first time claying, first time waxing

**LazyGhost** · 01-29-2013, 06:47 PM

Got the Megs clay kit and went to work on my wifes camaro sunday afternoon. It sure looks a lot easier in the videos. Haa! I dropped my first 1/2 bar in the dirt on my first door panel. I took great care with the 2nd half and didnt drop it. I think i did ok for my first time. The camaro has the racing stripes and i avoided them. I did not remove all of the contaminants. I was afraid of over working areas. I did remove a fair share though. What was left was mostly road tar/grime i reckon. I need to find a good product for that. The turtle wax bug tar remover didnt quite cut it. I used a whole bottle of detail spray and then some.

Waxing. Man, that was more work than i thought. More time consuming mostly. Especially the removsl. I used Megs Ultimate wax. It went on good. Never did dry enough to pass the swipe test. But i was running out of daylight and had to get started. Trying to see wax residue on a black vehical at dusk with no light aint easy! I got it though, mostly.
Next time, ill be applying with an orbital wax spreader.

I did ok. Looks pretty good. Next times the charm! ;-)

**ihaveacamaro** · 01-29-2013, 06:55 PM

Nice! What year Camaro?

Also, since it sounds like you're starting detailing, I hope you don't mind me saying a few things to save you money and time in the long run

I wish had AG or someone to tell me this stuff when I started

Instead of spending money on clay bars over and over again, join the clay alternative movement! I love my Speedy Surface Prep Towel!

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_kX6RwRgjA]Speedy Surface Prep Towel Review : Clay Alternative - YouTube[/video]

Instead of Turtle Wax Bug and Tar Remover, if you get an APC (all-purpose cleaner), you can do the same job for much cheaper and get much more product too!

For detail spray, try Optimum No Rinse or my personal favorite, Ultima Waterless Wash Plus CONCENTRATE. Just one bottle of UWW+ Concentrate can make 5.5 gallons of detail spray... for ~20 dollars!

When you run out of Megs Liquid Wax (nothing wrong with it, it's a good product), see if you can budget Blackfire Crystal Seal into an order. That stuff is the easiest LSP (last step product) I have ever used. You literally spray on, spread, and walk away. No waiting for it to dry or swipe test! And it lasts a long time too!

**Bunky** · 01-29-2013, 07:02 PM

Originally Posted by LazyGhost

Waxing. Man, that was more work than i thought. More time consuming mostly. Especially the removsl.

Removal issues usually go back to applying too much and letting it sit too long or both. You need less than you think. If you rely on sight to decide amount, it will fool you into applying too much. It can take some practice to get proficient to put down a very thin layer.

**spiralout462** · 01-29-2013, 08:01 PM

Originally Posted by Bunky

Removal issues usually go back to applying too much and letting it sit too long or both. You need less than you think. If you rely on sight to decide amount, it will fool you into applying too much. It can take some practice to get proficient to put down a very thin layer.

Every time I've struggled removing wax was due to the fact that I put it on too thick. It seems like I'm getting a little better over the years but it does take some practice. The orbital might be a good idea. You might find that paste waxes are easier to put on thin? Enjoy the shine!

**LazyGhost** · 01-29-2013, 08:13 PM

Thanx for the tips. Thin is in! Its tough to put it on thin when ya hear and feel the foam applicator dry rubbing. Then once i added a little juice and got a nice consistency that looked and felt right, i had to keep adding dabs of product regularly to keep up the consistency. Thin is in! Just harder than it sounds lol. Ill ro better when i do my truck. ;-)

Been lookin at the carpro eraser. Ill get that or the speedy prep towel. I hsvent eatched the video on the towel yet so once i do i may be sold on it. Ill watch it when my youngen gets off the xbox, goes to bed, and frees up my bandwidth.
Thanx!

**spiralout462** · 01-29-2013, 08:17 PM

You're a smart man! Practice on the Wifeys car hahaha. I have a hard time putting down liquid thin by hand sometimes.

**LazyGhost** · 01-29-2013, 08:30 PM

Originally Posted by ihaveacamaro

Nice! What year Camaro?

Shes got a 2011 RS, black with what i call orange stripes. She had an f150 previously but had been saying for a few years she was gonna get a camaro as her next vehicle. Then she conveniently wrecker her truck last year and had to get another ride so she got what she had been wanting. She shopped around and had that onr shipped in thu carmax. She was using my truck to commute while she was waitin on the car to arrive and the day it arrived, she wrecked my truck on the way to get her car! I drove the truck for a few months and then had to buy another truck for myself. Ahh well.

Anyways, she loves the car even with it being a v6. That things got a ton of power. Compared to my truck, it rides like a wheel wagon though. Haa!

Heres some pics of when she first got it.

**ihaveacamaro** · 01-29-2013, 08:39 PM

Originally Posted by LazyGhost

Shes got a 2011 RS, black with what i call orange stripes. She had an f150 previously but had been saying for a few years she was gonna get a camaro as her next vehicle. Then she conveniently wrecker her truck last year and had to get another ride so she got what she had been wanting. She shopped around and had that onr shipped in thu carmax. She was using my truck to commute while she was waitin on the car to arrive and the day it arrived, she wrecked my truck on the way to get her car! I drove the truck for a few months and then had to buy another truck for myself. Ahh well.

Anyways, she loves the car even with it being a v6. That things got a ton of power. Compared to my truck, it rides like a wheel wagon though. Haa!

Heres some pics of when she first got it.

Looks great! The stripes seem to me to be Inferno Orange Metallic... I know what you mean, they look red without sun, and orange in the sun.

Love the interior! If GM offered a white interior, I would've been so happy! Oh well what can you do...

And oh my god dude, without trying to be an a**hole, I think you may want to consider teaching your wife how to drive lol!

**Setec Astronomy** · 01-29-2013, 08:40 PM

Originally Posted by LazyGhost

I did not remove all of the contaminants. I was afraid of over working areas. I did remove a fair share though. What was left was mostly road tar/grime i reckon. I need to find a good product for that. The turtle wax bug tar remover didnt quite cut it.

You don't really have to worry about overworking with the clay, you have to worry about grinding contaminants that are stuck in the clay into the finish, so make sure you knead the clay when it gets dirty (I like to wash off the clay surface in a bucket before kneading), but it helps to "decontaminate" the surface first. The TW bug and tar really hasn't been any good since the VOC crackdown started. As noted you can use some APC, etc.

Also, you likely used way too much wax, remember, after it's buffed off it will be molecules thick, so putting any more on that to start with is just a waste. You just want to make sure you're evenly covered.

**LazyGhost** · 01-29-2013, 08:41 PM

And then! A month after having the car she came upon some deer crossing the road and stopped. Then a doe ran out and ran into the back side of the car. lol. She was sick! She had that all fixed withen a week. Replaced the panel and repaint on the drivers door. All good now. I am scared to ride with her though.