Hello,
I was helping my friend wax his preowned Versa that he bought from Carmax and we notice that the paint has a grainy feel. It is in great shape but the paint feels rough. I noticed that the car was originally from Ohio and I wonder if it has to do with road salt. I have tried Turtle Wax Liquid Clay Bar and Meguiar's Cleaner Wax with my rinky dink buffer and the grainy feel is still there. I am holding on buying Meguiar's Clay Bar because I don't want to waste anymore money on products that might not work. Please help with this issue.
Thanks,
Waxing and Polishing Question
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xtwoonamatchx
- Posts: 503
- Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2007 10:11 am
- Car: 2007 Nissan Versa S
Re: Waxing and Polishing Question
Go to your local dept store and pick up a clay bar kit... it takes EVERYTHING out of the paint (including wax). But it will make it completely smooth. I try to do it twice a year; after winter and in the fall. It takes a lot of time to invest, but definately worth it!
http://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-G1016-Sm ... B00063X7KG
Hope this helps!
http://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-G1016-Sm ... B00063X7KG
Hope this helps!
Re: Waxing and Polishing Question
Well, I blew 15 bucks on these two items plus microfiber cloth and applicators, what is another 20 to the pot? Thank you for your help.
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gtrisfun
- Posts: 65
- Joined: Sat Nov 24, 2007 10:29 am
- Car: 2008 Nissan Versa SL Hatch, CVT, Conv Pkg, Sport Pkg.
Re: Waxing and Polishing Question
nah, really xtwoonamatchx is right.
you'd need to use a <real> clay bar (i.e. Mother's or Meguiars are decently priced), not a "clay bar" wax. the roughness as he mentioned is impurities and super fine crap stuck into the pores of the paint itself. using a clay bar with either the included spray wax (or some people even prefer filtered water) as a lubricant will shear off and extract said crap from the paint. one can then look and see dirt that wasn't visible to the naked eye as it collects on the clay bar. after doing a clay bar treatment, the paint is "bare" and clean and should feel smooth and glassy. then you may use your choice of wax and/or polish to protect the paint.
if the paint surface still (very unlikely, but possible) doesn't show an improvement in smoothness, i'd try a second pass of the clay bar before resorting to anything aggressive. if, finally the second pass doesn't work, i'd use a polishing compound by hand, to remove the rough spots. but, keep in mind that the compound will remove some of the clearcoat/paint as well as whatever crap is making the surface rough.
sure, it's frustrating and it sucks to put out another $20 (i was able to get a 2 bar kit for $14 on sale, and everything's more expensive here) after buying some stuff that you thought would work. but i'd say that it's worth a try rather and is far cheaper than having to repaint the car.
you'd need to use a <real> clay bar (i.e. Mother's or Meguiars are decently priced), not a "clay bar" wax. the roughness as he mentioned is impurities and super fine crap stuck into the pores of the paint itself. using a clay bar with either the included spray wax (or some people even prefer filtered water) as a lubricant will shear off and extract said crap from the paint. one can then look and see dirt that wasn't visible to the naked eye as it collects on the clay bar. after doing a clay bar treatment, the paint is "bare" and clean and should feel smooth and glassy. then you may use your choice of wax and/or polish to protect the paint.
if the paint surface still (very unlikely, but possible) doesn't show an improvement in smoothness, i'd try a second pass of the clay bar before resorting to anything aggressive. if, finally the second pass doesn't work, i'd use a polishing compound by hand, to remove the rough spots. but, keep in mind that the compound will remove some of the clearcoat/paint as well as whatever crap is making the surface rough.
sure, it's frustrating and it sucks to put out another $20 (i was able to get a 2 bar kit for $14 on sale, and everything's more expensive here) after buying some stuff that you thought would work. but i'd say that it's worth a try rather and is far cheaper than having to repaint the car.
Re: Waxing and Polishing Question
A thousand thanks GTRISFUN. I am sold on the idea of trying out the claybar. I wanted to be sure we were not going to be waisting money that could go towards a professional buff and polish from my local paint shop. Thanks to everyone for your help with this question.
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iluvmyVersa08
- Posts: 1540
- Joined: Mon Sep 01, 2008 2:49 pm
- Car: 2008 Nissan Versa SL Sport
- Location: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Re: Waxing and Polishing Question
I recommend the Meguair's Clay Bar too, and the other products they make!!!!
I detailed my brother's cars last summer. I only use Meguair's products, and no buffer.
Mazda (Winter beater):
Jeep:
BMW (summer toy):
I detailed my brother's cars last summer. I only use Meguair's products, and no buffer.
Mazda (Winter beater):
Jeep:
BMW (summer toy):
Re: Waxing and Polishing Question
I could not find the Meguiar's Clay Bar Kit at Wally - Mart. I bought the Mother's version and the Meguiar's Gold Class Carnuba Wax. I was extremely impressed with the results. I clayed the car and the scum that was stuck to the paint came off immediately. I did two passes and then hit the surface with Meguiar's Cleaner Wax and finished the the deal with Meguiar's Gold Class Carnuba. That paint is smooooooth, and super shiny. I celebrated by sitting down and admiring the results while drinking an ice cold Coke that my lady bought me. Once again, big thanks to all who helped me with this question and kept me from taking the car to a detail shop for this. I now know how to properly wax a car. It was a lot of work, but well worth it. 