Hi, I'm new to LOC but have had my LS400 (Black) for 20 months. I usually clean it with car wax and polish it Turtle Wax and thought it looked pretty good as a result.I've been looking at the pics of other members cars and realise that my car looks shabby compared to them so, I've been reading a bit about clay bars but don't know how to use the stuff or wether it would worth doing it on my car. My bonnet has swirls and scratches on it, would clay make any difference? A tutorial from one of you experts would be really appreciated. Paul

Have a look at the guides in cleanyourcar.co.uk a great site with a good forum plus lots of info from very experienced people. Be warned the array of products available will blow your mind but basically for a car with paint work in good condition it is :-
Wash & Rinse
Clay
Wash & Rinse
Seal
Wax

Then admire the many hours work you have spent making your car look ace.

Merv

clay bar remove all bonded particles that feel rough on your paintwork.for the swirl marks you need polish and a dual action polisher,visit autopia web site in the know how section,there you will find more information than you can wave a stick at.

clay makes a huge difference and makes the paint feel very sooth - it will not remove swirls etc.

i prefer the poorboys clay as its easier to use than the megs clay and is less work as the poorboys is bit move aggressive - it doesnt damage the paint/clearcoat in any way.

Pros to clay - pretty much everything to get your car looking just so
Cons - there aren't any - except it get a bit tedious claying a whole car

Thanks for that guys, looks like I'm going to be busy....

Rob where do you get the aforementioned poorboy clay and at what cost ?


anything good to deep clean glass ? My back windscreen seems like its a bit rough for glass like paint overspray or something ??
No idea how it got there....

i got it from a seller on ebay called detailed obsession. i found his service quicker and better than some of the sellers on detailingworld.co.uk

do you have a shop link ? Keep getting perfum shops and 1 other seller with 0 feedback and 0 items for sale?

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Detailed-Obsession

try that mate sorrry but not sure how to make it so you just click on it lol

oh it worked lol

no clay kits listed though....unless i'm being blind

Clay kits
lots of clay kits at link attached. I have dealt with these people and received a very good service.
Lhttp://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/car-care-products-protect.htm

I found these on ebay:

Specialist-Vehicle-Detailing

They have Poorboys clay bars

Stav

Edit: and have just worked out cheaper for Poorboys Clay, and wash and wipe Lube

No your right no clay bars but thats the guy Rob buys from for Wozza

quick question guys:

just gave the car a quick wash and used aquawax on it (auto glym). the paint feels a little rough and not as glass like as it used to.

i take it a clay bar session would sort that out??

do i need to do anything to remove the aquawax coating or just get busy with the megs clay kit i have?? and then finish off with a sealant glaze??

cheers

rob

clay bar will remove wax but i would still use a paint cleaner before sealing.

so clay car, then apply paint cleaner?? then wash, then use paintwork sealant and glaze??

no,clay car, then paint cleaner,no wash,then glaze and finally sealant.if you put sealant on before glaze,the glaze will strip the sealant because it is a polish.

i have:
megs gold class shampoo and conditioner
megs clay bar kit
Carplan nanomeric paintwork seal and protect

what else would i need to do it the best way? and what order do i need to use them in (assuming i've just washed and chamois'd the car)

i presume the carplan paintwork seal and protect is a sealant??

do you need yo remove any swirl marks.

there are some swirls, but its a white car so they're not that visible.

what would u advise either way mate??

since you're not worried about the swirls and assuming that you don't have a random orbital polisher then i would wash in the normal way,rinse,clay,rinseagain,now use paint cleaner,then glaze if you have it and carplan paint sealant.i have not used carplan myself,but i did google it and it does look like a sealant.

what other easy to use and cheapish sealants would u reccomend??

when u say wash and rinse.....i presume i have to chamois dry before claying etc??

don't need to dry befoe clay,just dry before paint clean.i use carlack, see my posts on respray on my is 250.

ok had a read of that mate.

so after claying and rinsing what paint cleaner do u reccomend to use??? and what sealant??

i'm new to detailed detailing if that makes sense. i wash the car once a week to once a fortnight and its always in great condition, but want to take it on a step to be honest and get the best results.

much appreciate ur help mate.

rob

carlack sc is a paint cleaner and first stage sealant, followed by carlack lls as detailed in the respray thread.

hey Rob!

apparently according to the guys over on detailing world chamois is a big no no, as it can leave marks in the paint/laquer - i have a big waffle weave towel and thats very good but you really need 2 to dry the car.

i have some chemical guys sealant and find it easy to use but the sprayer it came with is really crap.

if you are claying then wash the car you shouldnt need a paint cleaner as thats the purpose of the clay.

