[69nova]

It's spring and I will be rolling out the Monte. The one thing that I wanted to do quickly is remove the last year's polish/wax and re-polish it. Going to the stores, there are many different pastes and pre-pastes and pre-pre-pastes so it is hard to determine where to start and with what to start. I also have seen ads for Foose's power ball and am interested if it is good for adding polish to the body as shown in the mags. I don't want to grind the paint off.
I do see a build up of old wax and think this is the best place to start.
Do you fellows have any experiences, recommendations and cautions?

 

[likearock00]

Every spring, I wash my truck, making sure I remove any junk/tar/bugs/etc. Then I clay bar the entire vehicle and follow up with Meguire's wax. Seems to work good for me. I do the same for the fall.

 

[69nova]

Clay Bar? Boy, I must really be ignorant. This sounds like Lava hand soap.

 

[mini1]

You need to clean the vehicle, use a clay bar on the entire paint surface, then a paint cleaner (and possibly a swirl remover), then put on a coat of wax or polish. If using polish, you can coat the vehicle several times for best results. Make sure to dress the black plastic, Rain-X the windows, clean the wheels and tires and do the entire interior.

 

[BrickTamland]

Do you use a machine, like a rotary, Porter Cable, or Ultimate Detail Machine, or polish by hand?

A clay bar is just that - a piece of clay that looks like soap that is used all over the car to remove bonded contaminates. You put some kind of lube on the paint, like soapy water or detailing spray, and just rub the clay bar back and forth. It is really effective - you can feel the difference. Unclayed paint feels a little rough, while clayed paint feels smooth as glass.

After claying, you can choose however many of those cleaners and polishes and waxes you want - just don't polish through your clearcoat of course. There are paint cleaners, compounds, fine cut polish, heavy cut polish, swirl removers, sealents, spray waxes, paste waxes, and so on. Compounds are aggressive polishes that are meant to remove deep defects. The other types of polishes are good for removing other defects (the effectiveness of which may depend on what kind of polish it is - all-purpose or specialized). It all really depends on how much time you want to put into your detailing job.

...And the depth of your pockets.

 

[Slideways]

There's a lot of info here: http://www.meguiars.com/howtocenter/

 

[MonteCarloSS86]

I'd clay bar it first-- it's an actual piece of clay that you rub along the surface of the vehicle while using a lubricant like Meguiar's "QuikDetailer." I did my brother's '96 Grand Cherokee with one and the paint looks almost brand new, it's a very good product to use and well worth the price.

For polish, I have no clue as none of my cars are at the point where polish is necessary and I have like two or three years of vehicle maintenance experience.

For wax, I use Meguiar's QuikWax. Very easy to apply and it keeps the paint shiny for a while (~three weeks before it's obviously less reflective). I actually use it every time I clean the SS.

For during the week, I use a California Car Duster each day. It has yet to scratch the paint (as long as you don't rub it on the paint as much as lightly drag it you should be fine) and it keeps the paint looking clean all through the week. I don't really use it on bugs and whatnot since I check for those/spot clean them each day when I get home from school.

Good luck! Also, what year is your Monte? IIRC a sixth gen, right?

 

[69nova]

Boy, you fellows are really on top of things. But if that is what it takes for me to cruise on Friday evenings, so be it. The Monte is an all black, 2004 supercharged model with 8,200 miles on it. Since the wife doesn't like to ride in it (she has artificial knees) preferring the Caravan, I mainly use it for the weekends and keep it in the garage during the winter. I terrorize the wife (we are in our 60's) by screeching the tires now and then. I tell her that it is good to shed a little rubber, she says I am bad to the bone.