i really want to shine up my car but its seems so dull...is there anything i can use that will really make it shine?? i heard of the clay bar and does it really work that well??? any advice would help

 

No clay bar won't help you unless you spend years on your paint. You need a polishing compound which contains very fine grits. That'll sand down the exterior of the paint to get rid of the oxidization and put moisture into it at the same time. You need to buff that stuff on with a medium pad and around 1,000rpm's Trust me I do this for a living! You will then need to use a fine pad with a good wax of your choice like mothers mirror glaze or whatever! Buff on low speed 800-1000 so that you will remove all of the swirls from polishing and that's give you a real firm coat of wax. I usually top it of with a quick detailer after to get all of the smears out so you don't have to spend time burning up your paint. After all the polishing compound does peel a minute...so small...teeny tiny....itty bitty layer of wax off!! Which is what you need to do. Just be careful of the Bumpers and plastic painted components like the door trim and tailights..THEY WILL BURN!!!! Don't be afraid to take your time with the buffer, just keep it moving. If you have a really bad area remember wax is lubrication and keep going over it, JUST DON"T SIT THERE IN ONE SPOT!!!!! You'll be fine. I have NEVER burned any Factory Paint job in 10 Years doing this!!!!

 

Do you own a polisher? Do you have any polishes already?

 

no so basically i have to go find a really good person to do this??

 

or u can buy one.

 

98GTpony,

If you're not into detailing, getting it spruced-up by a reputable detailer can be a great way to go (ask around for trusted professionals). From that point on, with sound washing and drying methods, you can maintain it with easy-to-use waxes or even frequent spray waxes... then possibly taking it in for an "annual" for the difficult stuff.

Though it might be helpful for us to offer advice on what you can do yourself if you can provide some background on what you're doing to the car currently, and a little more information as to what you don't like about the way it looks. Close-up photos of defects might be helpful.

 

Here is any easy and cheap tip to spruce your car up. Go buy Meguiar's 3 step paint process. You get a cleaner, a polish and a wax. Try that! It may take an afternoon, but it's a start. Once you see how good that looks you may catch the O.C.D. (Obessive Compulsive Detailing )

 

3-step systems are a safe bet, and can be applied by hand, so you don't have to spend a lot of money to get good results.

Check out the Prep, Seal & Wax section of the Detail Guide for a description. Pre-Wax Cleaner, Sealer & Glaze, then the Pure Carnauba Wax (liquid or paste) make up the system.

I'd start with a claying first, and Kragen's (and likely all CSK stores) have a coupon right now for the Mothers Clay Bar Paint Saving System for only $14.99.

I have only used the Mothers 3-step "Ultimate Wax System," but I hear good things about Meguiar's, also.