Clay'd For 1st Time Today...

J

jmsc

New member
using the Pinnacle Clay system. For those who have not tried it yet, its very easy, its foolproof and I never ever got close to scratching my paint (02 Civic). Just use plenty of lubrication and don't drop the clay. Bottom line. What a glossy surface it produces. No polish can do this.



Just 1 question to all you experienced clayers.



I used up 2 yellow Pinnacle bars and 16oz of lube on a daily car 6 months old.



Was this about right (2 bars and 1 bottle of lubricant) or was it too excessive?



Need to know for I will be doing my girl friends car next week.
 
That clay should have gone much further especially on a compact car, unless you dropped a bar and threw it out. Knead it frequently and you should get a couple cars out of it. Of course it always depends on the paints condition. Excessive contamination, tar, or otherwise will shorten the life of a bar.



Also, keep in mind that the clay does not add to the surfaces appearance or substitute for a polish. It only removes bonded contaminates. Follow with a good polish and wax, and your results should be very impressive. :xyxthumbs
 
With Mothers 80g (2.6 oz) bar I did 1 and 3/4 cars with just a third of it (still have 2/3 left), and used up only 2/3 of my QD for both. But like laynlow said it depends how contaminated the car is.



Unless the car was truly grungy you probably could've used only 1/2 a bar. Maybe you could describe how you did it in more detail?
 
1 mother's-like sized bar... 3 cars (daily driver, first time detail type of cars)...



2 bars for 1 car is way too much IMO, unless it's a...



wltruck.jpg




then you'll need more... :D
 
Thanks for all the reply's.



Car was washed prior and after.



Since this was my first try at claying and to avoid any scratching I just made sure to use plenty of lube.



Question: The clay turned blackish on both sides in some/most spots on the clay after I did the hood, roof, trunk and 2 front panels. So I threw it out. Used a new one for the 4 doors and bumpers. That too is sort of blackish but I saved that one. Was I way too cautious here? The clay feels smooth, is not falling apart and feels smooth to the touch. But the black marks are there. At what point do you throw clay out?



All in all, I am very pleased with the results. Glassy, squeeky feel.



Thanks again for all the tips and techniques.
 
:eek: Quick! If you threw them out in a baggie or something, go retrieve them before the garbage man takes it away! :(



No wonder you used so much. When a side gets too dirty, I just fold it over ONCE and roughly reshape it back to a square/rectangle. I feel this keeps the dirt suspended in layers rather than homogeneously mixing it everywhere by kneading. You keep doing this until folding no longer exposes a clean (or reasonably clean :p) surface. At this point the bar should look pretty dark and dirty everywhere, and it's time to toss it.
 
There's a lot more to the bar than just the surface... there's a whole bunch of surface packed together in there.



Reminds me of this joke:



*guy looks out over the Pacific Ocean*



"That is a lot of water."



*other guy leans over and says*



"Yeah, and that's just the top!"
 
I just used Clay Magic for the first time this weekend, and before I used it, I didn't really see what all the hype was about...but damn I couldn't believe all the shiyt on my paint...it actually wasn't too bad, but surprised me. Turned my car into a sheet of glass. It is well worth it, even if you don't think you need it (which I didn't). Oh, I used almost the whole bar, one more car can probably be done with it, but when I do it again to my car, I'm buying another one. Just a little anal thats all...
 
I know claying is done as a surface prep step... But for someone like myself that hasn't clayed in the past (I never thought it needed it), will claying now remove all my hard work of #7, #26 and S100?



Or does claying not remove polish and wax?



thanks
 
To save my claybars, usually I use Autoglym Intensive Tar Remover to remove big tar spots. Those invisible gritty dirt will then be taken care by claybars. I use half piece of claybars for 1 1/2 car. It's very economical and miracle.
 
Chris S said:




Or does claying not remove polish and wax?



thanks
Click to expand...



I do not believe claying will remove either of them. I can only speculate, but after I washed after claying, my car was still beading nicely...
 
Chris S said:




Or does claying not remove polish and wax?



thanks
Click to expand...



According to Zaino's website, their claybar removes waxes...



"The ClayBar will get that paint finish smooth as glass. Now remember waterspots, bird droppings and bug guts if left on the paint finish for any length of time. Will etch into the paint finish. The ClayBar will also remove any store bought waxes...."



I don't have any presonal experience with this, but I noticed it earlier today and thought I'd add my $0.02.
 
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