Clay ? / Poorly Maintained Car ?

HondaMan

HondaMan

2004 Civic EX magnesium
2 quick questions...

(1) With clay, I have FINE bars for my car and my folks. I am wondering if I should have gotten MEDIUM for mom's car, since it's alot older (10 years) and poorly maintained. Any big difference? Will using a FINE bar on her car be picking up too fine stuff?

(2) Mom's car may not have been waxed in years...so I may just be looking at paint and whatever's left from who knows when (clearcoat?). The car is a black 1994 Camry -- anybody want to venture what's above the black paint, if anything, for a car that's probably not been waxed in years (though garaged for the most part)?

I'm new to detailing but have ordered lots of products here so if I need to apply extra layers of anything to her car, I should have it by the end of the week.
 
With the clay question, I would suggest try the fine clay first in a test area, then check it to see if you have gotten the contaminants out of the paint. If not, you could then step up to the medium clay. I used a fine claymagic bar on my dad's 94 S-10, and it worked fine.
 
The clear should still be on the car. No reason for the clear to just vanish after 10 years. For a car not waxed for years I would just suggest a claybar, polishing system, sealant and wax.
 
Thanks Jared, thanks Civ....btw, my car is a 2004 Honda Civic EX!

I'm looking forward to my first detailing job this weekend...my dad saw all the stuff I've got so far (wait 'till he sees the next 2 boxes arrive!) and wanted to know if I was buying stuff for our cars or the whole neighborhood!! lol
 
BTW Jared, do you "break up" the 200 gram bars of clay in half? I noticed some units for sale were 100 grams and I was wondering if the two 200 gram bars I bought should be used "halfsies" as a whole bar is too much.
 
HondaMan said:
BTW Jared, do you "break up" the 200 gram bars of clay in half? I noticed some units for sale were 100 grams and I was wondering if the two 200 gram bars I bought should be used "halfsies" as a whole bar is too much.
Click to expand...

Def. break up the bar! I cut them in about 6-8 equal parts.
 
I always break up my clay bar, no matter what size. It just saves me a lot of trouble if I drop it. You will always have another piece of clay to work with. It is a good idea to break it at least in half.
 
Makes sense, thanks guys. I was thinking maybe a whole bar was just too big to work with, but your reasonings add more strength to the argument. Thx !!
 
Possibly you could make the clay bar last longer by breaking it up. I guess it would allow easier access to more surface area by having to knead the smaller pieces instead of the 1 big piece. I don't really know how scientifically correct that may be, but it might make you feel better about breaking it up.
 
I should have asked this ? last week before placing my orders for 2 bars !! I wanted one for my car only, and the other for all the others in my family.

I could have saved myself some $$$ by using a butterknife....ARRGGHH !! lol
 
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