I did my first wax job on my 05 mada Le (Canteen Green) yesterday. It took me 3 hours using the New McGUIRE'S NXT wax. The truck looks great. Wax goes on easy and comes off easy. Also you should have on hand a bottle of a clear coat safe cleaner wax because if will help with stuborn minor scratches,tar removal and any dulled areas on the clear coat.
Waxing My
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1. How tall are you?05MADA said:
2. Did you wax the roof?
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armoody said:
So .. the steps are?
1) Wash
2) Dry - towel / blower .....?
3) Clay bar .. hmm .. even with a step ladder I don't think I have the reach to do a decent job (?) towards the center of the roof .. when you do claybar (roof) do you go .. lengthwise (front to back) or side to side?
4) Wax
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Use the claybar if you are cleaning a car without wax. If you keep up the wax, you will never need one. Clay bars are good but they wear out the paint much more rapidly than just proper maintainence.
92 TripleBlack's cleaning tips
Mostly from other corvette owners)
-Wash car with car wash. Always wet down panel before soaping up. Water is the lube that keeps grit from scratching your paint.
Use real car wash. Dish soap and other soaps remove wax. Use a sheepskin mitt or other sheepskin cleaning instrument. The shag wisks away dirt into the fibers so you don't scratch as you would with a sponge.
-Rinse using a hose on medium without the nozzle. The car will dry itself much more rapidly than with a nozzle. if you do this, the water doesn't spray, so you don't have all the small dropplets all over the car.
-Dry with 100% domestic cotton towels, not the crap they sell in the autoshops. You can also use "The Absorber" which is what I do. Just rinse it on a regular basis so it doesn't keep any remaning grit on it scratching paint. Don't use a blower. It will put dust onto the car which will then scratch when you wax it.
-Wax using a good carnuba wax. This is a very hard wax and will last. Don't use polish. Polish will remove what is there and won't build layers.
If waxing for the first time, do it at least twice. Then wax say every 1-2 months, more if it is hot or there are lots of polutants in the air such as dust, pollen, road salt, etc. Use again the same cotton towels to take off wax. Leftover ones from drying are good. For wax, I use Zaino Bros. if I am going to put an inital layer on or if it is my vette or infiiniti as they are black and need the best wax. The mada gets a spray on when drying wax from Eagle one. Easier to put on, it doesn't last long. But I use it every time I wash so its good enough. You could get tennis elbow waxing a mada the traditional way.
-Windows- Don't use Windex. It has ammonia which will discolor window tint. Use a glass cleaner like glass perfect or Stoners to clean. Wipe side to side on the window on the outside, top to bottom on the inside. If you see a streak, you will know if it is inside or outside.
-Bugs- I power wash first and then use car wash to kill these. If you have wax on , you will be fine. Dryer sheets are supposed to help removing them. Some people put Pam cooking spray on the front also to fight bugs. Don't use those pads. Instant paint scratches.
-Tires-Use a UV tire protectant. Armor-all and other silicon based products will magnifiy the sun and promote dryrot. They also attract dust and are hard to remove.
-Interior- Use approved stuff, not armor-all. See tires for reasons. Most plastic panels will clean with just water. Use some good interior cleaner on plastic that won't clean with water like Meguires. For carpet, I vaccumn but I will also use my Hoover home carpet shampoo machine for spots. For leather, a good leather cleaner works well to preserve. I use Meguires leather wipes for ease of use.
-Wheels Wax them like you do the other paint. This will make the brake dust come off easy. Don't use the same applicators you use on the paint. Wheels are dirty and will get them really dirty quick. Use the old ones on the wheels rinsing frequently. I power wash them and it kills most of the dirt right off the bat.
Don't forget to clean the door sills, inner tire wells, and engine compartment. I power wash all these.
Hope this helps!
92 TripleBlack's cleaning tips
Mostly from other corvette owners)-Wash car with car wash. Always wet down panel before soaping up. Water is the lube that keeps grit from scratching your paint.
Use real car wash. Dish soap and other soaps remove wax. Use a sheepskin mitt or other sheepskin cleaning instrument. The shag wisks away dirt into the fibers so you don't scratch as you would with a sponge.
-Rinse using a hose on medium without the nozzle. The car will dry itself much more rapidly than with a nozzle. if you do this, the water doesn't spray, so you don't have all the small dropplets all over the car.
-Dry with 100% domestic cotton towels, not the crap they sell in the autoshops. You can also use "The Absorber" which is what I do. Just rinse it on a regular basis so it doesn't keep any remaning grit on it scratching paint. Don't use a blower. It will put dust onto the car which will then scratch when you wax it.
-Wax using a good carnuba wax. This is a very hard wax and will last. Don't use polish. Polish will remove what is there and won't build layers.
If waxing for the first time, do it at least twice. Then wax say every 1-2 months, more if it is hot or there are lots of polutants in the air such as dust, pollen, road salt, etc. Use again the same cotton towels to take off wax. Leftover ones from drying are good. For wax, I use Zaino Bros. if I am going to put an inital layer on or if it is my vette or infiiniti as they are black and need the best wax. The mada gets a spray on when drying wax from Eagle one. Easier to put on, it doesn't last long. But I use it every time I wash so its good enough. You could get tennis elbow waxing a mada the traditional way.
