To keep your finish looking pristine, it's important to develop a maintenance ritual or routine. This is just an example hitting all the important points but depending on how meticulous you may be you could dive deeper into each category.
Washing - Under normal conditions once per week
Clay - Twice annually
Polish - Clean - Twice annually
Seal - four times annually
Wax - Every couple of months
Whether by hand or with machine you should at a minimum use a paint cleaner after claying. A dual action polisher is preferable for improving overall uniformity and consistency. It also speeds up the process resulting in much higher level of surface finish refinement.
Also, I apply 98% of my sealants and waxes with my
Porter Cable 7424 dual action polisher using a blue or red foam pad.
This link contains articles written by Mike Phillips and has allot of great reading within.
Articles by Mike Phillips
Basic steps in order are:
- Wash
- Clay
- Paint Correction & Polish
- Seal
- Wax
Dual Action Polisher
1. - Working with a dual action polisher
2. - My Porter Cable 7424, backing plate, and pads
BlackFire offers some really great products. For a paint cleaner try
BLACKFIRE Gloss Enhancing Polish.
BlackFire Gloss Enhancing Polish
BlackFire Wet Diamond Sealant
BlackFire Crystal Seal
As a 1-step product give also try
BlackFire Total Polish & Seal
