondering if that shade of white just wasn't as "white" as other cars. My car is very glossy but when its parked next to another white car, there is a big difference. Is it just the white is too faded? Also, ever since I clay bared my car I noticed that the rain sticks to my car and doesn't just fall off. After I clay bared it, I washed it down and used Meguiar's Ultimate Wash and Wax Anywhere. Is the wax not strong enough? Thanks
 
Wash and wax soap is designed not to strip wax. Very little wax is added. Do you have a iron remover? Post some photos of your Mercedes

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No I didnt use any iron remover. I'm pretty sure clay bar removes wax doesnt it
 
If I am correct, some waxes may be removed with clay bars. I prefer clay pads from Nanoskin.

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I would be happy to give you my experience over the phone if you like

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So you clayed the car, and all you applied was wash and wax anywhere correct? if so, yeah that snot good enough protection, thats basically a beefed up detail spray. You'd ideally clay, polish to reduce marring caused, and protect with an actual wax.

Claying a car removes embedded dirt, sap, pollen, etc, it doesn't add protection, thus rain sticking to your car. Theres currently nothing protecting the paint on your ride. Wash an wax anywhere isn't a protectant. i would suggest "pause" all your detail activities. Read up, study, then tackle your car. You don't want to continue ruining your Benz.



good luck!
 
Just searched "clay bar stripping wax" and clay does strip wax

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Yes, that wax is not substantial enough after a claying. It's more meant as a quick detailer for spot cleaning. As far as making your car whiter... a polish may help. My gf / exgf in process bought a white car that previously had decals applied to it. The white below the decals was much whiter than the exposed paint. I just used a light polish applied by hand and it cleaned right up and matched again. She was ecstatic as she had just assumed it was not fixable without a repaint. I'm sure others on here can give you more detailed advice on polishing. Then top it off with a good wax or sealant.

jimmievan14 said:
Hello I have a white 2010 Mercedez E350 4MATIC . I was wondering how I could make my car whiter. I've cleaned it a bunch of times. I also clay bared the whole car. I was wondering if that shade of white just wasn't as "white" as other cars. My car is very glossy but when its parked next to another white car, there is a big difference. Is it just the white is too faded? Also, ever since I clay bared my car I noticed that the rain sticks to my car and doesn't just fall off. After I clay bared it, I washed it down and used Meguiar's Ultimate Wash and Wax Anywhere. Is the wax not strong enough? Thanks
Click to expand...
 
jimmievan14 said:
Hello I have a white 2010 Mercedez E350 4MATIC . I was wondering how I could make my car whiter. I've cleaned it a bunch of times. I also clay bared the whole car. I was wondering if that shade of white just wasn't as "white" as other cars. My car is very glossy but when its parked next to another white car, there is a big difference. Is it just the white is too faded? Also, ever since I clay bared my car I noticed that the rain sticks to my car and doesn't just fall off. After I clay bared it, I washed it down and used Meguiar's Ultimate Wash and Wax Anywhere. Is the wax not strong enough? Thanks
Click to expand...

Check this link out:

https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/product-reviews/97678-polish-angel-esclate-viking-coat.html



 
Great advice here so far, but I think a step is missing.

Keeping it clean and occasionally claying the car is a great start, but at some point you'll need to polish the car. Polishing, or evening applying an AIO via a good DA polisher will knock down swirls and "deep clean" the paint. Both will make the car a more brilliant white and set you up to make it look really good with whatever LSP you use.

Take a look at this thread and pay attention to the yellow car Mike shows around post #3. https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-mike-phillips-your-detailing-questions/72159-road-film-if-you-drive-your-car-rain-your-car-has-road-film.html

From my own experience I detailed my mother-in-law's pearl white Genesis G90 a few weeks ago. Even though it was only 2~3 months old, after I clayed and then applied an AIO via DA it was noticeably whiter and looked much better than when it rolled off the lot.
 
Desertnate said:
Great advice here so far, but I think a step is missing.

