Meguiars, Mothers, please sell JUST THE CLAY!

R

racingbeat

New member
Ok does anyone else wander into the Pepboys or Autozone and wonder why Mothers, Meg's, Blue Magic etc. won't just sell you a bar of clay without having to buy the quick detailer!? $20 and like I need another bottle of detailing stuff for the overflowing bin?? Not to mention its more expensive then just getting a $6 bar of clay!

... just makes it more likely for me to order clay from Sonus on my next web order(Which is what I typically do).



Give the people what they want. Which is another issue, most people I know with nice cars have no idea what clay is. Seems like these guys at Mothers, Meguiar's, etc. are missing a big oppourtunity to educate the public and make some money.

I recently read an interview with a detailing pro that claimed that Carnauba waxes were on the decline because of the paints being used today that only require a quick claying to restore Carnaub-like shine.

These are all of my words of wisdom.
 
I agree, it's very frustrating. I have so much of that clay magic clay lube.... I have enough to clay my car 20 times. You can order just clay (2 bars) from Zaino, but there again you have to pay shipping. And the Mothers OTC goes so far as to make you pay for some of their wax with it, too. Geez.
 
racingbeat said:
detailing pro -- "Carnauba waxes were on the decline because of the paints being used today that only require a quick claying to restore Carnaub-like shine."
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hahahaha WOW you've got to be kidding, right? He claims to be a professional?



I do wish they sold it without the QD... oh well.
 
The best deal I have found is Claymagic for $10 at AutoZone. It comes with the lube so I just stockpile it. I generally like Mothers but their clay package is way too expensive.



Even goofier is the fact that the Claymagic 200 gram bars retail for significantly more than the 100 gram bar plus lube. No bulk discounts have I been able to find...and why no 400 gram bars?
 
:think2 good I thought I was nuts. Glad to hear I'm not the only one with ten bottle of quick detailing spray lying around. Maybe we can make our own and sell it in neat little air tight bins?
 
Mothers and Megs (non pro line) are both geared toward the car enthusiast and not the detailers like us. So they have the kits for those who dont know much about how to clay. I bet its also for liability too.
 
I agree. It would be nice to be able to pick up a bar of clay locally without having to buy a bottle of QD, cleaner wax, or an MF towel. I just order my clay on-line now and get it in larger quantities. I have enough QD to last me the rest of my life.
 
From where?



Mikeyc said:
I agree. It would be nice to be able to pick up a bar of clay locally without having to buy a bottle of QD, cleaner wax, or an MF towel. I just order my clay on-line now and get it in larger quantities. I have enough QD to last me the rest of my life.
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Guess I'm in the minority here but, as a Sonus clay user, I go through plenty of the Glyde lubricant. The green clay especially works better for me with Glyde than it does with shampoo mix/water/other improvised lubes.



Oh, and that quote from a "detailing pro" is a good example of how anybody can be a "professional" or an "expert" or a [whatever they want to call themselves] these days :rolleyes: The only thing that stops that from being either amusing or pathetic is the possiblity that some poor soul will believe that nonsense and base decisions on it.
 
Pontman43 said:
Mothers and Megs (non pro line) are both geared toward the car enthusiast and not the detailers like us. So they have the kits for those who dont know much about how to clay. I bet its also for liability too.
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Bingo! :bigups There was a rather heated discussion at Mothers' waxforum.com about this issue, and it seemed like it boiled down to that they didn't want to be responsable when some moron starts claying without lube. Plus, they make a lot more money this way.
 
I generally go to napa to get my clay. They do not stock it in the front of the store but if you go around to the parts section in the back and ask for it they will have it. I believe it is something like 2 or 4 hundred grams for $25.00. It doesn't come with lube, i just use some of my extra meg's dc wash, i primarily use pb's sss for washing, mix it with some water and that has worked extremely well for me. Just be careful not to satruate the clay bar or it will lose it's ability to lift contaminents (duh right?).
 
Guess I'm in the minority here but, as a Sonus clay user, I go through plenty of the Glyde lubricant. The green clay especially works better for me with Glyde than it does with shampoo mix/water/other improvised lubes.
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I really like the Sonus Block clay a lot. I do use a bit of Glyde as well. Have to watch Autopia Car Care for a deal on this stuff.
 