I am getting a polisher next week and my plan is to wash, clay,polish wash,glaze,sealant then wax with collinite 476

hi rob mate,

when i say chamois, i use 2 microfibre cloths. one to mop up excess water and the other to dry the car.

can you point me in the right direction for some good quality sealant then mate (also, might sound dumb, whats the purpose of the glaze and the sealant??) will it take long to do all this?? can it be done in a day?? I know claying will take an hour or so and washing on top, but never glazed or sealed in this way so its all new to me...

rob

the clay will remove bonded on particles,but it will not remove the ground in dirt on your white paint.i also have a white vehicle.you will be amazed how much dirt will come off with the paint cleaner.

you can go direct to his store and not thru ebay if u want

http://www.detailedobsession.com

you can use the clay to clean the glass also - instead of using quick detailer spray all the time mix up a weak solution of shampoo and water.

or use a detailing spritz as a lubricant...

Mate De ja vu , I was talking to Wozza about this the other day , I've just done my car with a claybar system . I used the Meguires clay kit (£23.99 Hal*****) I also purchased 3 other items , the paint cleaner , the paint polish and the carnauba wax (all about £8.50 also Hal*****) . The claying part was hard work , I soaked the claybars for about 5 mins in warm water before use and used the detailer supplied as a lube after this was done the paint was squeeky clean (A la clean plate done with Fairy) , I then used the paint cleaner a panel at a time (as I did the claybar) then it was on to the paint polish which removed some swirls that seemed to be there (especially on the rear posts behind the rear quarterlights) after this was done it was time to move onto the wax , its yellow and this gave me confidence as carnauba wax is yellow , I used soft terry cloth to apply the cleaner , polish and wax and removed the residues with microfibres (Asda £3.50 for 6) . The verdict = WOW !! She looks lovely and I must admit the back trousers went tight , it took forever to do , nearly the whole day , the wax removed the remaining swirls and the paint looks mint ( although I thought the paint was good in the beginning ) this operation seemed to give my car a deep lustre , it looked like smooth black wet paint , Awesome , this is a photo the day after and it rained through the night.
Hope this helps anyone thinking of doing this , its not going to be quick , take your time , move the claybar forward and back , don't do circles , make sure its warmed in water for 5 mins then mould it into a ball and flatten with the palm of your hand before you use it , Oh and do not drop it on the floor , if you do , do not , I repeat , do not use that claybar . use plenty of detailer as lube . you do get some wax in the claybar kit , I used this wax for the bumpers and mirror backs . One more thing before the pics , make sure you wash the car thoroughly before you start and remove any dirt , grit or anything that may lodge in the claybar and scratch your paint , that would result in disaster .
Its since snowed on my car last night and rained on her the night after the wax work was done and it still looks this good with no human hand touching her since .
Regards
Paul.

OOPS sorry , I did the last pic twice

Looks awesome Paul

Look great mate,

I've pretty much got all the stuff together now to detail my car (Clay, detailer, polish, etc) just quite frankly cant be bothered to get off my **** and do it lol

Stav

Cheers Wozza , it really is a whole day jobbie lads , trouble is every Bas**** up my street wants me to do their cars now ,
Ha they can swivel , Stav its really worth it mate it'll bring your blue Lex back to pre Nurburgring looks , watched all the action on Wozza's laptop , is yours superchaged ? Wozza's seemed to get away from yours a bit ??? still you've all got more minerals than me , I stick to racing my IS 430 Foose project car round on the 360 , its cheaper when I stack it . Just a last comment about the claying guys , I'm sure you all know this but I thought i'd add this ... dont do any of the work in bright sunlight , the polishes and waxes don't like it .
Cheers for now chaps .
Regards
Paul.
Shades are coz my Lex is so shiny .
Ha Ha.