Keeping it clean and occasionally claying the car is a great start, but at some point you'll need to polish the car. Polishing, or evening applying an AIO via a good DA polisher will knock down swirls and "deep clean" the paint. Both will make the car a more brilliant white and set you up to make it look really good with whatever LSP you use.

Take a look at this thread and pay attention to the yellow car Mike shows around post #3. https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-mike-phillips-your-detailing-questions/72159-road-film-if-you-drive-your-car-rain-your-car-has-road-film.html

From my own experience I detailed my mother-in-law's pearl white Genesis G90 a few weeks ago. Even though it was only 2~3 months old, after I clayed and then applied an AIO via DA it was noticeably whiter and looked much better than when it rolled off the lot.
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What is AIO, DA, and LSP. I'm new to these things. And around what price am I looking at. Link to products would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
 
My apologies....

AIO: All In One, also known as a cleaner wax. This a wax/sealant that also contains a mild abrasive. They allow you to clean/lightly polish the car all in one step. Great products, but I found their one downfall to be durability. The protection doesn't last as long as a dedicated wax/sealant.

DA: Dual Action polisher. Auto Geek sells several good ones from Porter Cable, Griots Garage etc. This tool is vital to stepping up your detailing game. I don't think it's possible to get the same results by hand polishing. Not only that but it greatly speeds up even simple tasks like spreading wax/sealants.

LSP: Last Stage Protection. This is the wax, sealant, or coating you apply after you've prepped and corrected the paint.

Prices are all over the map. There are a host of products here at Autogeek for almost any budget that will serve you well. My advice is to start plowing through Mike Phillips articles like the one I linked in my post and the cross reference he includes. Take a look at his instructions on machine polishing and using a dual action polisher. From there read...read...read. There is TONS of information here regarding just about every product imaginable and advise for keeping your car looking good.
 
Thanks alot. So many people have different ways of cleaning their car. So it seems that I have things in my white paint that isn't making it as white as it should be. What are steps you guys recommend me doing. My most recent one, I rinsed it, clar bar, deep wash, wax.
 
I approach it with two different types of maintenance. Routine and periodic.

Routine = rinse, wash, dry. I do this all by hand, it's the traditional bucket wash. Mike also has great articles on both an aggressive wash and gentle wash, bug removal, tire/wheel cleaning etc.

Periodic = This is the full detail. I do it once every 6 months or year depending on what LSP I'm using. I go this way: wash -> clay -> polish -> LSP
 
Thanks alot once again. Claying your car takes off the wax correct?
 
It might if the wax is not very durable or most of it has already worn off. The only way to be certain it's totally gone is to remove it mechanically with polish or AIO. That goes back to the link I referenced. The way to be certain years of wax and road grime are totally out of the paint is to hit it with a polish, paint cleaner, or AIO/cleaner wax. There are some great threads here on this topic. One was even discussed today.
 
White is a hard for go really make pop. Like Mike said, there's not a lot of wow in the before and after. Last weekend we did a 3 step on my friends daughters 2014 Ford Fusion. 100% Swirled and Scratched. We got 85-90% corrected. Used sealant under Concours. De-iron was key on this one. Lol. Allowed for more light to reflect the white. View attachment 58146View attachment 58147View attachment 58148View attachment 58149View attachment 58150

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Desertnate is spot on in this thread. Check out that thread he links above about road film.

Get a machine polisher, a DA. You will be blown away by the difference a machine makes.

I was on the fence about getting a polisher when I first found these forums about six months ago. I splurged and bought a Porter Cable with 5 inch backing plate and 5 !/2 inch pads. I watched every video Mike has available on using the machine as well as videos others have made. I watched videos for a month before I even turned the thing on.

I have a 2010 vehicle in super white. From watching Mike's videos, I had it ingrained in my head do a test spot. That first test spot revealed a bright white square on the hood of my grey car. I never thought my car looked grey before, but with that test spot I saw the light.

I had always washed and waxed my car diligently, washing weekly, claying and waxing every three months, my car looked good before. But the machine made a huge difference in the gloss and shine of the paint.
 
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