Why a clay bar

[jay_vw]

Would a swirl mark remover (ie Mother`s) do about the same thing? And I`ve been told that "Every time you clay your car you are just causing really little scratches, called micro-maring"

[Mindflux]

You *CAN* cause scratches with improper prep prior to claybarring. Otherwise all it`s doing is pulling contaminants out of your paint.

[Jngrbrdman]

Clay isn`t going to remove swirls or anything like that. Not even close. Like Mindflux said, it pulls contaminants out of your cars surface that paint cleaners can`t do. Typically the next step after using clay is to polish your car anyway so even if it does cause scratches you are supposed to be just polishing them out anyway. Clay is pretty important stuff. I would do some research on it. You`ll be facinated at what it does.

[Lowejackson]

Buy some good clay and you will be impressed with how smooth your paint is and just how dirty the clay becomes.



Steven

[Vegas1]

Once you clay for the first time and feel and see the results, you`ll wonder how you ever detailed a car without it.

[Acura_RL]

Don`t skip the clay. It`s very important, and it also makes your surface easier to polish and wax.

[godofthunder]

Whats proper prep? just cleaning the car before hand, making sure you dont have to many loose things on it?



jon

[Accumulator]

godofthunder- Yep, get the car as clean as you can during the wash phase. Use the correct lube (some work OK with car-wash solution, some work better with a dedicated lube). Other ideas include cutting the clay into small pieces and tossing after a few panels (as opposed to just folding/kneading) to reduce the chance of something that got pulled off marring other areas.



jay_vw - A BIG benefit to using clay (or AutoInt`s ABC) is that you can remove ferrous deposits ("rail dust") before they cause rust spots.

[medic159]

Originally posted by Lowejackson

Buy some good clay and you will be impressed with how smooth your paint is and just how dirty the clay becomes.



Steven



AND just how much easier it becomes to polish and buff!

[shaf]

godofthunder - if you have any easily visible tar/oil splatters anywhere, it`s probably a good idea to try to remove them before claying too.

[Acura_RL]

Originally posted by 4DSC

godofthunder - if you have any easily visible tar/oil splatters anywhere, it`s probably a good idea to try to remove them before claying too.



I agree with that 100%. My Mother`s clay bar was all fine before I got to the bottom door panels of my mom`s LHS. The clay bar felt like it was ruined and kneeding it would have simply hid the abrasive stains.



A separate bug and tar remover would be ideal.

[godofthunder]

Yah, I was planning on doing that and also cutting the bar into smaller easier to handle peices too

jon

[jay_vw]

So the idea of claying your car is to remove any paint contaminants off, while a swirl remover (or something like that) is too only remove/hide scratches swirls?

I have clayed various parts of my previous rides, never the entire car. And liked what I`d seen & felt. Guess I`ll be claying the entire body of my new GTI...

[Scottwax]

Originally posted by Vegas1

Once you clay for the first time and feel and see the results, you`ll wonder how you ever detailed a car without it.



My thoughts exactly. I don`t know how I got along before detailing clay was introduced.

[ultrajim49]

Originally posted by jay_vw

So the idea of claying your car is to remove any paint contaminants off, while a swirl remover (or something like that) is too only remove/hide scratches swirls?





You got that right:xyxthumbs



Don`t be affraid to do the whole car: it can only benefit from it



Christiaan