Clay Bar

[Kid Met]

I have used a clay bar on my car once (May 07) How many time should I use clay.



Do I need to take of my exsisting wax off.

[hXc drummer23]

Most people do it once to twice a year. I do it every couple of months, just because I`m OCD about having a clean car.



You do not have to take off the wax, the clay will take the wax off. But if you want, you can wash the car with Dawn dish soap and that will take off the wax.

[imageautodetail]

Would you wash your dishes with car wash shampoo?

I know a lot of people still use dawn, I think it is a bad idea to get into the habit of using it though. My 2 cents

[imageautodetail]

sorry forgot to post on the clay question... You can usually do a total of 5 full cars before a clay bar has collected a paint dangerous amount of contaminent. The bar can then be recycled for wheels. If you can no longer fold the clay to a clean surface, it is time to replace it

[JasonD]

Using a whole bar of clay for a detail is wasteful, imo. I actually tear my clay bars in half, or even into thirds, depending on the size of the bar, and then use each torn off section a few times before throwing them away. I get a lot of details out of my clay.



You can clay as often as every wash if you want, there is no limit to how often, but just remember to be VERY gentle while using it. Just like everything else, the least aggressive method is always the best. If you just let the clay glide over the surface with little to no pressure at all, it will pick up the contaminents without removing your wax or sealant.



On the other hand, if you only clay once a year, and have to really bare down on the clay to get all the trash off your paint, you will more than likely strip everything off and have to start from scratch with the detail.



I, personally, like the first option. I clay a lot, but I clay so gently that it barely even touches the paint, and rarely have to follow up with any kind of protectant, unless I want to, of course.



Something else to remember about clay is DO NOT DROP IT!!! This is also another good reason to tear off small sections of clay instead of using a whole bar. If you drop it, you can throw it away and not have to take such an expensive hit in the wallet.



The question of "do I need to take the existing wax off", no you do not. There is no reason to have to remove any protectant of any kind, unless you are purposely wanting to remove it for some reason.



Hope this helps.

[stiffdogg06]

I clay 2 times a year.



Most likely the clay will remove any LSP. But I don`t know how fine the finest clay is out there now.:LOLOL

[Kid Met]

Thanks



Where do guys get your clay? I have used Zaino`s but I could find it cheaper some else I think.

[velobard]

If you want cheap (but still good!), pick up some blue Clay Magic at AutoZone for about $11. Also you can find Mother`s at Walmart for <$15.

[mikebai1990]

I`d recommend ClayMagic. Much cheaper and you don`t get that useless "complimentary" small bottle of wax.