Clay Bar

[Claude]

I have never used clay and was wanting to know some do`s and dont`s,before I try it.I have not even bought any yet.Thanks for your input.JB





PS has anyone ever tried play dough? LOL

[HellrotCi]

Originally posted by Jeff Brown I have never used clay and was wanting to know some do`s and dont`s,before I try it.I have not even bought any yet.Thanks for your input.

1. Do wash your car at least once, I wash mine twice.

2. Do keep the area you are claying lubricated. I`ve used QD or some auto shampoo solution and a large sponge and just squeeze the sponge as needed to create a stream of suds.

3. Do fold the clay as you move from panel to panel to keep a somewhat clean piece of clay next to the paint.

4. Do not drop the clay bar on the ground.:) If you do, pitch it (that`s what the purist will say). I say, it depends, you be the judge.

5. Do enjoy claying your vehicle. The paint will be as smooth as a baby`s behind when you`re done.

6. Do wash your car again after your done because the clay sometimes leaves smudges in a few places.

[2wheelsx2]

The technique that I learned from others here, include Brad B. is to shave or pinch off small pieces and use them like that. If you use the whole chunk and you drop it, it`s toast (how are you going to plunk out all that sand/grit?) Just very little pressure, and keep the surface lubricated. Goes w/o saying to do it in the shade.



A friend of mine was having all kinds of problems claying, and called me up. I went over, and she was claying in the sun! Even on a white car, the lube was drying faster than she could spray it on.

[imported_doug]

All good advice so far, here is some more: you don`t need to rub and rub and rub. The clay simply knocks or pulls above-surface, adhered gunk off the paint. It doesn`t do anything else.



You really can HEAR it do its job. I find after 2 or 3 swipes over any area, it just stops making any noise - which is a good sign there is nothing more to lift. Move on.



If it grabs/smears, the surface is too hot, or, more likely, you need a little more lubricant.

[NogaroS4Buffer]

Be patient!! Check the surface of the clay often for any debris that could scratch.

[volfan]

If you get Mother`s clay bar (Mothers and ClayMagic make the best clay, havn`t heard too much positive about Zaino claybar; although there other products are superior), it`ll come w/ directions.

-Wash car thoroughly, then dry. You may want to strip all of the old wax off the car before claying for best results. Don`t use detergants or Dawn soap, for they remove oils from the paint. I use 3M "Adhesive, Tar, and Wax Remover" which works really good. Just spray it on, and wipe it off. One can does more than a whole car.

-pull car into shade, preferably a garage, and keep all dust off it. Let the car cool for one hour.

-Lay a big blanket below the area being clayed in case you drop the clay bar, thus saving it.

-Begin claying, Mother`s supply `Showtime` lubricant for the claybar. Don`t use any other products, especially water!

-pick one panel at a time to do. Spray on lubricant, gently (with no pressure) go in a back and forth motion, overlapping the same area a few times

-You will hear the particles being lifted, when you don`t hear anything, the area is done. When done, run your hand over the clayed area to see if you can feel anything.

-After you finish one panel, roll and knead the clay bar into a new ball to move the contaminants out of the way for the next panel

-When done w/ the car, wash it again thoroughly and dry

-After that, if you need to polish scratches out, now is the perfect time to do it.

-Last step, and most important, good brand of wax.

[shaf]

Lots of good advice! When I practiced on my parent`s van, I found out three things:



-big big difference on QD evaporation on a cool vs. an even slightly warm panel.

-like carguy said, it`s mostly hearing with a bit of feel. You can almost do it blindfolded. Of course if I saw a stubborn tar spot I`d rub it until gone.

-my Mother`s bar (well, a 1/3 anyway) was sticky enough that I didn`t have to worry about dropping it when in use. It stuck so firmly to my 3 fingers it was hard to pull off. It was only when pulling it off to fold it I had to be careful.



You will love the clay. I only planned to do the ultra-gritty hood, but the paint felt so good I wound up doing the entire van instead! :p

[chevyguy28]

Everyone here pretty much has it covered. If you get smudges from a lack of lubricant, some QD will take it off easily. Just be gentle and you`ll be fine.



I would suggest going with ClayMagic, which is commonly found at Autozone. For $10 you get a 100gram bar AND a lubricant (unfortunately, it is filled with silicones). If you decide to use their lubricant, you`ll definately have to wash afterwards. Can`t beat the price on this one, it works with the best of them too.

[jayder456]

I`ve got several coats of Zaino on my daily driver. Lately I`ve noticed a couple of moderate-sized rough feeling spots (nothing visible). This is also evident by a clean towl not sliding as freely over these areas as it does the rest of the car.



Can I clay these spots even though the car has Z on it? (I don`t know how these rougher spots came to be, I clayed the car last year before applying the Z and they weren`t there then.)

[jerry@robs]

do you have to rewax/seal your paint EVERYTIME you clay? Let`s say I just clayed and waxed my car, 2 days after i removed some fresh overspray and fallout from my hood, do I have to rewax the hood?



does claying remove wax layers?

[couch16]

Everyone here has offered excellent advice.



I`d like to add that I personally recommend the Mother`s Clay Bar system. It comes with a clay bar, instant detailer, and a small bottle of wax (which I don`t use).



I found that I need TWO bottles of instant detailer in order to do the car properly. I suggest you buy a second one. Heck, you can never have too much instant detailer, so I`d stock up.



Also, microfiber towels are a God-send. After the surface has been clayed, you need to wipe away all the remaining instant detailer. Microfiber works great and won`t scratch the surface. I HIGHLY recommend you stock up on Microfiber towels - a lot of them.

[ClayBartrug]

A few more questions to add to this post...



1. How long should I expect to take to clay a medium sized car? Sounds like a time consuming, slow process.



2. Seeing as you`re spraying QD all over to use as a lube, what happens when you`re done claying an area? Do you have to then buff out the QD remaining? Most QD`s say to buff out, or wipe away, and not to leave any remaining.



:confused:



thx

[chevyguy28]

1) It depends how contaminated the paint is, because that dicatates the amount of swipes. My car only took a couple passes over each area to become completely smooth, whereas when I did my friend`s XJR (which is parked outside all the time), I kept going for a while in the trouble areas.



It took me about one hour.





2) When you are done claying an area, you`ll want to buff off the QD. I decided to gently blot the areas with a cotton towel, then wipe dry completely with a MF towel. You will be so happy after you dry off the first area, guaranteed.