Snow is leaving and the weather is great. Washed the XFire for the first time since I bought her. I do feel some little nibs in the paint so I guess it time to Clay her. Anyone know how long it takes to clay a Crossfire?

 

It shouldn't take more than about an hour.

 

I was figuring I was gonna die doing this. If its an hour I owe you a beer but just in case I still gonna do a little each day. Maybe I should go and star mixing my clay.

 

Just make sure you keep plenty of lubricant on the surface you are claying.

 

Will do! Now after claying the kit says to use the wax cleaner thats is in the kit. I know some use the swirlX at this point. What do you think, I have a bright silver car. I know you have black my next car.

 

Only an hour. When I clayed the Firebird I swear I spent at least an hour just on the f'n hood. Am I doing it wrong?

Spray the area and run clay across until it no longer grabs right? Then move to another area.

 

You are right thirteendog. How bad was that hood? LOL When I did mine, it was in pretty decent condition. Also, you will find that the side surfaces go really quick as they are not as prone to contaminants as the top surfaces are.

Darticus, I am no expert by any means on detailing, so I will leave it to someone like MikeInOrange to give you advice on the followup treatment. When I did mine, I first washed it with Palmolive to remove the wax, and then clayed, then a light wash, then swirl remover, polish, wax.

 

VIDEO: Claying the car

 

I used a special fluid to wash it and then I wiped it down with another fluid that did the same thing. It's a car that doesn't go in the garage very often and was about 10 years old lol. I've got to do my crossfire as well, since the last time I waxed it it wasn't like glass I'll do it in a few weeks after I get my windows tinted.

 

Yeah I wasn't moving anywhere near that speed. LOL maybe that's why it took so long. BTW excellent source there.

 

Great video and it seems like it goes really fast.

 

I love the Adams products. I got a set of their products for Christmas this past year.

 

The video is a bit misleading. He his claying a car that probably dosn't really need it. I have clayed many cars, and although it is not that tough, it does take more effort than shown in the video. On horizontal surfaces, you may have to repeat 2 to 4 times to get it where it needs to be. When you are finished claying a car, your arms will let you know that night or the next day.

James

 

I use Adams exclusively
FP got me hooked on all the products when we were at Woodward 2007.
They also have a big booth at Carlisle and do a demo on one of our Crossfires while at the car show.
All products available at Carlisle at nicely discounted cost as well !!!

 

I teach detailing at Meguiar's and all I can say is if you find claying to be a real elbow grease intensive process, or it takes you hours to clay a car, you are doing something very wrong. I've clayed literally hundreds of cars, and taught countless people how to do this. You are NOT scrubbing the paint - let the clay do the work. Unless the car is horribly, horribly contaminated you should be able to clay a Crossfire in 20 minutes. And if the car is horribly contaminated then skip any of the OTC clay kits and get to a body shop supply store (Finish Master, Car Quest at least - google 'em for one near you) and pick up some Meguiar's C2000 Mild Blue Detailing Clay. It will speed through the more nasty stuff, but you'll have to supply your own bottle of quick detailer as a lube. Whatever you do, stay away from the C2100 Aggressive Red Clay unless you fully intend to machine polish after claying - it is so aggressive that it can actually haze the paint a bit.

After claying you do need to wax the car, at least. What you really should do is critically evaluate the finish in good light (direct sun is good for this) and look for swirl marks. You need a good paint cleaner for that, so pick up some Meguiar's Ultimate Compound and use that to remove swirls and other below surface defects. Trust me here; if you're doing this part by hand, it is back breaking and the the primary reason power tools were invented! If you don't have any swirls (which I highly doubt unless you just won Best of Show at Pebble Beach) then you can go straight to your wax. Cleaner wax, carnauba wax, synthetic sealant, doesn't matter to me - whatever you like. Just wax the car after you clay, or after you use a paint cleaner.

To see how it all should be done, read through Steve's awesome write up ---> https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...pic-heavy.html

 

Amen on the arms But the results are worth it

 

Is it normal to clay and cheat on lower sections like bumpers and doors by doing them lighter?

 

no i found the bumpers where were the worst

 

I worked on my truck today it took me 45 minutes to do the rear quarter. I clayed it use a rubbing and a polishing compound and a wax. It made a big difference. It gets fun after a while just to see how much better you can make something look.
disco2.jpg
disco3.jpg

 

After claying when you put some wax on do you tape all rubber or is there a way to remove wax or that white look from rubber if you get some on the rubber.