Still no good clay available?

Eliot Ness said:
I'd say Danase is right, you won't see any new elastic clay until the patent runs out. Autopia still has some bars left if you're willing to pay the price ($22.50):



SmartClay - Premium Car Detail Clay Bar
Click to expand...



I'm sure the stuff on Autopia is good, but the price is hard to swallow of course when you go through as much clay as I do.



I still don't see any reason whay a compony couldn't just make some elastic clay (it's just a different formulation) and pay AutoMagic the royalties. I was under the impression that anybody having clay made for them is now having to pay royalties.
 
Truly I have no idea which clays are elastic and other type but I hated the original opti clay. Was like hard rubber



No dramas for me with clay magic, werkstatt prep clay or sonus green. Terrific gear. I'm still hoping to get some clay from the smart boys in western australia who according to the locals on the WA car care forum I'm on, make some menzerna and zaino killing polishes and sealants.
 
RAG said:
I'm sure the stuff on Autopia is good, but the price is hard to swallow of course when you go through as much clay as I do.



I still don't see any reason whay a compony couldn't just make some elastic clay (it's just a different formulation) and pay AutoMagic the royalties. I was under the impression that anybody having clay made for them is now having to pay royalties.
Click to expand...



RAG - Since your similar thread you posted about 4 months ago about how bad non-elastic clays are, have you accomplished anything to help the situation? Did you ever contact Auto Wax or any other company to voice your opinions? If clay is so important & costly to your operation, I'd think you'd really want to voice your concerns to the source instead of a forum? I'm trying to figure out your intentions with these threads you keep starting? :confused: :think:
 
Accumulator said:
Somebody oughta just ask David so we know for sure. Sheesh, you'd think I could answer this one as I just opened a new bar the other week :o but Setec's answer is as likely to be right as mine is (maybe more).
Click to expand...



LOL, after the last thread like this I bought a bar of the SmartClay, and it doesn't say what the weight is...but it looks just like my bar of OptiClay that says 114g on the box....
 
RAG said:
I still don't see any reason whay a compony couldn't just make some elastic clay (it's just a different formulation) and pay AutoMagic the royalties. I was under the impression that anybody having clay made for them is now having to pay royalties.
Click to expand...



I don't think it's quite that simple...you can't just make a bunch of clay, sell, it, and cough up "some royalties" later. It has to be made under license, which implies "being licensed" which means you have to approach Auto Wax Co., make a case as to why you have to make your own instead of buy it from them, sign all kinds of legal agreements, have transparency to your operations so that you aren't really selling 1000 bars and telling AWC you only sold 300, etc., etc., etc. Then you have to have the recipe for the clay that you like...do you know how to make it? I don't see the benefit to AWC to allowing someone to make a product that you claim is better and put their own name on it, when the patents will run out in 5 years? That's guaranteeing you have competition in 5 years.



Again, it's not just make your own clay and pay some royalties. Making and selling an infringing product is illegal, they have to let you make it, and the way I see it they have no incentive.
 
I must be the clay whisperer, because I've never marred the paint by claying. I don't need no steeeenking elasticity.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
LOL, after the last thread like this I bought a bar of the SmartClay, and it doesn't say what the weight is...but it looks just like my bar of OptiClay that says 114g on the box....
Click to expand...
I thought about buying a bar or two, but I just might have enough on hand to last until those patent rights expire. Maybe I'll have to order some to place in my "unused product collection" ;)
 
Eliot Ness said:
I thought about buying a bar or two, but I just might have enough on hand to last until those patent rights expire. Maybe I'll have to order some to place in my "unused product collection" ;)
Click to expand...



That was harsh....:angry :furious: :nomore:



Just kidding...maybe we should start a "post your unused product pics!" thread :chuckle:
 
what kind of conditions are you guys claying with the sonus green and the like...definitely not the same type for the need of clay that Ryan is talking about...