-Windows- Don't use Windex. It has ammonia which will discolor window tint. Use a glass cleaner like glass perfect or Stoners to clean. Wipe side to side on the window on the outside, top to bottom on the inside. If you see a streak, you will know if it is inside or outside.
-Bugs- I power wash first and then use car wash to kill these. If you have wax on , you will be fine. Dryer sheets are supposed to help removing them. Some people put Pam cooking spray on the front also to fight bugs. Don't use those pads. Instant paint scratches.
-Tires-Use a UV tire protectant. Armor-all and other silicon based products will magnifiy the sun and promote dryrot. They also attract dust and are hard to remove.
-Interior- Use approved stuff, not armor-all. See tires for reasons. Most plastic panels will clean with just water. Use some good interior cleaner on plastic that won't clean with water like Meguires. For carpet, I vaccumn but I will also use my Hoover home carpet shampoo machine for spots. For leather, a good leather cleaner works well to preserve. I use Meguires leather wipes for ease of use.
-Wheels Wax them like you do the other paint. This will make the brake dust come off easy. Don't use the same applicators you use on the paint. Wheels are dirty and will get them really dirty quick. Use the old ones on the wheels rinsing frequently. I power wash them and it kills most of the dirt right off the bat.
Don't forget to clean the door sills, inner tire wells, and engine compartment. I power wash all these.
Hope this helps!
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Helps alot ..
Most techniques I use already for my Z .. but was just sizing up the "mada" .. LOL!
Most techniques I use already for my Z .. but was just sizing up the "mada" .. LOL!
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I use a curb, the ball hitch, and a sheepskin brush on the end of a pole to wash the roof.
Clay bars are meant to get dirt out that is embedded in the valleys of a paint job. They stick to the dirt and pull it out, often with a thin layer of paint similar to compounding. Good to do to a car that hasn't been washed for a while or has built up deposits but not on a regular basis.
Clay bars are meant to get dirt out that is embedded in the valleys of a paint job. They stick to the dirt and pull it out, often with a thin layer of paint similar to compounding. Good to do to a car that hasn't been washed for a while or has built up deposits but not on a regular basis.
I hadn't used one before, but you can definitely tell the difference running your hand over the paint with and with out the clay bar. I'm not sure how long until the paint would be "polluted" with particles to clay bar again. I doubt you would want or need to do it very often. Maybe once a year. Probably depends where you live and driving and parking conditions. I bought a Mothers kit that included spray lubricant with the bar (so you don't scratch the paint) and a little bit of wax.05MADA said:
The clay bar picks up particles out of the paint so there is less likelyhood of picking them up while waxing and causing micro-scratches
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Clay bar is not needed if you keep a good coat of wax on the car. The wax fills the valleys in the paint instead of the polutants. If you let the wax go, you may need to clay. Once a year regardless isn't a bad idea. That rate won't wear out the paint and its good toget the old wax and junk out every now and then.armoody said:
Better than any was is a coat or two of "Liquid Glass". It's expensive, but protectes and shines better than any wax I've ever used. Put first coat on, then let "bake" in sun for at least 4 hours. Then coat 2. repeat. The more coats, the better the shine and longer protection. Try it and you'll agree.
Getting ready to "glass" the truck this weekend, weather permitting.
Will post pics when done so you can see results for yourself.
Getting ready to "glass" the truck this weekend, weather permitting.
Will post pics when done so you can see results for yourself.
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4,363 Posts
Liquid glass used to the the best out there, say 10-15 years ago. Its still very good. Proabably better than Meguires or Mothers. Zaino is the best, came out over the past few years, but costs more. Vette guys swear by it.
The BMW 7-series guys with dark colors swear by Zaino as well, "Insano for Zaino". In New England, between the pine sap, road tar, bird poop, and other sticky good, the clay bar gets used a little more often. Don't forget to do a little "spot waxing" where you used the clay bar, as a good clay bar can pick up a fair amount of wax. Onward Team Armada!
I am new to the clay bar, as such can only say that it seemed worthwhile as at least an intial remover of impurities. There is nothing like regular maint. When I am flush with $$ I'll stock up on Zaino. I have seen other forums where it is highly rec.
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Here's the link. Don't get me wrong, Liquid Glass is great. But Zaino just goes to a new level.armoody said:
http://www.zainostore.com/
yes I will try the zaino...
and yes the roof was tough... even with a ladder I could hardly get the middle section.
Glass does work well but I will look at this other one... does it protect like glass???
The best is to do it when the truck is brand new, there is now wax or dirt or scratches so it is protected and the paint underneath the polish/was is clean.
Is the Zaino a polish like glass, or a wax???
and yes the roof was tough... even with a ladder I could hardly get the middle section.
Glass does work well but I will look at this other one... does it protect like glass???
The best is to do it when the truck is brand new, there is now wax or dirt or scratches so it is protected and the paint underneath the polish/was is clean.
Is the Zaino a polish like glass, or a wax???
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