Hello from "upstate" NY

[Bigpat]

Hey everyone, I dont know how or why but I suddenly realized how little I actually take care of my car... Im a long way off from making her perfect and im sure i never will, but in about a year or so ill be looking for a new ride so im wanting to get in the habbit of taking care of what I have... And who knows if I can get herlooking close to new then ill probably keep it, 98 mercedes clk shes got some small rust but im working on getting that fixed...maybe if u cant tell im totally up in the air here... But this saturday ill be showing her some love, heres what im planning let me know what you think... Obviously for a beginner.
wash with Dawn (ive been reading thats a good way to get to a working base)
I bought mothers clay system so ill use that
Wash again with mothers car wash
Dry (i bought some microfiber towels at WMart....dont know if they are what I want or not but figured was better than nothing)
I have megs Ultimate polish
Mothers cleaner wax
Megs caranuba plus wax....
Am I missing anything or do I have too much of the wrong stuff?? Any help really appreciated.

 

[mark58]

All depends what you are trying to do? Do you have swirls in you paint finish? Scratches? Are you doing it by hand or machine?

 

[Bigpat]

My car is totally dull, some scratches on roof im working by hand right now but hoping to pick up a polisher soon...

 

[V3AutoDetailing]

Where about in ny you from. welcome

 

[Bigpat]

From the Poughkeepsie area, about 1/2 way between albany and the city

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Hi Pat,

Welcome to Autogeek Online! :welcome:

• wash with Dawn (ive been reading thats a good way to get to a working base)
• I bought mothers clay system so ill use that
• Wash again with mothers car wash
• Dry (i bought some microfiber towels at WMart....dont know if they are what I want or not but figured was better than nothing)

With what you have listed above, if you wipe the clay residue off the paint after claying a section, you shouldn't have to wash the car again. I have an article on this because it's a common question.

Below is some of my articles on claying, look for the one with the arrow pointing to it...

Using Detailing Clay

The Baggie Test - How to inspect for above surface bonded contaminants

The 3 primary benefits of using detailing clay to clay paint

Tips and Tricks for using detailing clay

Do I need to wash my car after I use detailing clay to clay the paint? <---- this one

How often do I need to clay my car?

New - Video: How detailing clay works and how to use detailing clay to remove above surface bonded contaminants

• I have megs Ultimate polish
• Mothers cleaner wax
• Megs caranuba plus wax....

Am I missing anything or do I have too much of the wrong stuff?? Any help really appreciated.

With the above three products you can do this,

Use the Ultimate Polish and the Megs Carnauba Wax and do a one step, the polish will clean the paint the wax will protect it.

Use the Mothers Cleaner/Wax, it will clean and polish in one step, basically in one step you'll do what the two Meguiar's product will do.

Hope this helps...

--> Lots of detailing articles here <--


:xyxthumbs:

 

[james_death]

Welcome aboard...:xyxthumbs:

 

[BobbyG]

Hey everyone, I dont know how or why but I suddenly realized how little I actually take care of my car...

:welcome: To Autogeek Online!

It's sort of funny, just when you "think" you're taking care of your cars finish you stumble across a site like this and feel pretty darn sad.....

Don't feel bad, you're not alone!!

Mike's posted some great information and links to the threads he's written. There's allot of knowledge here so do some reading and don't ever be afraid to ask a question.

The only stupid question is the one that's not asked....rops:

 

[Meghan]

Welcome to the forum, the guys here will help you get rolling on that detailing!