Clay Questions

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baseballlover1

New member
I have been doing an unforgivable thing... ive been using the same block of clay for like 2 months and like 15 or 20 cars. I never realized that its bad for the car to re use clay... well now i know. Can you divide clay in like half's or quarters?



Thanks in advance guys,

Daniel
 
i always divide my clay in thirds or halves depending on the size. it gets retired when the clay becomes really sticky, and the color of the clay has completly changed. it gets demoted to wheel duty
 
greyish black... Its the old sonus clay. I just ordered the Zaino clay (z18 I think its called), how many peices can i divide this into? And i think i will stick with 2 or 3 used with each block and wrap each peice in ceran wrap... Good idea?
 
The Zaino clay will come in 2 separate packages inside the container. I cut each package into 2, so you have 4 pieces total.



IME, each piece of the clay is good for 3-4 cars (so figure 12-16 cars for all of the clay).
 
Clay is cheap. Paint finish is not.



Purchase enough for the job(s) that you'll do and as everyone said, cut it into thirds depending on the size.



After one car, whatever clay is leftover, I toss.



Deanski
 
Deanski said:
After one car, whatever clay is leftover, I toss.
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Holy Cow! I get much more use than that (Blue Clay Magic). I don't think I've ever killed an entire bar after 1 use, even on the heaviest contaminant removal. As a reference, I could use a 100 gram bar on *atleast* 10-15 vehicles if I were doing a usual brand new vehicle prep. I stop using it when it's either very discolored(from dirt) or it doesn't work as quickly/effeciently. When it isn't cutting thru contamination as usual, it's done. I do kneed it constantly, so maybe the debris is more equally distributed throughout the bar? I like using the really old pieces at regular washes. I never use soap either, just the lubricant recommended by the manufacturer.
 
Yea definitly cut it into pieces. I cut my 200g bars into 8 25g pieces and my sonus greens into 3rds which are a little more than 25g a piece. That way you can toss as you go or drop.
 
David Fermani said:
Holy Cow! I get much more use than that (Blue Clay Magic). I don't think I've ever killed an entire bar after 1 use, even on the heaviest contaminant removal. As a reference, I could use a 100 gram bar on *atleast* 10-15 vehicles if I were doing a usual brand new vehicle prep. I stop using it when it's either very discolored(from dirt) or it doesn't work as quickly/effeciently. When it isn't cutting thru contamination as usual, it's done. I do kneed it constantly, so maybe the debris is more equally distributed throughout the bar? I like using the really old pieces at regular washes. I never use soap either, just the lubricant recommended by the manufacturer.
Click to expand...



I should have said the parts that I cut and used on one car. Not the entire bar itself.



One good shard of rust, stone etc, and your paint is toast. Sure I re-fold/kneed and inspect numerous times, it's just cheaper since I buy clay by the case and once you've done it (marked-up a finish due to a sharp object in the clay) you'll soon find out that clay is cheap.



I also cut the bar in smaller sections just for this reason. Not just into thirds. It does not take a whole lot of clay to do a finish if it's somewhat clean from the start.



I too use the lube from what the clay mfg uses and try to match it with another product instead of soap which can break-down some clay and make a real mess too.



I use another clay for overspray as it's much more agressive than your standard clay.



Deanski
 
Deanski said:
One good shard of rust, stone etc, and your paint is toast. Sure I re-fold/kneed and inspect numerous times, it's just cheaper since I buy clay by the case and once you've done it (marked-up a finish due to a sharp object in the clay) you'll soon find out that clay is cheap.
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I totally agree with you in respect to creating major damage, but it almost seems like your tossing it before something could happen, not just when it happens. Regular contamination doesn't include *shards* of rust and/or especially stones. :D As long as the clay is still clean and useable, why wouldn't you continue to use it? It's not that cheap. Say your average 200gram bar of clay is $25 and you section it into 5 pieces, that $5 per car. That adds up when you're doing enough work to buy clay by the box/case?
 
Yes, I get it by the case.



As I said, pick-up something sharp and not be aware (lighting) and you'll see my point. It was my fault 100% for not checking and re-folding and not having it in the proper stall with the lights.



I'm looking at a way to really "clean" the clay out of all the dirt with one of my partners who is in the process of developing a way to do this. In the mean time, I just use small amounts and toss them after one car is done or area.



Still cheaper than re-shooting a finish.



Deanski
 
What kindof clay do you use (that you buy by the case, this might be something ide be interested in). Also what clay do you use that is more aggressive?



How much does a case cost also and how many are in it?
 
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