Claying Question

[taylor]

How often do you guys clay down a car? I havent had any experience with it. Like when customers say they want the "full package" do you automatically do it? Does it make a huge difference in the finished job? And how far does one bar go?

[White95Max]

A "full package" would definitely include claying. One clay bar for me usually does 2 average cars (we`ll say 6 year old neglected cars).



I ask my customers what they want beforehand. I tell them all the steps I CAN do, and they tell me which ones they want done. If they don`t want me to clay it, I don`t.



I clay mine around twice a year, before each full detail.

[Black240SX]

I clay twice a year, and it does remove a lot of embedded dirt from some parts of my car. It does make a huge difference on neglected cars.

[Accumulator]

I spot-clay mine, *VERY gently* with every wash, and I always clay a panel if I`m refreshing its LSP. But again, I`m very gentle about it, so gentle that I don`t strip off my LSP, rather I just pull the contamination out/off of it.

[jchetty]

Originally posted by Accumulator

I spot-clay mine, *VERY gently* with every wash, and I always clay a panel if I`m refreshing its LSP. But again, I`m very gentle about it, so gentle that I don`t strip off my LSP, rather I just pull the contamination out/off of it.





i spot clay as needed usually once a week after wash process and i clay once a month prior to waxing

[Ducky]

I remember some one saying claying something(example, polished wheels) that has no clear coat is a no no. Can anyone explain to me why it`s not good to do so?

[TheShinyMama]

What brand of clay is best?:confused:

[PaPenguin]

but when claying, do you usually only do the hood, roof and trunk or do you also do the sides, and if you do the sides how do you keep the keep the clay lubricated?

[jbar]

the sides are done just as the hood, roof etc. spray your lubricant on the surface and rub the clay over that area.

[White95Max]

I always clay the entire car, not just the horizontal surfaces. Like jbar said, you just spray and clay. If you have trouble keeping enough lubricant on the sides (you shouldn`t) just spray some directly on the clay.

[PaPenguin]

Thanks for the info. I read something on another site that talked about only claying the horizontal surfaces and then I started wondering how you could keep the lube on the sides. I`ll do like you say and just apply lube to the clay if I can`t keep it on the sides.

[Accumulator]

Ducky- I`ve heard that too, and can only guess that it would be a matter of clay getting stuck on/in the polished metal. I`ve used clay on areas where the paint had worn off aluminum wheels (on the back sides, for instance) and it never caused any problems for me.



PaPenguin- You`ll find the lube/soap mix won`t just run off the panel, enough will stay on there for you to clay with. Heh heh, especially if you use soap mix from a foamgun ;)



TheShinyMama- Heh heh, that`s like asking which cola is best :D Most people like Clay Magic and Mother`s, which you can usually find locally. I prefer Sonus from the Autopia store. IMO you won`t go wrong with any of the usual recommendations.