Are all clay bars the same?

[joed1228]

Aside from the bars that streak and stuff, do all clay bars perform on the same level?

I really like the Mother clay bar, but it's only the second bar I have used. The first was Meguiars and we all know how that ended....

I am about to use up the rest of my Mother's clay bar and I was wondering if I should mail order some new clay bars or stick with Mothers. What is so great about other brands, do they glide easier, pick up crap from your paint easier, last longer when filled with grime?

Thanks.

[arcticwhite]

I have heard only positive reviews of the following clay bars: Mother's, Clay Magic, Zaino, and Pinnacle.

Personally, I have only used the Mother's clay bar thus far, but would not hesitate to try one of the others that I mentioned. The nice thing about Mother's is that it is typically available locally, and it performs well. You may also be able to find Clay Magic at AutoZone type stores. (The AutoZone near me just started to carry the Clay Magic kit). The clay Magic kit was resonably priced at $9.99 for the kit.

And if you have already tried the Meguiar's clay bar....I need say no more.

[SC5spd]

JUST WONDERING - has anyone ever told you guys to use PLAYDOH instead of the claybar you're using?

When someone told me, I just , although it did make me wonder a bit about PLAYDOH

[ThePolisher]

I really don't think Pay Doh is going to cut it

[Yell00ITR]

No, all claybars are not the same. Some are more aggressive than others. You can usually find the really aggressive ones at bodyshop's. Doesn't Meguiar's have a Red claybar that is part of their Pro line that is super aggressive?

[Jngrbrdman]

I wonder if silly putty would work too..... hmmmmm.... I really like Pinnacle. It is a step up from any other clay I've used. Meguiar's was a little crumbley for me. I've heard other people give it a too so I would be a little leary of their other products along that line. Even Armor All's finest product is still Armor All, ya know? The rest of Meguiar's stuff is good but unless they took a tip from Mother's or someone then I don't trust their clay. That's just me though.

[Intel486]

Clay bars may be different abrasivly. I found that they Mothers Clay bar pull stuff out easily while the eagle one clay bar left a lot behind. Just feeling it, you could tell the EO clay bar was very soft. It also streaked badly.

[Huy]

I've used Mothers, Meguiars body-shop line and the retail line, and 3M clay. The Meguiar's body shop stuff comes in various levels of agressiveness (I believe I used the white colored one). The yellow Meguiar's was my least favorite because it sometimes streaked. Whenever that happened, all I did was just spray on some QD and buff it off, no biggie.

I recently tried the 3M clay...works great! No streaks it did what it was supposed to. I paid a little over $20 for a small container with 2 bars in it. In terms of agressiveness, I would rate it equal to the Meguiar's white clay that I've used. After claying a car, the paint is so darn smooth!!

[Don2000g]

I'd have to agree with much of what others have already stated. I've had real good sucess with the Zaino and clay. Laters

[PathfinderGuy]

which one do you use from pinnacle? the Pinnacle Miracle Clay Away or the Poly Clay Bar?

[Jngrbrdman]

I use the Poly Clay. It is really nice to work with. By far the best clay I've ever used. Granted, I haven't tried Zaino, but that's just a matter of time.

[geekysteve]

Here's my take on the different clay bars: they usually fall into one of three categories for me.

1) Soft, pliable, conforms easily, folds easily, picks up contaminants and "grabs" them, generally a pleasure to use.

2) Hard, "elasticky", bendable, slightly tough, picks up contaminants and "holds" them, somewhat less pleasureable to use.

3) Rock hard or soft and crumbly, hard to work with, streaks, binds and grabs, "drags" on surface, not fun to use.

I've tried (in alphabetical order): 3M, Clay Magic, Eagle One, Formula113, Griots, Meguiar's, Mothers, Pinnacle and Zaino clay. If you ask me, I think that a lot of these clays come from the same place - they're so similar in a lot of ways.

That said, my very favorite clay is Clay Magic clay. It fits the #1) description above perfectly. Most of the others fit the #2 and only a very few fit the #3 description.

Just to complicate matters, many of the clays come in different levels of abrasiveness...generally speaking, for our uses/needs, stick with the "finest" or "gentleist" (word?) clay. For Clay Magic, I use their blue bars (fine), but I have a few of the red (med) bars too...HTH!