Exterior Wash & Clay Bar

What you’ll need

• Car wash soap (CH47 or M80)
• Two buckets (soap and rinse) with grit guards, wash mitt
• Pressure washer
• Clay bar or clay mitt, and clay lube (soapy water in a spray bottle works)
• Auto body solvent (M136) for tar, sap and sticker glue
• Spray sealant / ceramic spray (M67)
• Drying towels and an air gun
• Safety glasses and 5-mil nitrile gloves

Wash steps

1. Rinse the whole vehicle top to bottom.
2. Soap it with car wash soap (CH47 or M80).
3. Wash top to bottom in straight lines. Dip the mitt in the rinse bucket after every panel.
4. Lower doors and bumpers last — that’s where the grit is.
5. Spot-treat tar or sap with auto body solvent (M136) on a towel, then rewash that spot.
6. Rinse top to bottom, getting soap out of gaps, mirrors and the grille.

Clay bar steps

1. Feel the paint through a plastic sandwich bag. Gritty = it needs clay.
2. Spray lube on a 2 ft × 2 ft section. Always keep it wet.
3. Glide the clay back and forth with light pressure until it moves smooth and quiet.
4. Wipe the section and feel it again.
5. Fold the clay to a clean face when it looks dirty.
6. Dropped the clay? Throw it away. It picked up grit that will scratch the paint.

Drying & protect

1. Final rinse, then dry with drying towels — lay and pull, don’t scrub.
2. Blow out mirrors, emblems, grille, lights and door handles so they don’t drip later.
3. Mist spray sealant (M67) on one panel at a time, spread with a microfiber, flip and buff.
4. Clean the glass inside and out last.