Think of the clay bar as a really deep cleaning of your car's paint / clearcoat, where as the wax is more of a protectant, to be used *after* the really deep cleaning.

 

hmmm isnt the point of claybaring to remove imperfections in your clearcoat?

so therefore isnt it a bit stupid to claybar your car when it has wax on it?
hence the reason you use dishsoap....to get yourself back to stock finish, then claybar, then reapply wax?


im just thinking outloud here....but thats what I thought the reason for using dishsoap is.

oh and while Im at it....my father has a commodore SS back in australia.
has always used dishsoap. (im not condoning it....im just giving an example)

its currently 10 years old....and looks like it just rolled off the showroom floor.

I will dig up a pic if i can. i just saw it last september on a trip back home.

I dont use it myself....but i thought it might be relavent.

 

an0malous, I see your point about using it to strip wax...I did mention that in my last post.

What I am getting at is that when most people wash their car's, they don't wax it. They start hearing how they can use dish soap and they use it everytime. This will eventually breakdown the clearcoat.

It's best to stay safe and use a soap made espcially for cars...using a clay bar isn't for someone who doesn't know what they are doing.

 

Oh ok, I see your point, Marerick. We both should have been more clear then. But with the write up, I say to process to the waxing after clay bar. Leaving JUST a bare clear coat after a wash would be brutal.

 

yep. i think were all on the same page here.

 

Exactly...if you would of stressed that using dish soap other than for stripping wax, I would of had no problem with it.

Agreed

 

This is so wrong. You can use dawn because you need to remove any prior wax and crap. Then after the wash use the claybar and wash with another higher end cleaner like zaino which i am going to do this weekend. Finnally after the second wash u wax. And if u dont believe me about the dawn stuff its on the Zaino website. I actually bought this kit sunday and it looks good but i still have yet to use it maybe this weekend when i fully detail my car.

EDIT: Wow disregard what i said should have read the 2nd page of posts lol.

 

I hate when that happens.

 

The ONLY reason you would use some kind of dish soap would be to remove old wax, grime, grease ect, to get a clean work surface. That would be for doing major work, like clay-baring, buffing and so on. Other than that you need a "soft" soap.

 

Congrats buddy, you are member #256 to say that.

 

Dish Soap is very bad for the clear coat surface! And windex... are you serious! C'mon man! Yes the outcome of your car looked great, but I wouldn't recommend that! The instant detailer spray in that kit is safe for the finish and it is a perfect lubricant for the clay bar!

 

#257

 

Good... that means there are 256 other really smart people on here!

 

Judging by your earlier post, you didnt know.

 

LOL! Its amazing what reading a whole thread can do!

 

The clay bar is meant to remove industrial fallout, tar, and any prior wax/polishes. Hence why after it is clayed, it is swirled.

 

u really need to wash ur car again after u clay, before you polish

 

I didn't but now thhat I've herard it from everyone, I get it. Bitch

 

you guys need to watch out, if you clay bar your car befor you watch it, you will get dirt into the bar, and then scratch the paint, badly, i detail cars currently for a living( its a boring job)
and after you use a clay bar you should inspect it and rub your fingers over the surface, if you ahve a black car, be reallllly carful, you probably shouldnt use the same bar twice.

 

*Update* For those of you that are hell bent against using dish/laundry soap prior to clay baring your car, i have found a product that will do just as well. Grab a bottle of the refill soap for the Mr. Clean car wash system. Its about $5 and is expensive for how little you get. But it is good stuff. It will strip the car of old wax and does a pretty good job on bugs/tar/grime ect... You do not want to use this soap unless you plan on re-sealing your car again. This will leave your clear coat and paint totally unprotected.

 

Zaino recommends using Dawn and only Dawn dish soap for the soul purpose of getting off wax. Another thing that someone already mentioned is that after you clay bar the car you are supose to wash it again. With Zaino's clay bar they say to use their car wash as the lubricant for the clay bar.

 

I would use regular car wash for the paint, then the clay, then wash, seal, wax, polish, and wipe down daily with one of those huge brush made for that. But when it comes to the rims, I would use Dawn, and the polish, as well as for the tires.

The next time I do the complete thing on my Balt I'll record it and post the video.

 

im gonna clay bar my car for the first time next week for a car show but im confused... i thought u were supposed to polish the car first, then wax it to protect the finish....

 

Another reason Dawn is bad for your car is it is really hard on vinyl and rubber seals. It's okay to use it once or twice a year before claying the car, but you should use a dedicated car wash any other time as it's gentle on your paint and won't strip wax.

And claying isn't designed to remove defects from your clearcoat, per se. Think of it as an eraser. It plucks off contaminants from the surface, but does nothing for scratches. You need an abrasive polish to remove scratches. Use that after you clay. Then, you PROTECT and enhance the shine of your finish with a wax or sealant, or both.

Any time you clay your car, you are removing most, if not all, of your protective wax coating.

Wash, clay, polish, wax.

 

Clay bars work awesome. You will have to wax after you do it, but dirt says off soo much easier. I did my a few days ago and it's been raning on and off....the water falls right off and leaves no spots behind. The pictures posted don't do justice, you will be amazed how much nicer it looks once your done. You will kick yourself for driving around with all that dirt......i think i might have even got an extra 5 HP too.................(jk)

did you say you used Dawn dishsoap???? why?