SD GT

Saturday, the Boss gets its first clay and Menzerna Power Lock sealant detailing.
Should I tape off the hood and C stripe decals first and not clay and seal them?
I called Auto Geek, where I bought way too many things last winter (but all good stuff). The guy asked if the decals were gloss, or not. I'm not sure if the Boss decals are "gloss" or not since I don't have any other decal'd car to compare. He recommended taping them off to prevent the clay from lifting them, and the sealant from leaving behind white residue.

So for all of you who have had your Boss more than 7 days and have detailed it, did you tape off the decals, or go over them?

Also, I plan to apply the sealant with my Porter Cable random orbit buffer and pad. Any danger of lifting the edge of the decals?

Thanks

ShaneM

the clay will lift them, tape them off. i found that out the hardway on the other boss. thanksfully ity was a tiny little spot that only i noticed. it's a huge PITA, but do yourself a favor and tape off all the black trip too its **** near impossible to get dried wax off the black trim.

what i want to know is can you polish the decals specifically. i've noticed mine have swirl marks. the decals are gloss on the boss BTW, i had matte on my 10 and they were a massive PITA.

MAAKU

Clayed my car and hand waxed - no issues... just make sure when you clay that you use enough spray and avoid "grabbing" any of the edges. Looks beautiful. Can't speak for using a orbital buffer....

ShaneM

i used plenty of spray lube with mine, if you get close enough to run the clay along the edge of the decal you can lift them up. as for the buffer, i have one of those and when i did my 10 it had been waxed enough times that it was too slick for tape to stick. i just polished it and stayed a half inch or so from the matte 3m vinyl stripes. i did hit the stripes a few times and it didn't cause any damage. however i spent probably two hours after removing the polish and wax using my fingernail to scrape wax out of the little gap between the paint and the stripes. actually i spent the rest of the time i owned that car scraping the polish out of the seam. it did lift the edges slightly in a few places. i'd tape them off and be sure you don't literally tape them off, put the tape on the paint slightly too or the tape does no good.

SD GT

Thanks Shane and Mike

Just got done. Taped off the stripes to clay, then removed the tape, and used a soft foam applicator to hand apply the Menzerna Power Lock sealant. Of course, I raised the corner of a decal with my fingernail as I removed the tape, but it was less than 1 mm on the small one behind the door handle so I think it will be ok. Gotta be more careful next time.

2012YellowBoss

I am not an expert on waxes but when forum member suggested the clay bar I read up on it. It says that "it brings back a shine" (or something like that) Correct me if I am wrong on this stuff but when I see that I see abrasive, so I passed. I just use Mcguire's Yellow Wax 26 about once a month. Why would you need to "bring back" a shine on a brand new car?

Berol

The clay bar isn't an abrasive like an automotive buffing compound would be. Instead, it is designed to remove contaminates on the surface of the clear coat, not to remove scratches. Examples of what it removes would be rail dust, brake dust (especially the metallic part of the brake pad compound) and environmental impurities.

That said, I've only had to detail the Boss once. When I did, I used blue painters tape on the stripes and any black plastic. I usually tape off the black plastic on my cars as Shane mentioned as well. For me, I decided to 'fail conservative' and play it safe by taping off the stripes too until I heard from others on their experiences with cleaning them.

SD GT

Scott,
The clay pulls dirt out of the clearcoat.
My '10 GT sat on the dealer lot about 6 months. When I clayed it, I was amazed how much dirt it pulled off the car, especially the hood and roof.
After applying the sealant, it is slick as snot, and the microfiber towel glides across the car with no resistance.
The purests say it removes dirt that nothing else will, even a polish.
Trick its, the clay holds the dirt. So if you don't fold the clay over often enough, the dirt in the clay can scratch the clearcoat. Of course, a light polishing compound will remove that.

2012YellowBoss

Thanks