Isn't it just the most annoying thing when people come up to you and say 'you can do mine if you like'. The best form of defence is to go into the garage, bring a big bucket with a 'corrosive' sticker on the side, a wire brush and a scourer and say 'by all means, bring it straight round'

Classic

looks good mate, couple of questions if i may....

what paint cleaner, polish and wax did you use??

was the polish a light abrasive type, a filler type or an abrasive/filler type??

if it was just a filler type, the swirls will be back unfortunately (as the fillers will be removed after prolonged washing).

did you do it all by hand??

did you use a sealant before you waxed it? or was the polish an all in one type??

It was all Meguiars stuff , firstly Meguiars gold class car wash ( I always put too much in and I get foam everywhere ) then i dried her with microfibre cloths (4) The Deep Crystal Meguiars claybar kit ( comes with detailer for claybar lube and a bottle of wax , not a big bottle tho) Then Deep Crystal system step one Meguiars paint cleaner , then Meguiars step 2 Deep Crystal system polish and lastly Meguiars Deep Crystal system step 3 Carnauba Wax . All this cost me about £60 quid but I also bought another bottle of the same detailer so I can wash her and just use the detailer for maintenance .
If you need any more advice give me a P.M. and I'll try to help as much as I can . I workrd in the motor trade for 15yrs and I,ve seen waxes come and go , seen people buy Diamondbrite when buying new cars at the cost of an extra £200.00 quid and to be fair I have never had any faults with Meguiars gear , obviously Zymol is the nuts but check the cost !!! I was fortunate enough to be given a bit of zymol carnauba wax about 18 months ago and used on my then Renault clio dci 100 dynamique which was also black , It looked like it was wet all the time but then again it was 54 reg and had 12k miles on it , still the wax was excellent but I now have claybarred my pride and joy with Meguiars and I think its easy and anyone could do it , its all about prepping properly.
Regards
Paul.

sounds like you've been reading up ,theres lots to read isn't there.

The car needs a respray really now on the front bumper after i cleaned it the other day and noticed stone chips from the ring trip.

As for woz getting away from me, i was taking it carefully round the ring as the Lex is my absolute pride and Joy and there way no way i was gonna stack it. Couldnt get away on the Autobahn's though, well up to 141mph then the manuals Gearbox ratio ran out.

Stav

Thats well understandable mate , as I say you lot have more minerals than me , I'd have watched or hitched a ride round . Another mystery about the difference between man's and auto's then , I thought the manual box would of crept away but maybe thats testament to how good the Lexus auto box is ? Do like your colour , I really could of gone for the blue , its a lovely colour and the first IS I saw in the flesh was Blue . About a supercharger , now I'd love one but to be honest the wxtra insurance an all I'm wondering if its worth the extra 10 mph as I've had 130 mph out of mine and that was before the Janspeed went on , I've been in Wozza's and its acceleration is superb and it handles a dream ( thanks to those TTE arms) but then I remember " My missus is insured to drive this " , I wake up at night sweating because i have nightmares of her out alone in it . Going back to the Ring as I said to Wozza , I'd love to go round it on a not owned Yamaha R1 , my Mr Hyde comes out when I'm on a bike . .
Respect to all who did the ring in their own motors though , its a fair trip to do a couple of laps and then weather permitting , yeah I saw the snow and ice !! Crazy lot
Regards
Paul.

The Supercharger doesnt change the Top speed mate, that can only be changed by changing the actual physical gears in the Gear box, thats why Woz has a higher top speed cause the final gear is different.

Its the speed you get there thats inproved with the charger, and i'm almost certain the manual has the edge there, or at least mine

I love the colour of my motor, was eyeing up blue and granite sky, but glad i went for the blue one.

Stav

PS

Did i gather from the other thread, your an Ar5ena1 fan, may i just laugh at you winning sweet FA this season

Stav

in a word...YES!!! there's stacks to get through but on a detailing forum now so mopping up the info by the gallon load!!

when you have it all Rob I'll know who to ask

i'm sure you will fella!!

seriously though.....there is SOOOOOOOOOOO much to learn!!

its actually really really interesting, but takes time to understand and appreciate.

you will be buying a da polisher once the bug gets you.

Ive always used the Megs clay bar and the megs 3 step, however last week used the sonus clay bar i ordered with my UDM as per this thread and have to say the paint looked and felt much cleaner than it ever did with the megs one. Also used the SFX 1, 2 & 3 rather than the megs 3 step, however cannot compare the two as i used the sfx with the polisher!