clay trick

bigron62

bigron62

New member
i have a new method of using clay when its very cold .. i was going to clay an expedition the other night and the clay was like a rock .. the temp was in the low 50s . so i get the idea to warm up the clay in a coffe mug full of hot water .. so i zap the water in the micro and drop the clay in and let it warm up and it got very soft and easy to work . after doing one panel it got cold and hard again and i soaked it for 30 seconds and kneaded it and it worked great and i did the vehicle panel by panel using this trick . the other good thing i noticed was the clay absorbed contaminents much better when it was soft and didnt leave any scratches so this is something i will def do again and recomend it... try it out
 
That is a good idea. I would probably suggest putting the clay in a baggie before you put it in the hot water. I've had clay bars get saturated while using them and I don't know that all clay is going to work well soaking in hot water.
 
I have no doubt it worked great, but some clay it isn't going to work the same way. Would putting it in a baggie change the results at all do you think?
 
i simply try different things to get the best results from the tools and products at my disposal and i am willing to share my results here to help other detailers . i dont really get to deep with detailing theory because detailing is a very simple process and i keep it real simple so if you want to try the baggie method please do so and post your results ... sorry to be rude but this thread isnt really all about you ..ok
 
I wasn't trying to make it all about me so you can relax now. Are you always this gracious when someone has questions about your discoveries? I was just asking if you thought it would make any difference if you put it in a baggie just in case someone out there was using a clay that would saturate in warm water. I keep my clay in the house so it doesn't get cold and cause problems, but I can see this being a good idea for cold clay.
 
Jngrbrdman said:
I wasn't trying to make it all about me so you can relax now. Are you always this gracious when someone has questions about your discoveries? I was just asking if you thought it would make any difference if you put it in a baggie just in case someone out there was using a clay that would saturate in warm water. I keep my clay in the house so it doesn't get cold and cause problems, but I can see this being a good idea for cold clay.
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Yeah, Ron's remarks were a little uncalled for. I also share your concerns that the hot water may cause the life of the clay to shorten or reduce its effectiveness. The hot water is a great idea though. Way to innovate Ron!
 
If you look up whats in clay, I dont think hot water will really affect it. Just my .02 from working with clay for15 yrs.
 
Regardless... I've had Pinnacle PolyClay, Mother's, and Meguiar's clay saturate and turn into useless goo when it has gotten too wet. In fact, if you search for it on Autopia there are many people who were having the same problem. Someone suggested that you don't dry the car after washing and just use the rinse water as the majority of your lube. Many of us noticed when you did that it would saturate the clay. The thread is likely a couple years old, but it doesn't change the fact that it is a risk. Why risk it when a baggie is easy and even lower risk?

Anyway, it's just a suggestion in case you are concerned about saturation and wanted to try it. If you want to put your bare clay in warm water then go for it. I'll be using a baggie.
 
Someone suggested that you don't dry the car after washing and just use the rinse water as the majority of your lube. Many of us noticed when you did that it would saturate the clay.
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Anthony, I have claying this way ever since I discovered it worked for me....lol
Never had an issue with absorption in the short term.

Great idea for those who need to warm the clay up. Heres a little experiment inspired by this idea.
Put some old clay in a glass with a predetermined amount of water. Cover and let sit for 24 hrs. Remove clay, and check qty of water remaining. Maybe this will solve the "Can water possibly interfere or change clays original formula?"......Just an idea.....
Both are great ideas and the two of you should be commended......Yet neither idea is worthy of arguement, we're all here to assist each other.
 
Neither have I with Clay Magic, Four Star or Wolfgang Clay. I have had it happen with others though. Logically it is something to think about though. Clay can be saturated. This won't necessarily do it, but it is a possibility.
 
Sounds like a good idea if you are in a place that is cold. I don't think it has ever gotten that cold down here to cause problems with clay. I'd probably bag mine too if I tried this, but I probably wouldn't have thought about it.
 
Very interesting. I do live in a climate where this might come in handy. I would put it in a bag and then dunk it into the water though just to be safe. I tried out Four Star clay and found it to be pretty hard,......maybe this would soften what I have left of the bar.
 
Patrick said:
Anthony, I have claying this way ever since I discovered it worked for me....lol
Never had an issue with absorption in the short term.

Great idea for those who need to warm the clay up. Heres a little experiment inspired by this idea.
Put some old clay in a glass with a predetermined amount of water. Cover and let sit for 24 hrs. Remove clay, and check qty of water remaining. Maybe this will solve the "Can water possibly interfere or change clays original formula?"......Just an idea.....
Both are great ideas and the two of you should be commended......Yet neither idea is worthy of arguement, we're all here to assist each other.
Click to expand...

This is also the method I have used for over 15 years and have Never had a problem. :notme:

I love this....When everybody gets all riled up over there particular method of operation. :rockon
 
My clay trick was to buy a car that was covered in clay-rich Oklahoma red dirt. Then wash and scrub.

Hahaha...that's my joke for the day.

Soft clay would definitely work better. I think with temps in the 80s-90s here in September it won't be a problem, but this will be my first time working with an actual clay bar on an actual car so I hope it works well. Not expecting show car results, just want to get all the sap and mess out of the paint before I put on any wax or polish and start driving it.
 
I have had instances where clay has broken apart on me. I don't rmember who made it but it started to crumble and fall apart and stick to the paint.

I like the idea of warming it up, especially in those winter months, however I would put it in a baggie or wrap it with saran wrap.
 
I clay with Pinnacle clay in my bucket of car wash suds. It's never been affected by water saturation.

Isn't the clay lube mostly water?
 
The first time that I acquired a clay bar, I cut it into pieces and shaped them into patties.
Then I wrapped each one in saran wrap to protect each one.
I had to throw each piece away because I couldn't unstick the clay from the saran wrap...I imagine that a baggie would yield the same result.
 
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