what is a clay bar?

T

the "shine box"

New member
what is a clay bar? ive read a few posts on it but im not sure what it is or does or when it should be applied. its for heavy stains, right? is this in addition to your wax and buff? and how should it be applied? :think2
 
A clay bar is a special "abrasive, but not abrasive" tool that can be used to GENTLY remove above surface contaminants. What I mean by that is that it acts like a sandpaper by abrading away layers of contaminants, but at the same time on a properly prepped surface it will NOT damage the paint finish.



The common use is to remove over spray, some light tree sap, tar, and general light build up of bonded contaminants that a wash alone will not remove.



Simply wash the car thoroughly, then use a clay bar with a spray lube and some elbow grease to work it back and forth on the surface like you are wet sanding it. Wipe, inspect, and continue as needed.
 
You can find many kits at local auto stores, like Advance Auto Parts or Autozone (those are the ones I know in Florida). I recently bought mine off Amazon.com as well.
 
JohnKleven said:
A clay bar pulls contaminents from the paint. It is used before waxing or polishing every time.



John
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I don't clay my car EVERY TIME I wax my car. I usually will clay my car two times a year. Before I polish for winter time and when it comes out for spring polishing...
 
stiffdogg06 said:
I don't clay my car EVERY TIME I wax my car. I usually will clay my car two times a year. Before I polish for winter time and when it comes out for spring polishing...
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This is actually something I've been wondering about. People say to claybar before applying any sort of LSP. People also say not to clay more than twice a year. Both statements are compatible for synthetic sealants that are durable for 6 months or so. But what about waxing? One needs to wax every month, so should the car be clayed before every wax?



If it is, then clearly, one is claying too much. If it is not, then one is waxing over surface contaminants, and even if you wash the car thoroughly, you can still see some contaminants on the applicator if you apply a sealant or a wax without claying.



Personally, I use a sealant (Zaino), so I only have to clay twice a year or so, but there are times when I need to re-apply Zaino to a particular panel (bird droppings cleaned with IPA or something).



What is the correct answer for this?
 
Clay and sandpaper are basically opposites. Sandpaper has its abrasive particles on the outside. They stick out of the paper and into the finish. As you move the paper the particles cut into the finish and shave off paint.



Clay has abrasive particles of it’s own but they’re on the inside. Since clay’s particles are on the inside they don’t touch the finish.



As you move the clay along the paint it glides effortlessly on a film of lubricant until it comes to a bonded contaminant that protrudes above the surface of the paint. Since the contaminant is above the paint’s surface and lubricant film it will protrude into the clay, where it will be abraded by the clay’s internal cutting particles. It’s the opposite of how sandpaper works.



As you clay the contaminants you are abrading off minute particles. But since they’re already sticking up into the clay they stay stuck in the clay and above the lubricant film. They don’t project down to disturb the paint.



How often to clay depends on how much gunk collects on your paint and how quickly. It could be weeks, months or minutes. The crud in the air that lands on your car has the last say, not the calendar.



I clay pretty much every time I wax and spot clay in between waxing.





PC.
 
the other pc said:
How often to clay depends on how much gunk collects on your paint and how quickly. It could be weeks, months or minutes. The crud in the air that lands on your car has the last say, not the calendar.



I clay pretty much every time I wax and spot clay in between waxing.





PC.
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Interesting. This is new information for me; I'm a newbie at all this, so the guidance that was burned into my head was 'if you clay too often, you can end up marring the paint'. I guess that's advice for newbies so they don't get to cavalier with the clay bar before gaining the skills necessary to clay carefully?
 
daneel said:
... the guidance that was burned into my head was 'if you clay too often, you can end up marring the paint'. I guess that's advice for newbies so they don't get to cavalier with the clay bar before gaining the skills necessary to clay carefully?
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I’ve read that too, but nobody who says it ever has any evidence or even a logical argument of any kind to support the concept.



The only times I’ve ever seen or even heard of clay marring paint were cases of especially aggressive clay or unusually sensitive paint. In those cases the marring happened immediately. It’s not like it showed up over time because they “clayed too often.� And those cases are unusual anyway.



In every other situation the clay either does good by removing contaminants or does nothing because there aren't any. There certainly isn’t any damage done.



As long as you don’t have weird paint that mars when you look at it funny and you stick to mild clays like Sonus’ green or Meg’s white, about the only way to mar paint with it is to apply it with a claw hammer.



I would also argue that as long as you are claying until the contaminants are gone, claying one a month or once a year are the same anyway. You’re removing the same total amount of gunk. So whether you take it all off at once or take it off a little at a time you’re claying the same amount. One pass a month for a year is no different than 12 passes once a year or 6 passes twice a year, except that the gunk spends less time on your paint.



The great thing about clay is that learning how to use it is really easy and doesn’t take much time at all.





PC.
 
the other pc said:
I’ve read that too, but nobody who says it ever has any evidence or even a logical argument of any kind to support the concept.



The only times I’ve ever seen or even heard of clay marring paint were cases of especially aggressive clay or unusually sensitive paint. In those cases the marring happened immediately. It’s not like it showed up over time because they “clayed too often.� And those cases are unusual anyway.



In every other situation the clay either does good by removing contaminants or does nothing because there aren't any. There certainly isn’t any damage done.



As long as you don’t have weird paint that mars when you look at it funny and you stick to mild clays like Sonus’ green or Meg’s white, about the only way to mar paint with it is to apply it with a claw hammer.



I would also argue that as long as you are claying until the contaminants are gone, claying one a month or once a year are the same anyway. You’re removing the same total amount of gunk. So whether you take it all off at once or take it off a little at a time you’re claying the same amount. One pass a month for a year is no different than 12 passes once a year or 6 passes twice a year, except that the gunk spends less time on your paint.



The great thing about clay is that learning how to use it is really easy and doesn’t take much time at all.





PC.
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Good points. Logically, it had occurred to me that using clay properly should not affect your paint, after all, the idea is that it abrades contaminants and not the paint (like a compound or polish would).



Weird thing is that the other day I was claying off some bug remains, and saw what looked like marring. I first thought that I had not used enough lube, but that was weird, because I had so much lube on the surface that the clay was slippery over the paint.



I was pretty bummed out that I would have to wait to get a random orbital next spring before I could get the defects out. However, when I re-zainoed that section, the marring was gone. I'm thinking the clay took off the Zaino on that part of the surface that was there from before, and that's what looked like marring.
 
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