Don't you guys think it's a little more like this? Typical customer thinks his car isn't all it could be. He goes down to the local Pep Boys et al, and starts perusing the shelves, and hey! Here's this clay stuff! Sounds great, grabs it off the shelf and goes home. He doesn't really know/care what's involved with claying. If he got home and read the instructions and it said he needed a bottle of lube, and a MF, what are the chances he'd go back to the store and get them? Probably nil, he wants to do something NOW. So back to our typical customer...he opens the box and says "cool! more than just clay in here!". He uses the clay, probably most of the lube, and wipes down with the MF (talking the new Meg's kit which has the MF), throws a little cleaner wax on and admires his work. He doesn't care that he has anything left over or not, because the next time he does anything on his car (maybe a year later) he won't even remember he had the stuff, the clay will have been lost, the almost-empty lube will have thrown out, and the MF will have been used by his mother/wife/kids to clean the bathroom or blow their nose. The little bottle of cleaner wax is hidden at the bottom of the tool box. Let's face it, most of the people buying auto appearance supplies at the local chain store don't understand or plan anything on the level we do. Leftovers will be forgotten about or tossed in the next clean up.



That being said, Autopian online suppliers are our friends. There are plenty of places, including the Autopia Car Care store, that sell clay by itself at fair unit prices.
 
I agree they add the quick detailer to save themselves the headache of getting a complaint from the bone head who will try using it without lube but really do they need to sell us a full size of it? Why not sell two sizes of the caly bar kit? $$$$$$$$$





anyhoo here's the quote from the dude who says new paints don't require Carnauba anymore:







"The clearcoat finish on new vehicles creates the depth and high-gloss shine that I once labored to achieve. Is Carnauba wax a relic on new car finishes?

When I purchased my Porsche Cayenne S nearly two years ago, I literally stopped using Carnauba wax. The finish on the Cayenne is wonderful, and it does not take a lot of maintenance to keep it looking great. What I really started to notice is how quickly surface contamination makes the paint finish loose its intense shine. Yet, all I have to do is wash and use detailing clay to get back the finish clarity."- David Bynon
 
racingbeat said:
I agree they add the quick detailer to save themselves the headache of getting a complaint from the bone head who will try using it without lube but really do they need to sell us a full size of it? Why not sell two sizes of the caly bar kit? $$$$$$$$$





anyhoo here's the quote from the dude who says new paints don't require Carnauba anymore:







"The clearcoat finish on new vehicles creates the depth and high-gloss shine that I once labored to achieve. Is Carnauba wax a relic on new car finishes?

When I purchased my Porsche Cayenne S nearly two years ago, I literally stopped using Carnauba wax. The finish on the Cayenne is wonderful, and it does not take a lot of maintenance to keep it looking great. What I really started to notice is how quickly surface contamination makes the paint finish loose its intense shine. Yet, all I have to do is wash and use detailing clay to get back the finish clarity."- David Bynon
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Uh, that "dude" is the mayor here. :geez

Here's the link to the entire article :grinno:

http://store.yahoo.com/autopia/inf-wax.html



Note the SUMMARY:



SUMMARY

Regular waxing is necessary to protect your car's paint from the elements. In addition to sealing and protecting, waxes and sealants also improve the appearance of freshly washed and polished paint. If you use the right products, you can successfully layer waxes and sealants to make your paint look deeper and almost liquid. In The Perfect Shine chapter, I discuss my secrets for preparing an award-winning show car finish. -David Bynon
 
Here the Meguiars kit sells for 24 $ and Mothers for 27 $.



I chose the Meguiars kit for its slightly cheaper price and it also didn't have the sample cleaner wax I wouldn't use anyway. I was happy with it. Now Meguiar's announces their new clay kit with QD, 2 clay bars, a MF towel and a small cleaner wax bottle. Doing the math for the US vs Canada price, this kit will sell for over 40$. They won't sell many of these here at that price.



I for one will go to Mothers for the clay when the current Quik Clay kit disappears.
 
BlackSunshine said:
Uh, that "dude" is the mayor here. :geez
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yes I know I felt obliged to post the author after this viewpoint that clay alone will bring back the factory shine on new paints, was err pathetic and stupid. Seems David thinks Carnauba is going the way of the dinosaur.
 
racingbeat said:
yes I know I felt obliged to post the author after this viewpoint that clay alone will bring back the factory shine on new paints, was err pathetic and stupid. Seems David thinks Carnauba is going the way of the dinosaur.
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How is it pathetic or stupid? At this point carnauba's main job is to PROTECT the finish. He never said he didn't believe in wax, he was saying that clay is necessary for a perfect finish as opposed to carnauba. The two suit different purposes.
 
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