bug & tar or clay bar first?

[ragtopgolfer]

Just curious as to whether you are supposed to use bug & tar before or after claying.



thanks.

 

[shaf]

It depends how much tar you have. I wouldn't use tar remover over the whole car if that's what you're thinking.



Personally, I'd get the big tar spots you can see fairly easily off first, then clay, then if you have a light coloured car go around the car with a q-tip and tar remover to get those pinhead sized spots the clay missed.



I don't think "order" really matters since tar remover is kind of a spot fix, not a whole car treatment.

 

[boywonder]

Actually, I tend to use bug and tar remover before I even wash the car. This way, the tar and bugs are easily removed from the finish.

 

[jerry@robs]

Same here, I do a round-the-car inspection for tar, apply tar remover all around the tar spots, by the time I go through the whole car, it's pretty much dissolved... then I wash my car and the tar goes with it...

 

[imported_BretFraz]

Here's the way I see it:



Bug & Tar removers are cheap. Body clay and lubricant is expensive.



If you have lots of little tar specs then use some shop towels or paper towels and pour out a good amount of tar remover onto them. Wipe down entire panels at a time with the goal of removing as much tar as you can. Repeat panel after panel. Wash car. Then clay the entire car which will remove any missed tar specs along with the other surface contaminents.



You've used only pennies worth of tar remover and paper towels instead of a few bucks worth of clay and lube. And the end result is the same.

 

[shaf]

Here's the way I see it:



Bug & Tar removers are cheap. Body clay and lubricant is expensive.

{snip}

You've used only pennies worth of tar remover and paper towels instead of a few bucks worth of clay and lube. And the end result is the same.

Very interesting way to look at it, and I like it! Thanks Bret. I think I'll do this from now on especially on the lower panels and rear where tar and stuff likes to accumulate. I'm claying a friend's car tomorrow and I remember how many tar deposits he has on the lower doors...



:up