Favorite brand of Clay

**Todd@RUPES** · 01-30-2011, 01:20 PM

I`m curious as to exactly why people prefer Clay Magic blue to Blackfire Poly Clay II. Any constructive criticism is always appreciated? Is it durability? Feel? Cleaning ability?

**bmw5541** · 01-30-2011, 02:45 PM

Originally Posted by th0001

I`m curious as to exactly why people prefer Clay Magic blue to Blackfire Poly Clay II. Any constructive criticism is always appreciated? Is it durability? Feel? Cleaning ability?

Todd,
I have been using Blackfire Poly clay for some time now and like it a lot. The only criticism that I have is that it tends to crumple apart. Or another description might be flaking away. Other then that, I have no complaints about it.

**imported_Stokdgs** · 01-31-2011, 11:32 AM

Originally Posted by th0001

I`m curious as to exactly why people prefer Clay Magic blue to Blackfire Poly Clay II. Any constructive criticism is always appreciated? Is it durability? Feel? Cleaning ability?

Todd,
The Blackfire Poly Clay is a great clay and does an awesome job on even very dirty panels. I have been testing it for about a year on many different vehicles.

I have been using the Blackfire Claybar Cleaning Extender as well, and this product also works very well. It appears to "liquify" the dirty clay layer, and it rinses off the clay pretty well. But, I have found, that after so many of these "cleanings" with the Blackfire Claybar Extender, that the Polyclay starts to soften, and eventually, break down and not work any longer.

If the Blackfire claybar extender cleaning spray and the Blackfire polyclay were perhaps more compatible with each other however that works, the Blackfire poly clay would sure be a winner and my first go-to product every time.

DanF

**imported_TLMitchell** · 01-31-2011, 12:52 PM

Originally Posted by Puckman

I`m just like you, Barry, in that I`ve tried a bunch of different clays and keep returning to Clay Magic blue.

+1 :thumbup:

Originally Posted by bmw5541

I know that a lot of people love the Riccardo Yellow, but it is not available here in the US. The Griots Yellow looks similar to the Riccardo, and am curious if anyone has tried it.

Haven`t used Griot`s but I found Mother`s yellow to be very similar to Riccardo.

Originally Posted by User Name

Riccardo Yellow would be my clay of choice, but it is not perfect.

What I like about it most, is probably what causes it to be problematic...

I love that it is SOOOOOO pliable. Compared to Meg`s Mild, Clay Magic Blue, Mother`s etc... it is much easier work in your hand.

The draw back (however) is that you REALLY need to use a lot of lube with it, or it tends to remain on your paint (and much easier than any other clay I`ve used). It`s defect removal abilities are about the same as everything else I`ve tried.

Riccardo blue is stickier, IME. Plus it crumbles. Both overrated, IMO. Folks seem to always want what`s hard to get.

TL

**Todd@RUPES** · 02-01-2011, 11:42 AM

Originally Posted by Stokdgs

Todd,
The Blackfire Poly Clay is a great clay and does an awesome job on even very dirty panels. I have been testing it for about a year on many different vehicles.

I have been using the Blackfire Claybar Cleaning Extender as well, and this product also works very well. It appears to "liquify" the dirty clay layer, and it rinses off the clay pretty well. But, I have found, that after so many of these "cleanings" with the Blackfire Claybar Extender, that the Polyclay starts to soften, and eventually, break down and not work any longer.

If the Blackfire claybar extender cleaning spray and the Blackfire polyclay were perhaps more compatible with each other however that works, the Blackfire poly clay would sure be a winner and my first go-to product every time.

DanF

Thank you Dan (and Barry!) for your valuable feed back. We honestly value honesty and use constructive criticism to improve our product lines.

Todd

**dpk204** · 02-02-2011, 08:01 PM

I use the Griot`s Yellow. My first clay bar was the clay magic blue. After seeing results with that, that`s what got me using clay bars. That was like 10 years ago. I then used the Meguiars mild clay bar and now I use the Griot`s.

The key for any clay bar to work is cool paint and a good lube. I am not a fan of Griot`s Speed Shine as lubricant. My favorite lubricant is sold by Detail King; it is called Wonder Bar Clay Lubricant. It is pink in color and very slippery. My second favorite is sold by Top of The Line and it is called Clay Lube by Hi-Temp. It is also very slippery.

I think the lube and cool paint is more important than the clay.

**SoonerFan** · 02-03-2011, 07:17 AM

I have used the Griot clay and found it to be user friendly, but I can do with their lubricant. Used megs clay and it seems to work fine, however, the Griot worked a little better.

