Well I did my 6 month Zanio application today. Washed with Z7, striped the wax with a 50/50 mix of alcohol and water, clay bared, one coat of Z5 and one coat of Z2.

The alcohol/water mix worked very well (thanks CLPower). The only suggestion I would make is to wear a rubber glove as the alcohol dries your hands out.

Also, if thier are any doubters out there about clay bars, take a look:




So thats AFTER the wash and the alcohol. Claying makes a big diff kids...

And, final product:

 

Looks awesome!

What d'ya mean, strip the wax? Didn't you say this was your 6-month application? If you applied it before, you don't have to strip it.

 

Nice work joe - now we need some more shots of the full car in the sun!

That clay bar doesn't look too bad, you really notice it when you clay an older car for the first time.

 

nice work joe. i just clayed mine again today also. i ran over some fresh white paint in the road on thursday night and was up till 11 cleaning it all off. had to take rims and tires off to get all the paint in the wheel wells. even after two washes the clay took a ton of white paint that was left but couldnt be seen by the naked eye.

how bout a full sun shot?

 

Thanks!

I put Maguires Gold on at least once a month or every other month. Thus the reason for the strippin.

 

That sucks!

I'll see what I can do

 

I was too tired and lazy to drive around and take pics

 

Looks good! I remember talking about the alcohol-water mix vs the Dawn. Does one seem to work better than the other?

..I need to buy some Zaino. I've been using NXT, and I know the Zaino would be even better..

 

Yea, I think it does. After the wash w/alcohol, rub you finger on the paint, nothin but clear coat.

 

I'm definitely a believer in the clay bar. It always seems scary rubbing it against your car, but the results speak for themselves.

Good stuff! +1

 

Beautiful!!!!!

 

Looks great.
Is it just rubbing alcohol mixed with water?

 

Looks pretty!

 

Yep. A 50/50 mix. Just wipe it on and hose it off.

Thanks everyone for the comps!

 

not being a hater, but the picture u posted is a little misleading, the reflection is a camera trick... take some shots out of the garage in the evening sun.

 

Here's this, after dawn wash, clay bar, klasse AIO & SG... blah blah blah.


How do you mean that his pics are a camera trick?

 

lol well thats a new one. Now im David Copperfield I guess.

While im not doubting you, explain yourself. The pic I took was the actual reflection. If you think I was trying to be "tricky", it wasnt my intention.

 

i show you, it's easy to get mega reflection taking pics in the garage with the camera pointing outside and at an angle.

can you guess the color?

 

white

 

Ok, sheeeesh...I'll take a pic outside.

 

 

What kind of alcohol did you use? Something clear like vodka?

 

Everclear

 

hey guys, what are some good clay bar products/prices? thanks. until i got the tsx, i never had a car worth clay barring.

 

Clay Magic works just fine. Comes with the clay and lube for $10 I think in Walmart.

 

here's a good resource regarding clay use (and gratuitous use of some woman with huge boobs demonstrating the correct way to use it).

http://autopia.org/kb/index.php?page...2&id=31&c=root

 

Nice find...MILF alert

 

thanks for the info guys. i'll pass some points on to you when i spread 'em around some more.

 

beautiful.

 

Does it make a difference how to use the clay on surfaces like the roof, hood, and trunk of the car? For example, when claying, should I do a front to back motion, or center of surface to outer side of surface type motion? Make sense? Anyone know if it matters?

 

Dosent matter.

 

That clay bar you showed, is it re-usable ?

 

You know, thats a good question. Personally, im not going to reuse it since I only use one every six months. There only 10-15 bux so I can just buy another in 6 months.

I think I may have read somewhere that you should throw it out after you use it. Maybe some of the pros around here can confirm.

 

If you drop the clay bar on the ground, you should throw it out because it may have picked up some grit which will scratch your car. If I drop the clay, I use it on glass and chrome.

A trick I use is to break up the clay into smaller pieces, so if I drop a small piece I just go back and get another one.

 

It shouldn't matter, but I've heard that it's best to do the horizontal surfaces (roof, hood, trunk) in the direction the wind flows over the car, and vertical surfaces (sides, doors) in an up and down motion. (This is the recommended way to dry your car, though.) The theory behind this is that if you do introduce scratches or swirls, then they'll tend to be in one direction and you won't notice as many.

 

Ok, but I never said I dropped it. So, if you dont drop it, can you reuse it?

 

From what I have heard, you can reuse it if it isn't very dirty. If you're not claying very often, it might be better just to buy a new bar. I personally don't want to risk using an old clay bar that may have picked up something to scratch the car.

 

that claybar looks like foie gras btw...

 

Someone's been watching too much Iron Chef.

 

If in doubt, throw it out.