Quote Originally Posted by Big_daddy View Post
Thanks for the reply Madkatz

At this point, I'm considering on having my ride clayed for the 1st time, but I don't have the capacity to do a complete detailing work, since I don't have a DA polisher/machine and time is a factor as well.

Need further advice regarding what to do at this point?
1. Wash with Dawn or some other detergent
2. Clay bar
3. Polish with either Mother's or Meguiars, to remove light swirl marks
4. Seal with FX Synwax
5. Top off with Turtle Wax Platinum Ultra Gloss

Now that I've enumerated that, can I clay bar just I portion, then polish, then do the rest of the regimen...then say do the other portions the week after? And hand polishing again...hence the per panel work being done.

Again, my ride is parked in the open...under the elements almost 24/7...black painted Adventure.

TIA
Need further advice regarding what to do at this point?
1. Wash with Dawn or some other detergent
Dawn is a great detergent thats strong enough to remove most waxes and sealants but also strong enough to remove road films and all that other dirty stuff but it being strong you should work fast and dry it fast so it doesn't whiten your trims

For initial wash i would recommend dawn but for the succeeding washes i would recommend a dedicated car shampoo so it won't strip you wax.

2. Clay bar

3. Polish with either Mother's or Meguiars, to remove light swirl marks
If you are dealing with swirl marks, if you are planning on removing them, try using SwirlX for Meguiars and if you plan on filling them, try using Mothers Step 2

4. Seal with FX Synwax
There's always a rule of thumb to always wait for sealants to cure properly to the paint but i've found it much less for FX Synwax so you could probably take a break a little and grab a cold one before slapping on the TW PUG

5. Top off with Turtle Wax Platinum Ultra Gloss

For starters and those on time constraints i also recommend detailing it per panel, but of course this would always happen after washing you car, lets say this week your goal is to do the roof hood and trunk, then go ahead and clay it and polish it and then seal it with FX and then wax it with TW PUG, and just use PUG for the rest of the car, the reason why i said you use FX only on those parts of the car that you've clayed and polish is because its going to be pointless to apply FX to the other panels when you're just gonna clay it the week after, clay will surely remove and protection on your paint, at least when one part of the car is clayed polished and sealed you could just top that part with wax after washing your car and you're done for that panel and just clay polish and seal other panels.