**imported_firebird** · 02-03-2011, 07:07 PM

I have used Griot`s and like it but found it to be a bit "stickier" than others. Also used Megs and Zaino and like them too. I am curious now to try Claymagic Blue.

**imported_DetailDan** · 02-05-2011, 11:10 AM

Clay Magic Blue or Sonus when I need a fine clay.

**imported_gdal** · 02-05-2011, 11:29 AM

My favorite clay bar was AM blue clay, until I tried the Gliptone body bars a few months ago. The gliptone body bar is the leftover kukala clay that was purchased by Gliptone after the clay patent war in the US. It`s identical to the old zaino yellow clay and it`s extremely similar to Riccardo clay. I only know of one place that sells it though ... brilex solutions out of PA.

**imported_CieraSL** · 02-05-2011, 07:30 PM

I like Meguiar`s blue clay and Pinnacle Ultra Poly Clay.

**Dr.Az** · 05-05-2011, 07:31 PM

I noticed something unusual when I was looking at clay bar products in Australia - perhaps you guys in the US could verify this.

Each brand here has patent numbers on the box. They`re all the same, regardless of brand. Clay Magic were the first and are the patent holders. Everyone else has the same patent numbers quoted. This generally only means one thing: Clay Magic manufacture ALL clay bars, regardless of brand. Chances are that there are secret parts to the Clay Magic formula that no one else gets, which is why everyone seems to love the Clay Magic Blue over everything else.

Thoughts?

**Nth Degree** · 05-06-2011, 12:20 AM

Originally Posted by Dr.Az

I noticed something unusual when I was looking at clay bar products in Australia - perhaps you guys in the US could verify this.

Each brand here has patent numbers on the box. They`re all the same, regardless of brand. Clay Magic were the first and are the patent holders. Everyone else has the same patent numbers quoted. This generally only means one thing: Clay Magic manufacture ALL clay bars, regardless of brand. Chances are that there are secret parts to the Clay Magic formula that no one else gets, which is why everyone seems to love the Clay Magic Blue over everything else.

Thoughts?

Very interesting. I hope someone else has an answer for this before I spend a ton of time researching.

**imported_Stokdgs** · 05-06-2011, 01:19 AM

I have been using the Blue Clay Magic bar for over 20 years, and it has always been a great all-around claybar.

So, I guess one can say that this bar has a lot of "time in grade" (military talk), or "time in the field", and perhaps that is why so many people like it - it was one of the first OTC claybars, and its quality has not changed or diminished in my experience.

I have also tried other brands, possibly made by the same company, I dont know and never really looked at the patent numbers to compare.

Other bars are also good, some better than others, some "stickier" than others, and I dont really care for bars like that, especially if it leaves itself on the paint and I have to take time to remove it, or it mars the paint easily.

I just want the claybar to do its job quickly, not mar the paintwork, be pliable in my hands, clean up easily with Blackfire Claybar Cleaner and Extender, not turn to mush and become unusable, and have a competitive pricepoint for my business.

It all seems so much more confusing to have so many choices out there, I sometimes wish I had a chart that listed the different "grits", etc., of all the claybars, so it would be easier to buy what you need for your particular circumstances; perhaps something like that awesome Menzerna compound and polishes chart, etc...

I have it narrowed down now finally, after years of using them to just a few brands; some for more dirty areas, some for way less dirty paint, and some for in-between.

But now that there is that wonderful chemical Iron-X, Iron-Cut, or whatever it is called, this may change a lot about what I will now need in a Claybar after using this product on the paint first...

Too many choices, not enough time !

Dan F

**Dr.Az** · 05-06-2011, 01:21 AM

I can shed a little light on contract manufacturing, as I do work for a major manufacturer down here - we make our own brands AND products labelled for other companies.
We do tweak `packages` for customers. For an auto-related example, we might manufacture a car-wash and Walmart decide they want to start stocking their own range of car-care products so they approach us to manufacture "Walmart Wash n Wax" which gets stocked on the shelf next to our own brand. Sometimes all they require is the addition of a fragrance and a different colour dye.
This is common everywhere, from food to cleaning products and tools. Toyota, for example, are a car manufacturer - not a coolant/anti-freeze manufacturer - yet they have their own brand of anti-freeze. In Australia, Toyota cars now run on a pink/purple anti-freeze. (For the record, anti-freeze is clear/colourless before they add dye)

So, and this is only speculation but, Megs could have approached Clay Magic to contract manufacture clay bars of a different colour and consistency. Clay Magic, not wanting to give away the market lead to turn into "that company that makes it for everyone else," would probably ensure that they still retain the best performing features for themselves.

This is just what I assume from each brand having the same patent numbers and what I know about contract manufacturing.