Sorry for the delay everyone, getting the bugs off this car was more of an undertaking than I thought it would be.
But I digress, on to paint cleaning!
* Make sure you have washed the residue off your car from the claybar! * If you don't, your applicator for the paint cleaner will get very unnecessarily dirty.
Whatever paint cleaner you get will undoubtedly have instructions for use. Follow them. The bottle I have is wipe on, wipe off stuff. Sounds simple? Mostly.
This is where you will wear yourself out if you don't have a buffer. I don't think the individual cleaners will make you use anymore than this, per area that you do:
With applicators, it really is enough to do a substantial area. Take the claybar approach and do a bit at a time, and really put all your effort into it. Go back over the area you've done more than once, and really rub the cleaner into it so it can do it's job to clean that paint really good. Like someone already mentioned, it puts the depleted oils and 'life', if you will, back into your paint, so really have at it. It can be pretty oily stuff, and you may find it soaking through the applicator and into your hand.
Hopefully it smells good at least. I know mine does.
If you have particularly noticeable swirl marks, get a cleaner/polish that will help fill those in. You'll have to put your back into it to work on filling in swirl marks, and make sure none of the things you use to wipe your car with have any debris on them, or you'll negate all your work.
Once you think you've scrubbed that stuff in there good, depending on what the instructions advise, do that. Mine is just wipe off immediately kind of stuff, so this is where the microfiber comes in. Use that to get the cleaner off, and get it ALL off. If there are streaks, go back and get it buffed out. You will need to fold the towel often and begin with a cleaner spot, or the stuff on the towel itself will begin to leave streaks.
Repeat process until the whole car is done.
Your paint should be looking better by now, with some depth and more color to it, especially if you haven't ever, or rarely, clean your car to this extent.
See how it is starting to reflect well! It may look a little mottled like in the above picture, but polish and wax usually takes care of that.
If it doesn't, you may have some deeper paint problems. The effect on this car went away a bit after polish, but not completely. It's been repainted on this side before, so it may be caused by inferior paint or general crap paint job.
That's pretty much all there is to it for paint cleaner! Have fun wearing yourself out and building up some arm muscle mass.
Polish -
Basically the same process as paint cleaner unless otherwise directed by the products that you bought.
You can probably step back up and do it panel by panel again, just remember to put effort into it; it needs the same kind of tenacity that the cleaner did. Most basic polishes will help repair minor swirl marks, oxidation and other such minor paint damage, so get after it! If you have more serious swirl mark damage or oxidation, you'll need to use a more abrasive polish designed for it.
Have a different microfiber towel for this, DON'T use the same one you used for the paint cleaner, or the two will mix and could leave some stubborn streaks or funky stuff behind. Again, when the towel starts getting dirty and gummy on the side you're using, fold it and start using a clean side.
Polish, wipe, repeat until the car is done! Keep up with the 'get everything' motto here, everything with paint on it needs to be maintained and protected! It may just be paint in your wheel well, or under the rear window weatherstripping, but if it starts to peel or crack because of poor maintenance, you'll have a potentially big and expensive problem on your hands.
Main points:
* Use a different towel for different steps. Don't mix them up!
* Wear yourself out and really work at these particular steps, this is where all the real paint work happens.
* Remember to keep folding the towel and use cleaner sections when it starts getting dirty.
* If cleaner and polish don't solve some of your paint issues, it may be a deeper issue that could require more professional tactics.
* Get everything that has paint!
* If you have swirl marks, make sure you have a cleaner/polish that is designed to fill them in, and really work the stuff in to get the best results.