Clay bar convert

**strat81** · 04-22-2006, 10:57 PM

For those of you on the fence about using clay, get off the fence! Clay bars work! I clayed my 2004 Saab 9-3 today for the first time. The paint is in relatively good condition. However the `plastic bag test` did reveal some problem areas. The worst spot on the car was the horizontal area where the rear bumper meets the trunk. Even without the bag, the paint had a distinctly rough texture.

Guess what... the paint is smooth as glass now! I did the entire car using the Mother`s Clay Kit. I used almost the entire bottle of QD they include since everyone says to make sure you have the panel well lubricated. I split the clay in half, just in case I dropped it. The used clay looks downright funky now compared to the unused portion. The car was washed with NXT soap prior to claying and was washed only a week prior. It was driven only one mile in that week and garaged at night.

My only complaints center around the Mother`s QD. First, it smells like Big Red. I hate cinnamon gum! It started to make me nauseous towards the end. The other thing is that since I slathered the car with QD, some of it dried on the car, staining it. I washed the car afterwards and it removed some, but not all of the stains. I had to use paint cleaner to remove it.

Given the size of the box it came in, I was expecting a bigger piece of clay, something along the size of a bar of bathroom soap. The clay bar was MUCH smaller, kinda like hotel soap. And it`s wrapped in cellophane that was a bit tough to remove.

**aznt1217** · 04-22-2006, 11:31 PM

Yea, Clay is great I used my clay too... but it was on a 16 year old car so I couldn`t do much =X

**lex89** · 04-23-2006, 05:54 AM

I never thought of the QD drying on the car while claying. Does anyone have any advice so this doesn`t happen?

**imported_steveo3002** · 04-23-2006, 05:58 AM

lex89 you shouldnt have a problem with the qd drying, try to work on a cool surface in the shade..then work a small area and keep it wet with qd. when that area is slick, wipe with a mf and move on to the next area

just be sure to re spritz the area if it starts to dry out

**Setec Astronomy** · 04-23-2006, 06:14 AM

It might have been clay residue on the car.

**strat81** · 04-23-2006, 10:11 AM

Originally Posted by steveo3002

lex89 you shouldnt have a problem with the qd drying, try to work on a cool surface in the shade..then work a small area and keep it wet with qd. when that area is slick, wipe with a mf and move on to the next area

just be sure to re spritz the area if it starts to dry out

Yeah, I`m an idiot, I didn`t wipe down each area before moving on. Oh well, sometimes we learn the hard way. Luckily, there`s Autopia so someone can learn the easy way from my mistakes. Sharing is caring, right?

**imported_steveo3002** · 04-23-2006, 10:21 AM

yeah strat everyone has to learn.....youve come to the right place

**Laxpunk2006** · 04-23-2006, 02:24 PM

I`m in love with clay. I try to explain it to friends but I can tell they don`t get it at all. The first time I used it I didn`t know what I was doing so it didn`t accomplish much. But with that little bit of experience, and after reading up some more and trying it again I couldn`t live without it. I can`t wait to get a day off so I can do some spring cleaning.