Detailing virgin..question about clay

[redlineNSX]

Ive loved cars for a long time and love keeping them clean, however, the only thing i was ever taught was to wax your car every once in a while. So my question for you today is...what is a clay bar?? (told you im a detailing virgin) whats it made of? how do you use it? etc... thanks so much for your reply.

[Jngrbrdman]

Clay gets all the roughness off the paint. If you run your hand oer the paint and feel anything but a smooth surface then you need clay. Do some reading in the articles and its all explained there. Click up there on the `learn` button and check that out. If you want to see it in action then let me know. :bigups

[shaf]

There`s also a good article in the Hall of Fame I believe. Welcome to the tip of the iceberg! :D

[chris0626]

Originally posted by Jngrbrdman

Clay gets all the roughness off the paint. If you run your hand oer the paint and feel anything but a smooth surface then you need clay. Do some reading in the articles and its all explained there. Click up there on the `learn` button and check that out. If you want to see it in action then let me know. :bigups

Actually, Jngr, I`ve come to a sort of 180-degree disagreement-within-an-agreement with you. Most folks who maintain their cars will rub their hands over the surface and think it`s smooth. But then, if you can get them to use clay on just one section, they`ll exclaim OHMYGAWD! because they never really knew what "smooth" was supposed to be. I saw this today at a Tech Tips session BradB led. One guy said, "No, I don`t need clay; my paint is perfect." But we used clay on it anyway, and he was blown away. I had the same experience when I first got into Autopia. I did not believe it was possible to improve on my finsih; but claying seemed like "the thing to do," and as soon as I tried it on one section, I was hooked; the rest of the finish felt like sandpaper, by comparison.



So my new advice is: If you`ve never used clay, buy it and use it once, so you can "calibrate" your expectations of what the paint should feel like. Whaddaya think about that approach?

[Jngrbrdman]

Hmmmm.... I like it. :bigups I think everybody should start the detailing experience by claying their car. It will be the first thing they will do with their car that will provide such instant and dramatic changes. Even polishing the car isn`t as instant and dramatic I think. If I was going to get someone addicted to detailing then I would give them a bar of Clay Magic and a bottle of AIO. Bam! They will be hooked. :D

[imported_Smoker]

Originally posted by Lynn

Actually, Jngr, I`ve come to a sort of 180-degree disagreement-within-an-agreement with you. Most folks who maintain their cars will rub their hands over the surface and think it`s smooth. But then, if you can get them to use clay on just one section, they`ll exclaim OHMYGAWD! because they never really knew what "smooth" was supposed to be. I saw this today at a Tech Tips session BradB led. One guy said, "No, I don`t need clay; my paint is perfect." But we used clay on it anyway, and he was blown away. I had the same experience when I first got into Autopia. I did not believe it was possible to improve on my finsih; but claying seemed like "the thing to do," and as soon as I tried it on one section, I was hooked; the rest of the finish felt like sandpaper, by comparison.



So my new advice is: If you`ve never used clay, buy it and use it once, so you can "calibrate" your expectations of what the paint should feel like. Whaddaya think about that approach?





Actually the usual method is to do the baggie test.



Once you demo that, no further reasoning needed.

[chris0626]

I continue to think the "baggie test" is a crock. Your fingers are a heckuva lot more sensitive on the paint than they are thru a baggie. What the heck made somebody think of feeling your paint`s slickness thru a piece of plastic????



Not flaming you at all, Smoker -- but I really would like to get my hands on the "baggie-test inventor."

[rleven]

Baggie test brought to you by the makers of BAGGIES!!! Dow Chemical probably. hehehehehe

[imported_Smoker]

Originally posted by Lynn

I continue to think the "baggie test" is a crock. Your fingers are a heckuva lot more sensitive on the paint than they are thru a baggie. What the heck made somebody think of feeling your paint`s slickness thru a piece of plastic????



Not flaming you at all, Smoker -- but I really would like to get my hands on the "baggie-test inventor."



Actually your wrong.



Try it yourself.

Tha baggie test works by providing a much harder surface than your skin to detect the contaminants.



Your skin, being soft, will `give` so you wont feel as many of the rough bumps and snags.



This technique is not just used in the detailing business, believe me.

[TortoiseAWD]

Just another data point . . . Clay Magic includes a glove made of sandwich baggie-type material with their 200 mg clay bar. It`s intended use is the same as the "baggie test".



In my experience, it does make small contaminants more noticeable to the touch.



Tort

[zyx5432]

At what point should you begin using a clay bar?



For example, I have a new auto that I purchased in early May. It has been washed, but not yet gone through the entire detail process.



For the first time, should I stick with the typical wash & wax routine or clay bar-it first?



Thanks

[Jngrbrdman]

How do you know if it needs to be clayed? That`s easy. Feel the surface. If you feel bumps then you need it. If its smooth then you don`t. If you see little black dots on your bumper or little brown rust dots on your roof or fenders, then its time to break out the clay. Even new cars can benefit from clay.

[tdsoup]

Originally posted by zyx5432

At what point should you begin using a clay bar?



For example, I have a new auto that I purchased in early May. It has been washed, but not yet gone through the entire detail process.



For the first time, should I stick with the typical wash & wax routine or clay bar-it first?



Thanks Clay it.

I bought the WRX new and I clayed it the first weekend.

It made a dramatic improvement from all the crap that fell on it in shipping and sitting on the dealer lot.

[Viceland]

I clay my teg last weekend. It feels like sandpaper before even without the bag. After the clay process, it`s smooth, very smooth. My teg is 2000 and the paint is feeling like new now.

[imported_300B]

I clayed my car over the weekend becasue after the winter the paint felt like sand paper. However, even after using the clay I can still feel roughness. It`s probably 90% better than it was, but it`s still there. Is this normal? Or should the paint be perfectly smooth after using clay?



cp