How do you know when clay is done?

[chromecarz00]

Hi all,

used the mothers claybar a lot before I found this site. In fact I used it so much taht it actually began to disintegrate into yellow liquid when I used it. Of course I know that this is way too late to dispose of it; however, I just bought the Meguiars claybar, and Im not sure how much to use that. How do I know when the claybar is ready to be thrown?

Pictures Im sure would help illustrate.

THanks

[Showroom Shine]

When you knead it and it still shows dirt and you can`t find a good clean looking area. I usually only use a piece of clay twice. Unless the car is exceptionally bad, then I throw it away after 1 use. If it`s breaking apart, you have had it way to long! Help Me out here fellow Autopians,am I close?

[Accumulator]

Hi all,

used the mothers claybar a lot before I found this site. In fact I used it so much taht it actually began to disintegrate into yellow liquid when I used it. Of course I know that this is way too late to dispose of it; however, I just bought the Meguiars claybar, and Im not sure how much to use that. How do I know when the claybar is ready to be thrown?

Pictures Im sure would help illustrate.

THanks

Can`t help via pics, let`s see if I can explain anything worthwhile..



Yeah, once the clay goes soupy (often a matter of something compromising it- wrong lube, some solvent) or crumbly, or it quits working effectively, then it`s time for new clay.



Another reason to retire it is contamination; when the clay is so contaminated that you can`t refold/knead it to expose a clean area. You don`t want to rub contaminated clay across the paint lest the contaminants cause marring (but this clay might still be OK for wheels/etc.). This is like when you accidentally drop your clay...90% of the time it`s not a good idea to keep using the dropped clay because you just never know what it might`ve picked up.



Yeah, you can fold/knead the clay so the contamination is hopefully moved away from the part of the clay that`s touching your paint, but I dunno...the [stuff] is still in there and a lot of the stuff I clay off is stuff I do *not* want rubbed against my paint.



*IMO* you oughta replace the clay pretty frequently, before the risk of marring from embedded contamination becomes an issue.



I like to tear my clay into sorta-small pieces and then replace these sorta frequently, pretty much as soon as they`re contaminated. This is good if/when you drop it too, as it`s just a little piece getting trashed.

[chromecarz00]

So would a color discoleration also be too late? like if the clay is darker than originally?

[Accumulator]

So would a color discoleration also be too late? like if the clay is darker than originally?

Well,it would at least get me wondering. I`d expect that the discoloration came from a lot of [stuff] that the clay picked up. But if it`s just from hitting rubber/etc it might not be anything to worry about.



I *do* go through a lot of clay compared to some people, but I err on the side of caution. I consider clay to be a renewable resource; the whole idea is that it gets nasty stuff off your paint and into the clay so once the clay is significantly contaminated I figure it`s done its job and it`s time for a new piece (but OTOH I guess it`s easy for me to spend *your* money on new clay ).

[dublifecrisis]

Mother`s clay does tend to fall apart a little quicker than say the Clay Magic (also available OTC) Especially when you`re using a lot of lube. If you have auot zone, check for tthis Clay Magic Blue or whatever it`s called. Tends to be cheaper and it`s better IMO. doesn`t fall apart but might be a little tougher to knead it.



and as others have said:



drop it-trash it

[shadow85]

if you are questioning it, the safest thing to do is get a new one. I like to find out approximately how many uses the clay can take. Then i break off what i need and use that and throw it away. That way you are using a fresh piece every time. If that piece is getting caked, get a new piece. Also if you drop it, you are only losing a piece, not the whole thing.

[SuperBee364]

Generally, I use a quarter bar for one car, then throw it away. If the car is really nasty, I`ll use a half bar, and again throw it away after. I`ve caused some pretty nasty marring by using clay past it`s prime (way too much stuff imbedded in it), and it`s cheap, so I just don`t take any chances with getting it too contaminated anymore.

[AuAltima3.5]

If cars are really contaminated, I will throw the clay away, even if it is still pretty "robust" feeling.



Usually what happens to me is that it starts to crumble. This happens after about one hour of continuous use with car wash as lube.