i only clay bar my truck about 1 or 2 a year. When I wan the truck really shinny I wash it, glaze it, then wax. 2 coats of each on the flat surfaces and 1 coat on the sides. I live in Texas and my truck rarely sees the garage and the sun here is brutal. Doin that and what i previously posted, i have no swirl marks. I do you a 9 inch Craftsman orbital buffer, if you don't have one of these (orbital buffer) I would get one, they are so worth it.

 

what is a glaze?

 

Glaze is like a polish but it is not abrasive, meaning it will not cut the paint. Polish will remove swirl marks and imperfections. Glaze will wash off if you don't put wax on it. Glaze is what body shops use after they paint a car to make it shinny for the customer, it allows the paint to breathe/cure without sealing it.

Here is what i use


Polish

Glaze

Meguiar's Gold Class Wax

make sure you switch out rags or buffer pads inbetween each, DO NOT mix

 

First and for most before you do anything, what are you using to wash the truck w/ and what are you using to dry it with? The first biggest misconception about washing a vehicle is that "any ol sponge or mitt will work since it's covered in soap" and that is totally wrong. I highly disprove of any "sponge" being used to wash the exterior of your vehicle as most are too harsh on your clearcoat despite what the packaging may say. Stick with 100% chenile (sp), genuine lambs wool, or microfiber wash mitts...they will do the best job of evenly spreading the suds on your vehicle. And speaking of suds..you definitely want a high quality car wash soap. Don't ever ever use dish soap unless you are wanting to remove any wax and polish to re-apply a fresh layer of the aforementioned stuff. The best "store bought" soap hands down is Meguiars Deep Crystal Carwash or their NXT line up car wash. They have an adequate amount of suds and decent cleaning agents.

With a mitt and car wash out of the way the next important factor is the bucket. May not seem like much but when while you're lathering your truck you're basically lifting the dirt off the paint and the majority of it goes into your mitt. What usually happens is people just dump the mitt into the bucket and then re-use it on the paint. The problem is when the mitt goes into the bucket the dirt sinks to the bottom of the bucket...and so does the mitt. So basically you're mitt becomes even more contaminated with dirt particles. And that alone is the biggest reason why you get micro-marring (spider webs and swirl marks) in your clearcoat. There is a nifty thing called a "grit-guard" that you can buy online and it'll keep your mitt from sinking to the bottom while still being submersed in the water to get most of the dirt off. Understand though, that you will always, always do some kind of micro-marring to your clearcoat...there is simply no way to completely avoid it. You can minimize it by using the grit-guard...or if you prefer not to pay for it you can use the Two Bucket method. Basically you take two buckets, fill one w/ the soap and water mixture and the other one you fill to the brim with water. So now whenever you're done washing a panel (yes wash a panel at a time, always working top to bottom) simply put the mitt into the water filled bucket and shake it around to get rid of the dirt (make sure it doesn't hit the bottom though). That way when you put the mitt back into the soap bucket you've eliminated the majority of dirt particles from the mitt. Always try to wash in some kind of shaded area. This prevents the suds and water from drying on your paint and causing unsightly water spots; the sun also warms up your paint and clearcoat making it more susceptible to micro-marring than when it's cool.

*phew*

Okay, once your done make absolutely sure you have some high-quality micro-fiber drying towels or 100% Cotton waffle-weave towels. Again Meguairs offers some great drying products if you prefer purchasing your stuff over the counter. There are tons and tons of towels out there and 99% will dry your truck and 90% will also leave nice swirls on your clearcoat too. High quality products are definitely the way to go as far as drying goes. Another useful but not necessary tool is the california wiper blade. It'll help sheet off the water making it easier to dry, and the "gel" portion that makes up the blade will not scratch your clearcoat (provided you've washed your truck correctly).

Now to answer your question:

Basically BlackGMC hit the bullseye on his explanation of glaze vs. polish vs. wax. And what brand you use is really your own preference as they will all look good as long as you apply it correctly. The differences between high-quality wax/polish/glazes and over the counter stuff is minute...but noticeable if you are as **** about the appearance of your vehicle as I am lol. I personally use Sonus/Pinnacle and Poorboys products because I think they all work wonderfully on Chevrolet's clearcoat and provide a very very nice, deep, wet look when applied correctly.

I also use the Porter Cable 7242 Orbital Polisher w/ lake countery polish pads...it cut down my polish/wax time in half and it's insanely easy to use vs a circular buffer that can really damage your paint if you don't know how to use it.

Here is a comparison between an "over the counter" brand polish/glaze vs. some Sonus products I used back when I had my Cobalt:





Anyway, that's just touching the very very tip of the iceberg...there is much more to it all.

I would strictly use black-magic/turtlewax/meguiars for wax/polish/glaze and meguiars ONLY for your accessories like drying/wheel scrubbing etc. etc. if you do not want to go online and buy the stuff I mentioned.

Anyway, hope this Bible of a post helps out lol.

 

it did, thank you very much KB

 

garage it and don't drive it

but truly, quick detail spray and a car duster