Alright guys, I have a question. I just got my RS and it has great paint on it. It's got a good shine. I want to keep it this way. I don't want it to fade out or get dull. The way it is looking, the car will be sitting in the weather all winter too.

What would you recommend to keep this paint as nice as it is besides just a wax job?

A buddy of mine told me to clay it first and then wax it. Have any of you worked with that clay and what do you think of it?

Any helpful tips are welcome.

 

since its gonna be out in the winter time DEFINITLY keep some good wax on it...make sure ya do that alot good luck..any pics of your ride?

 

If you wanna clay, you need to use a wax stripper first. I use the mothers 3 stage system with a clay bar after the wax strip. I actually did it this weekend to prepare my car for winter, and it looks great! First you use the cleaner which gets all the old wax and buildup stuff off. Then you clay bar it. You need to use some kind of lubricant while doing this. Basically you spray the lubricant on the paint area your doing and then rub the clay bar back and forth with the flow of the car. It basically just pics up small dirtand other particles that are trying to get in your paint, so make sure to pay special attention to the back bumper and areas on the side behind the wheels. Mothers clay bar comes in a kit that has a little bottle of wax stripper, showtime gold which is the lubricant you use (It also helps make the paint shine, and the shine gets trapped under the wax so it looks good), then a sealer/glaze I guess this is optional its supposed to seal the paint, and help take out the scratch marks however I dont know that it protects that much (i use it anyways tho =), and then finally wax I usually use Mothers pure carnuba paste but this weekend I used there Reflections for the first time and it worked great. Really easy to take off and made the car shine real nice (i did put 3 coats on tho hehe) as of now I like it better than the paste I was using, but well see how long the wax lasts before I make up my mind. Personally I'd go ahead and throw a few extra coats of wax on before it gets too cold cause waxing in the cold really sucks although Ive done it many many times. Heres a pic I took this afternoon, I spent all day sat and today workin on it so the sun was goin down by the time I got around to taking pics, and the camera sucks so there not that great.

 

If your paint is real good with no bits of crap imbedded in it I wouldn't use a clay bar but if it has a few black minuite spots yeah use a clay bar.
I would use formula113 to keep it good its a real good polish & easy to use. You can get it on your plastics & rubbers & it won't leave white powder. I wash my bird with car wash then spray beadx on it & dry with a clean terry cloth, no water marks & really quick!, its far quicker & better (imo) than a chamois.
If your driving in winter think about using "cavity wax" on yor inner panels. you spray or pour it in your doors, inner guards etc to help stop rust.( speedywax@aol.com or www.formula113. )
Ah ya gotta love a good shine!

 

grngry....your car seems to be basically the same thing I have. What color is your interior? How rare is this color? I haven't seen it on any other F-Bodies, period.

Thanx for the tip. How much does this Mothers Stage 3 cost?

 

Great lookin' paint, JACKO, now all you need is a real motorcycle....

 

KleenRS, I think I responded to a post you had, I know theres numbers out there somewhere for all GM production, but not sure where you dont have the build sheet with the paint code on it do you? Ive seen a couple of other third gens with this color, but only a handful (Im ocd over maros..). When our cars where made it was apparently a vette color and could be special ordered for camaro/firebirds. In the mid 90's it was offered on Impala SS's and I believe it was also offerend on 4th gen f bodies at the same time. Thats really all i know, have you seen it change color yet?

Oh and expect to spend about $30 or a little more if you want all the stuff I talked about; clay bar (comes with showtime and cleaner)=15, sealer glaze=7(?dont remember), wax varies depending on what you want regular is like 7, the reflections i used was 11 (reccomend this) and Pure carnuba paste is 15 (my old fav but hard to take off) alot of people like to use Zano (sp?) which is some "special" wax Ive never actually bothered with it I think you have to order it over the internet to and its kinda expensive.

Oh and my interior is grey, stock with some 4th gen leather.

You got any pics of your car?

 

LOL dude
1st gear 110kph, 2nd 180kph, 3rd 240+ Ok so I only have to more gears to use lmao

 

Yeah, I've got the build sheet but I think it said Green Gray only. I will have to double check it. Mine has t-tops and tan cloth. And, it has the old RS wheels that came on the mid 80's Z-28's.

No pictures to post just yet. I will have some soon though, hopefully.

 

I didn't mean to say anything disparaging, JACKO, I'm just a die-hard Harley type of guy.

 

real motorcycle.

that is one bitchin motorcycle. i was going to get a R1 first, but my mom made me get a car.

 

Heh, ok, I think I made my point demonchild. I'm not impressed with anything of Japanese design. It's a little strange for me to see someone who owns classic American muscle also owning a little Jap crotch-rocket.

But that's just me, like I said I didn't mean to be a jerk....I'm so zealous about these things I won't even ride in Mitsubishi cars to this day because that company built so many of the Zeros in WWII.

 

Dude no offence taken at all I would love a Harley as well!
& demonchild R1's they kick **** like nothin else!!!!!
Now back to the post KleenRS how good is your paint & what did you decide to do about keeping it good?