Sonus Clay vs. Clay Magic

[96GreenPSD]

Ok,

This is my first post here (but i`ve been a lurker for a while), and I have a couple of questions. First, I was wondering which clay is better; the Sonus medium grade clay (grey) or the Clay Magic. Which one has more cleaning power and do either one of them tend to fall apart if you use too much lube? Also, how do both of these compare to the Mothers clay bar?

My second question is about using Meguiars APC to remove tar from painted body panels. What dillution ratio should I use and how effective is APC compared to dedicated bug and tar removers?(The best one i`ve used so far is TW bug and tar and it doesn`t seem that great.) Another thing; will the APC harm the paint at the dillution ratio required to make it strong enough to remove tar? TIA

[SilverLexus]

They are both good but I like the Sonus Block clay a bit better.



I generally use a 3:1 or 4:1 mix on my APCs.

[White95Max]

Meg`s APC works great on tar. I use it anywhere from 3:1 to 15:1. I apply it with a cheap MF towel. Much of the time, the towel you use isn`t very useful after removing tar.



15:1



http://autopia.org/gallery/data/500/RockerBeforeAPC.JPG



http://autopia.org/gallery/data/500/RockerAfterAPC.JPG



3:1



http://autopia.org/gallery/data/500/Tar.JPG



http://autopia.org/gallery/data/500/TarGone1.JPG

[David Fermani]

Isn`t Auto Magic(Auto Wax Company) the originators of Clay? I know they have multiple patents and sell to other companies that private lable their product. I have always liked using both grades of their clay.

[Accumulator]

96GreenPSD- Welcome to Autopia!



Of the clays you mentioned, I`ve only used the Mother`s and the Sonus. I preferred the Sonus and it didn`t fall apart when I used plenty of lube. I do find it works better with the Sonus Glyde lube than it does with shampoo mix. The shampoo degrades/dissolves the clay more too. This also happened with the Mother`s.



I`ve only used solvents and clay on tar, but if White95Max says the APC works then it will.

[gmblack3]

I had been using claymagic blue and never had a problem with it. I used their bodyshine #49 with it as a clay lube. I have just ordered some of the Sonus medium and light grade clays. I still plan on using the bodyshine #49 for the lube as I can get it local for $20 a gallon.

[96GreenPSD]

Thanks for the replies and the welcome. Does anyone know if the Clay Magic bar stays together better when using soapy water as lube? I had the problem of it dissolving the clay when I used the Mothers bar, so I`d like to find a bar that doesn`t dissolve like that. If they both dissolve in the water mixture then I guess I`ll buy some lube in addition, or just buy the perfect shine clay and lube bundle that the Autopia store sells. Thanks again.

[David Fermani]

Thanks for the replies and the welcome. Does anyone know if the Clay Magic bar stays together better when using soapy water as lube? I had the problem of it dissolving the clay when I used the Mothers bar, so I`d like to find a bar that doesn`t dissolve like that. If they both dissolve in the water mixture then I guess I`ll buy some lube in addition, or just buy the perfect shine clay and lube bundle that the Autopia store sells. Thanks again.

Out of the 100`s of bars of Clay Magic(red & blue) I`ve used, I have never seen it dissolve or break down. I`ve seen people use it to the point it was almost black and it still stayed together great. Also, the trick to making your clay last longer is splitting the bar into 2 pieces. It`s still a perfect size to work and in essence lasts twice as long.

[Ron Harris]

All the clay in the US is produced under Auto Magic’s patent. You should be concerned with the grade or aggressiveness of the product. It dose not matter who has the best there all the same. Pick your favorite vendor and place an order.

[gbackus]

Thanks for the replies and the welcome. Does anyone know if the Clay Magic bar stays together better when using soapy water as lube? I had the problem of it dissolving the clay when I used the Mothers bar, so I`d like to find a bar that doesn`t dissolve like that. If they both dissolve in the water mixture then I guess I`ll buy some lube in addition, or just buy the perfect shine clay and lube bundle that the Autopia store sells. Thanks again.





I`ve found that certain soaps seem to break down clay, and others don`t. Just from what I`ve used, NXT, Gold glass, and Mothers california gold, have all affected the clay bars I`ve used negatively. However, Meg`s #00, #62, Optimum car wash, and AI`s "C" car wash have all worked fine for me. I tend to mix my lube at 20-30:1 water: car wash.

[Alfisti]

I always use the grey Sonus clay with a Mothers shampoo mix and have never had any problems with it. The Clay Magic shampoo-based lube works ok too, but the sprayer it comes in is the worst since Creation!

[petp]

i know this has been asked a gajjilion times before but....will the mothers or claymagic (thats sold at autozone) take off wax. i have 2 layers of collinite 845IW on for the winter and looking for a way to remove it come springtime.

[Accumulator]

petep- Most "normal" detailing clays will take off LSPs if you clay sorta aggressively (more aggressively than I like to do). I`d use some kind of paint cleaner (Meg`s Deep Crystal Step #1 is cheap, effective, and commonly available) or even IPA instead of claying more aggressively than (IMO) one ought to.



Dent`s & Details- There are significant differences between the Sonus green clay and the others I have used. It might just be the same kind of difference in aggressiveness as between the Clay Magic Red/Blue, but it is a big functional difference. You have to really *work* at it to cut through LSP with the Sonus green.



Some clays hold up much better to shampoo mix than others (Mother`s/Griot`s falls apart quickly, Sonus does not). Not sure what causes this difference but it`s pretty pronounced and anybody who compares various clays side-by-side will notice this difference. EFHI makes Mother`s/Griot`s clay turn downright liquid but it doesn`t do this at all to the Sonus gray, which reacts to the EFHI in a completely different manner (I do this twice a year when cleaning the back sides of wheels, just did it a little while ago).



There`s also the plastic vs. elastic difference that David B. has posted about. It`s not *quite* as cut-and-dried/"they`re all the same" as it used to be. And the now-discontinued Sonus gray v1.0 was a *very* different product, a *better* product in some ways.



Don`t mean to sound :argue: There are a great many clays that are obviously the same stuff, sometimes with different coloring added in. But there are some different ones out there too.

[Setec Astronomy]

Without rehashing this whole clay thing, IIRC the Clay Magic patents (BTW, Auto Magic/Clay Magic just got bought by ITW, a huge industrial product conglomerate, don`t know how this might change anything) cover various (a whole lot of varieties) of ingredients in the clay (such as detergents, etc.).



So it may be, that, under their patent protection, they can offer all different sorts of clay mixtures, which could all react differently to different lubes/shampoos. Kind of like going to a diner and asking for an omelette and being told "sure, we can make that out of regular eggs, brown eggs, cage-free eggs, vegetable-fed eggs, egg whites, and we can put 4 kinds of meat, and 6 kinds of cheese in there. But it`s all eggs."

[Accumulator]

OK, I can see that. I guess it`s a matter of functional differences being significant or not.