detailing help

[photog]

i'm new to the whole "detailing" thing....used to just washing and an occasional wax. but since getting my mo i'm starting to get into my car's appearance. heres my question: can somebody walk me through the order of steps of a good wash to wax? including clay barring and polishing when do you do these before/after wash or wax? never used a clay bar before, but heard it does wonders. do you wax and polish or are they the same thing? i know this is alot but like i said this is new to me.

[mgthe3]

wash
clay bar
wash again
dry
wax

[pcs15394]

I'm also fairly new to the Detailing game. In the past I would run the car through a gas station car wash, maybe wax it once a year and I was done with it. With the Murano, I have become a fanatic, I wash at least once a week and have spent alot of hours putting on the proper protection both inside and out. I have found very good info on this forum and also many websites that sell products such as this one:Proper auto care site

[clane47]

I had never done much more than wash and occasionally wax a car before either, but I decided to get the Zaino products and try it their way. It's well worth the effort! I'd never heard of 'clay barring' a car before, but, I can tell you that you don't want to skip this step. The difference is amazing. I detailed the exterior of mine pretty much as Zaino recommends:

wash with a strong solution of Dawn dishwashing soap
clay bar using a Z7 wash solution as a lubricant
wash with Z7
after drying, wipe car down with Z6
apply very thin coat of Z2 with ZFX accelerator mixed in
buff and wipe down with Z6
apply another thin coat of Z2
buff and wipe down with Z6

This will give you an amazingly slick finish, it will still look wet! This should last for 6 months with an occasional Z7 wash.

Regards,
Chuck Lane

[photog]

thanks for all the replys, i hope to put all this advice to work this weekend!