Detailed the exterior of the Yaris.

[Herbicidal]

I took the day off of work for what I call a “mental health” day and decided to detail the exterior of the Yaris. This is the first time since buying the car in June that I've waxed it and I wanted to do it right the first time.

I started by washing the car with warm water and Dawn. I wanted to strip off the existing wax, if any, to have squeaky clean paint. I dried the car using some microfiber towels. Then I pulled out my Griots Garage paint clay and some Meguair’s Ultimate Quick Detailer to use as the lubricant for the clay. I started working around the car in sections using plenty of the Meguair’s detail spray to keep the clay bar from sticking. After each section I thoroughly dried the area and removed the lubricant residue. The clay bar was not picking up very much until I started on the trunk lid. Wow! Quite a bit of “stuff” came off the paint and into the clay. Right about then, a FedEx truck pulled up to drop off a package and the guy asked what I was doing. I explained about how to use the clay and so forth and showed him the clay piece I was using. He couldn’t believe it! I said I had just washed the car with Dawn and now was using the clay before doing the Meguiar’s 3 step process. He drove away convinced that he needed to clay his car soon! I think it took about 1 ½ hours to clay the whole car. The roof was the worst!

Once the claying was done, I then busted out my Porter Cable 7424 Random Orbit polisher. This tool is a hand and arm lifesaver! I used three different pads: The white one is for cleaning the paint. I used Meguair’s Deep Crystal System Cleaner with this pad. Again, I worked the paint in sections, never allowing the cleaner to fully dry on the paint. It’s a royal pain to remove if allowed to dry (follow the directions on each product’s container for the best results). Once this was done, I proceeded to step 2, the polish. For this I used the black pad. Once this was done came the easy part. Applying the NXT tech wax. As with all the products more is NOT better. Use just enough to get the job done, this also makes removing it so much easier. I applied NXT using a red pad. It goes on like butter! AND, you can do the whole car in one shot, then remove it. A little trick I learned is to put a small microfiber towel under one of the pads on the Porter Cable and use this to remove the wax. This technique works best on the large flat surfaces. Do the tight curves by hand. Just use a clean towel every now and then. To give the wax a longer life, I use the Quick Detailer after every other car wash. It only takes about 15 minutes and the car looks like it was just waxed.

The car is finally done! The metallic fleck in the paint really jumps out in the full sun. I had a heck of time getting a decent picture in the sun without getting sun ‘flares’ in the picture. Anyway, it was a great way to spend the day. Now it's time for some and the .
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The clay pad after doing JUST the trunk lid. I used the quick detailer as the "lube" for the clay. The more lube the better so the clay doesn't stick. I did one section at a time, the dried it off with another microfiber towel.



I refolded the clay until I had a nice clean section, then I started on the roof. This is the clay pad after doing JUST the roof!



Using the Porter Cable with a pad and a microfiber towel underneath to remove the NXT wax. This trick works best on the large flat surfaces.



Trying to catch the fleck in the paint.



All done. The picture turned out a little too bright due to the angle of the sun, or is it the reflections from the paint?



Trying to get a picture in the full sun that shows the metallic fleck in the paint.



The 'stuff' I used.

[irish0479]

Very nice... I have an 07 Sedan and I think im going to do the same this weekend to it! Question though, what does the clay do? I have never heard of doing that. Thanks.

[Herbicidal]

Thanks!

The clay will "grab" and pull out contaminents that are partially embedded in the paint. Take a look again at those two pictures where I'm holding the clay. All that crud was stuck in the paint. Using a polish or wax just smoothes them out a little but they will still be there. A good way to tell if your paint needs to be clayed is by putting a plastic bag over your hand (like those thin produce bags) and gently going over the paint. If it snags and feels rough, then it's time for the clay bar. Use plently of lube to keep the clay from attempting to smear on the paint. I really like the quick detailer by Meguiar's for that purpose. As the clay starts to show some dirt, just fold it in on itself and mold it again into a small patty that will fit over 3 or 4 or your fingers and keep on going! Remember, claying is really the first step in protecting your paint, at the very least, you still need to wax it. I chose to use the paint cleaner, polish, then the wax for the ultimate in protection.

My process was basically spray a panel (like the fender) with lube and start working the clay back and forth or circular or any of those combinations using gentle pressure. Since the clay is not abrasive, it does not matter how you go over the paint. Spray lots of lube and I keep a microfiber towel on my shoulder to dry the panel immediately after I've done it. Then move onto the next panel.

You can also search YouTube for short videos on how to clay your car. Now, go do it and please post your before and after results!

[Herbicidal]

Fixed the broken picture links. I finally made the time last weekend to go over him again with the clay bar. It was not so dramatic this time, but I still did get 'stuff' from the paint. Used the Porter Cable to apply a nice coat of wax and he looks brand new again!

[07DCwhiteSR5]

Originally Posted by Herbicidal

Fixed the broken picture links. I finally made the time last weekend to go over him again with the clay bar. It was not so dramatic this time, but I still did get 'stuff' from the paint. Used the Porter Cable to apply a nice coat of wax and he looks brand new again!

go over "him" again? a yaris can be called a he?????

[Herbicidal]

Originally Posted by 07DCwhiteSR5

go over "him" again? a yaris can be called a he?????

Yeah, yeah. I think of my Yaris as a little "guy"! Not a little "girl".