New to detailing

[Josh_RN]

Greetings all!
I am new to the forum, but I have been reading several of the previous threads on this site, auto geek, and frontier forum. With several hours invested, all I have learned is that I should use poor boy products. I just traded in my old HEAVILY oxidized civic in on a shiny new dark grey 2012 Nissan frontier. I've learned my lesson with auto neglect so I ready to learn. Money is a bit tight, so I'll be doing every thing by hand on two autos. The second is my wife's 14 year old light blue civic. Unlike my autos it lives in the garage so its paint is still in realitively good condition. My goal is to start simple and get more advanced overtime (I tend to keep autos well over 10 years). I need help on specific products and microfiber needs for both color types. And how often do I need to do each step?:smt039

Startup plan.
Wash
Clay
Seal/polish
Wax

Later add.
Tire clean/seal

What do y'all think?

 

[heck]

Congrats on the ownership of the new Frontier. Your plan is solid, take your time and do it right.

 

[Josh_RN]

How often should I do it? Clay and seal twice a year & clean and wax every three months (or as needed). And do I clean with the same prod each time? Can you use the same application pad for the sealer and the wax? Can I use Natty blue for the lite blue car or should I stick with the regular natty?

 

[BigLeegr]

Frequency depends upon the condition of the car rather than any specific schedule applicable to all vehicles. Your new truck may not need as much attention as the Civic. Also, once oxidation sets in, more polishing may be needed.As to when to wax, I go with either when the beading dies off or when some damage occurs (scuffs etc.).Also, sealing gets done after polishing, in case you were not aware. (your post had the order reversed)You could use the same pad for the sealant and wax, but don't use your polish pad for waxing, as there may be some residue left in it. It's always better to have dedicated pads for each product.Claying should be done when you feel contaminants bonded to the surface that don't come off from washing. No specific time line.You should use the product to clean the car that's best for the condition. If the car is in rough shape at first, but you get it fixed up using an aggressive product, you wouldn't need to use as aggressive a product the next time, if you were caring for it frequently now.You can use whichever wax you like. Different looks for different folks. There is no one right answer for this either.

 

[Josh_RN]

Is slick & suds more aggressive than slick & wax? Will the less aggressive surfectant still clean it well enough to clean off the old wax and sealant or does it even matter? I will want to really start restoring the civic eventually.

 

[BigLeegr]

A good car soap will not strip wax off the paint. For that you should use a polish. A thorough polishing will get rid of any left over wax.

The main difference between the two listed soaps is that SS&W has wax added.