Hi,
It's been awhile. But i want to take my 83 mercedes to a shop to get it properly washed. They have a Wash and Wax, Or a Wash and Clay and Wax
My car has not been properly washed in a year; and is parked outside.
What is Clay?.....Is is a good thing to have done in addition to wax?
Thanks

Clay is AMAZING. A good way to check is to clean an area. Close your eyes and then run you fingers lightly over the "clean" area. Odds are you will feel bumps and bit. Clay removes this, and the wax. Its a great way to get things out that wax can bury into the paint and cause corrosion.

It also makes a clean car look amazingly cleaner. Almost new. I do clay-bar work on glass too.

__________________
1991 560 SEL / 185k miles
1992 750il / 17k miles - project car

Plus ten on Clay and wax. You definitely want wax after the clay, and hopefully a sealer atop the wax (they make combo products, but I'm old school in that I like them separate).

The clay is really a cleanser. It lifts any old wax as well as surfactants, residue and debris, leaving you with a thoroughly clean surface. If the paint is in otherwise good condition, it's well worth the cost to clay it before waxing.

Good luck.

Let me be the bug in the ointment. If you haven't had your car washed in a year then don't bother with the clay and wax THIS time. Get it washed, wait a day or two, get it washed again THEN have them clay and wax/seal the car. You will not remove a year's worth of crud with just one washing and they won't be able to properly clay bar the car. Any wax they apply will trap the grit/oxidation which they couldn't remove further into the paint.

__________________
“Whatever story you're telling, it will be more interesting if, at the end you add, "and then everything burst into flames.”
― Brian P. Cleary, You Oughta Know By Now

I have very little knowledge or experience on this, anyone got a good website for beginner DIYers in this area?

__________________
Strelnik
Invest in America: Buy a Congressman!

1950 170SD
1951 Citroen 11BN
1953 Citroen 11BNF limo
1953 220a project
1959 180D
1960 190D
1960 Borgward Isabella TS 2dr
1983 240D daily driver
1983 380SL
1990 350SDL daily driver alt
3 x Citroen DS21M, down from 5
3 x Citroen 2CV, down from 6

clay removes the super sticky dirt stuck to the paintwork that normal washing will never remove.

Clay wont scratch your paint but will surely remove all superficial debris stuck to the paint - leaving it MB museum quality clean.

IT IS absotively posilutely fan freakin tastic. and I would strongly suggest you take on this task, you can buy it from any place including walmart. I got my rather large brick of clay from Ebay and it shipped from Hong Kong. The blue one is medium strength.

If your car is still old original single stage paint, find some waxes for it - I got myself a bottle of surf city garage sealer and glaze for a grand total of 4 bucks from Orielly's clearance bin near my place. The idea is that you let the paint feed on it. my car is clear coat finish but it still worked very nice.

If you have a harley dealership nearby - get a jar of S100 wax from them, its very good wax and costs less than 20 bones. The shine it can produce is amazing.

__________________
2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)

This is a nice little primer. Lubricant is important as they discuss, I've often just used Meguiar's quick detail spray. Also, if it's really bad, start on a very small area (even 1 foot square) and see how dirty the clay gets. As the surface of the clay picks up contaminants it gets dirty and you want to continually remold it so you have a clean clay surface. And don't drop it, as that will pick up crap and ruin the clay. I usually use a clean plastic tarp (with my feet under it) when I'm working on the sides so if I drop it, I have a chance that it's not immediately garbage.

How to use a clay bar on your car - YouTube

The above is at times a promo piece for pinnacle, which is good stuff, but you don't need to buy into their kool-aid. For lighter finishes, particularly metallics (like MB's silvers) I've had the best results with FourStar products.

Generally speaking, the forums at autopia.org are a wealth of wisdom, information and experience.