Clayed the Ridgeline today

[VoicesInMyHead]

Originally Posted by arteegee

Wonder what else you've missed...is that a mullet?

... on the pool boy?

[Cajun Country Ridgeline]

Now I know why people buy black auto's , trucks, etc. When the baby is clean and clayed.............................WOW!

[JCKridgeline]

Super job! Just curious....how many photos did you take to get the perfect little sparkle to show up on the front end ....seriously........great job. Almost makes me wish I had a black RL ....almost.

[Tcape]

Originally Posted by RustyH

I've never "clayblocked" a paint job before. Any hints, suggestions, warnings. Your truck looks fantastic. I agree Voices, Nothin' much better than a Sparklin' Black Ridge!

I use the paint clay from Griot's Garage. No idea if it's any better than the Mother's, Meguiar's, or any other. It's just only one I've ever used. I've been using paint clay for about 5 years, and nothing I've ever used has produced such a nice finish on paint. Especially older paint. If, after you wash and even wax your vehicle, you can feel a gritty surface on the paint, it definitely needs paint clay. The clay will cut all the contaminents off the paint and leave an incredibly smooth surface. Nothing like it. The suggestions I have are as follows....
1. Use plenty of detailer with the clay. The clay bar is NOT good to drag across dry paint. I've found that any decent detailer works fine. Just use plenty of it.
2. You'll feel the clay bar drag across the surface of the paint until it cuts the contaminents off the paint. Keep claying until there's no resistance to the clay bar. You'll feel the clay start to slide easily. At that point, you know you've gotten the paint clean.
3. Clay no more than a 3 square foot section at a time....maybe less. You DON'T want the detailer to dry on the vehicle. DON'T do this in the hot sun. The detailer dries too quickly.
4. I use microfiber towels. One to dry the detailer off, and a second one to buff the residue off and give the final shine.
5. Once the claying is done, I use a polish immediately to protect the paint. I don't know this for sure, but I believe the claying cuts off all the wax/polish. You have a nice shine, and silky smooth paint, but there's nothing to protect it.

I'm sure there are others far better at this whole process than I am. But I can say for sure that claying does wonders for your paint. I've got 5 years of experience on several vehicles to back that up. Please let me know if I can provide more info.
Tom

[Tcape]

Originally Posted by JCKridgeline

Super job! Just curious....how many photos did you take to get the perfect little sparkle to show up on the front end?

OK, I cheated. I used a star filter on my camera to get that little sparkle. But hey, the Ridge was shiny, so I had to make the most of it! Very glad the sun cooperated.
Tom

[T Mac]

Looks great! Good job and I'm glad you found the extra effort worth it.

It's amazing how much gunk gets on those new vehicles before you ever drive them off the lot. And I'll tell you, you might pick it up nice and shiny but they do not give it a true detail the way that clay bar and some detergent soap followed by the proper wax or polish application will give.

Again, nicely done and now you can enjoy the rewards of your labor!

[T Mac]

Originally Posted by KE5TCG

OK, so how much does it cost to take it to the detail place and have it done?

I'm guessing if they do it right, close to $100?

I think it's got to be over 100 bucks to do everything he just did. I used to pay 100 and they made my truck look fantastic but I don't think they clayed it. I think many of those places use power buffers and you get an amazing shine but not sure how long it lasts.

If it were me, I'd ask any detailer...what are you going to do to my paint, step by step?

[Tcape]

Originally Posted by KE5TCG

OK, so how much does it cost to take it to the detail place and have it done?

I'm guessing if they do it right, close to $100?

KE5TCG, like TMac said, I think it would be a lot more than a hunnerd bucks. Around here, they charge that much for a wash, wax, basic detailing job. And I'm not aware of any detailing shops here that clay the paint. (Maybe...not sure.) My total cost for this job was about $10. $5 for the clay, detailer, and polish, and the other $5 for two tubes of Ben-Gay for my arms and shoulders! Why didn't somebody tell me this truck is BIG!!
Tom

[LionelLines]

What a shine (trick photog. or not! ).

Congrats!

If you'll clay my new RL, I'll buy you lunch....

[VoicesInMyHead]

Originally Posted by LionelLines

What a shine (trick photog. or not!).

+1 on that!

You can barely tell the difference between the hood reflection and the window reflection.

Of course, now I must berate you... Great, now you've activated my OCD, and I will have to clay my truck before the Sedona meet!

But in fairness, I must thank you as well... My truck is gonna look smokin'!!!