Different claying methods

D

danforz

New member
As outlined by David N. on e90post.com (method outlined by Brad B.):

How to: Properly Clay your Car





Make sure you have thoroughly washed and dried your car prior to claying.



Cut the clay bar in half. Take the half and cut it into 15 equal pieces:



2 for the hood

2 for the roof

1 for the trunk lid

1 for the trunk rear and rear bumper

2 for the rear quarter panels (1 per side)

4 for the doors (1 per door)(if you have a sedan)

2 for the front fenders (1 per side)

1 for the front of the car



Take the piece and roll it in to a sphere. Take the sphere and flatten it out into a circle so that it covers the top third of your first two fingers. Spray the first section of the roof with quick detailer. Glide the clay across the area in a front to back motion applying some pressure. Work in 2x2 areas. If you feel your fingers going through the clay, then you are pushing too hard. If the clay is streaking on the paint, then you need more QD. While gliding, you should hear a slight noise and feel some resistance. This is the grit being lifted from the paint. When the resistance and noise stops, dry the QD off with a quality towel. Move onto the next 2x2 section and do the same thing. Once half the section is done, flip the clay over and do the other half of the section. Once the section has been completed throw the piece of clay away. It is too contaminated to use on another section. If you do use it, you will most likely put micro scratches in your clear.



Keep working your way down using each dedicated piece for its area. Flip the clay over when you have completed half a section. Throw the clay away when the section is done.
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In the half of fame section on this forum, I've read that you use the whole clay, re-rolling it up into a ball after each panel.



I'm curious if the cutting up into 15 pieces method is too thorough and unnecessary, or does the using one clay chunk method have a substantially higher likelihood of marring?
 
I would think so. I have cut the bar in half so it easer to use. That's it.Just when it gets dirty

fold it until it's clean. THat seems a bit much to me.
 
I would think so. I have cut the bar in half so it easer to use. That's it.Just when it gets dirty

fold it until it's clean. THat seems a bit much to me.:buffing:
 
I'll admit that I'm a fanatic about not inducing any marring, so of course I like the DavidN/BradB method (in fact, I take it to a much more extreme level than what they recommend).



But here's something else worth considering: if you drop the clay it's gonna get contaminated, perhaps so badly that it'll be unusable. IMO this alone is sufficient reason to *not* use the whole/half bar at one time. And as soon as you think "I'll never drop the clay", well, famous last words ;)
 
Accumulator said:
I'll admit that I'm a fanatic about not inducing any marring, so of course I like the DavidN/BradB method (in fact, I take it to a much more extreme level than what they recommend).



But here's something else worth considering: if you drop the clay it's gonna get contaminated, perhaps so badly that it'll be unusable. IMO this alone is sufficient reason to *not* use the whole/half bar at one time. And as soon as you think "I'll never drop the clay", well, famous last words ;)
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Point well made
 
I agree that it pays to work with smaller pieces. But 1/30th of a clay bar? That seems way too extreme. I usually work with half a bar of clay and roll it up and re-knead after it gets dirty. I could probably go smaller, but due to constant time constraints, I like to work quickly.
 
I just tear off a piece that ends up about the size of a half dollar when flattened. Figure I go through between 2 and 5 of these pieces depending on contamination and dropsies. And why is it you always drop the clay when you have about 2 sq. ft. left to do?
 
I can't imagine breaking a single clay bar into that many small pieces and then not reusing them. I usually break mine into halves, simply because if I drop one, I've still got another. I suppose it also depends on how dirty the car is. If you're working with exceptionally contaminated paint, then it might be better to use multiple small pieces of clay & not re-use them.
 
Sorry folks...I don't agree with using any thing less than 1/2 a bar...and I personally won't use anything less than a whole 4 oz bar - I don't have time to play around. Most vehicles I detail have a ton of rust contamination...but it works just fine to clay a 1' x 1' area and then knead...and you gotta have somthing to hold on to. It's 4 oz bars only for me kids. If we're talking good elastic clay, I can clay 30 vehicles if it's only used on lightly contaminated vehicles as used to be the case when I lived in Northern CA, but here next to the beach in SoCal I can't get nearly as many uses due to the amount of rust I pull off.
 
RAG said:
Sorry folks...I don't agree with using any thing less than 1/2 a bar...and I personally won't use anything less than a whole 4 oz bar -
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I agree also. Too small of pieces don't do it for me either. I usually get a 200 gram bar and cut it into 2 pieces.
 
Never had a problem with normaly claying. Only thing I try to do is keep the clay in the center of my palm that way I dont make marks in the clay with my fingers.
 
I can see how pros (especially when they're doing a full detail where they're gonna polish anyhow) would have a completely different perspective on this than people like me. Heh heh, I know that RAG and I are from different universes when it comes to our claying ;) We're dealing with different types/severity of contamination, different constraints, and different objectives.. so we do it very differently.



Oh, and it's not like I throw away all those little used chunks of clay; I keep them for use on wheels, undercarriage stuff, etc.
 
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