I have detailed and clayed enough cars to know when I need stronger clay, or lighter clay. Rarely do I come across a car that need less than megs blue clay, and most need sonus gray! If I were to try and clay a typical car I see with megs blue all the time, I would be claying for 3 hours plus to get the finish perfect. So, instead, I use the sonus grey, and while it scuffs and marrs like crazy, it comes out REALLY easy with the polish stage that is going to ensue! I would rather clay for an hour and marr the finish rather lightly (no more than your typical car wash) than clay for 3 hours and "maybe" not have to polish out additional marring



megs says one of their clays takes 3 swipes to remove the bonded contamination, and the other takes 7-9 swipes to remove the same stuff...at least that is what it was a while back when I went to a detail day thing....so why work twice as hard...



but I agree with Ryan, and if there was a clay that removed problems with no marring like the opti-clay supposedly did, I would love to get my hands on some of it and use that instead of this other clay....
 
toyotaguy said:
what kind of conditions are you guys claying with the sonus green and the like...definitely not the same type for the need of clay that Ryan is talking about...
Click to expand...



The Sonus Green Clay is excellent for use with every wash. There are actually a lot of people that use clay with every wash, myself being one of them, and the ultra fine clays are an excellent choice.
 
ToyotaGuy- I too use the Sonus green for spot-claying at every wash, and also to clean things up gently before reapplying my LSP (if such cleanup is needed). I agree, it's too mild for the "regular decontamination-type" of claying.



As to "what's the big deal about clay marring?", I'm simply not gonna mar paint if I can help it, for all sorts of reasons (like thin original paint that can't be corrected any more), so I use the SmartWax clay when I need something with a little muscle. I don't mind using the Sonus gray if I *am* gonna polish to a significant extent, but that's the only time I'll knowingly mar something. Absolutely *no* marring with that clay (or with the less effective Mother's/Griot's clays) so for me it's not a case of *maybe* avoiding some polishing. Truly, it's not a case of "supposedly", it's for real. Having marred the M3 with Sonus gray, I took some SmartWax clay to a section that I've since polished out- NO marring, zero. That stuff didn't even mar the soft lacquer on the Jag the last time I clayed it.



Heh heh, blow twenty-some bucks and prove it to yourself :D (easy for me to spend somebody else's money, huh?).



I can't remember what RAG's using theses days...I want to say Four-Star but I can't quite remember :o He's found some clays, that he considers effective, that don't mar much if at all. He and I discussed this quite a bit when I bought his Sonus gray.



Eliot Ness- I worry that even when the patent rights expire the stuff might not make it back into production. [Note to self: order that SmartWax clay! ]
 
that is what I am saing ^^^^



the green stuff and the yellow clays like it all around are fine if frequently used...but for those who never ever clay their car, there should be a clay that doesnt scuff and mar like crazy...i have used a few different clays and all leave the finish in worse appearing condition, but better to the touch.



I have heard from more than one person that the opti-clay was the real deal...the clay that would take over the market if produced again...i really want to try it, or something like it....
 
my clay regimine.

Sonus green for maintenance and already clayed cars.

Sonus grey (yes the new stuff that can marr) for decontamination of lowers and rear panels

Megs pro (blue clay) for normal decontamination on 70% of the car. Including windows, and wheels ( i have older lumps of clay for that)





I have used Griots and hated it. It broke down into a sticky goey mess. I have had the same thing happen with pinnicale clay.
 
toyotaguy said:
I have heard from more than one person that the opti-clay was the real deal...the clay that would take over the market if produced again...i really want to try it, or something like it....
Click to expand...



The opti-clay was made by Kucala - it's pretty much the same thing as Erazer clay, and apparently also the Smartclay that Autopia sells. I'm hoarding my stash of Opti and Erazer, but I'm still tempted to buy a few bars for backup (and to compare).
 
Yes, Erazer was one of the best out there and supplied to many of the top tier retail brands a while back. I'm thinking that some people never had a chance to use the elastic clay and therefore think that AutoMagic's offering is just as good. Sure, the Claymagic works, but the Erazer elastic was just better, in quality and performance. Like many things in life, you just had to see to believe I guess.
 
Erazer Clay was amazing, big, yellow, twisty but absolutely not chunky or gritty. Elastic clay rules, sad to see it forced out of the market.
 
SilvaBimma said:
Erazer Clay was amazing, big, yellow, twisty but absolutely not chunky or gritty. Elastic clay rules, sad to see it forced out of the market.
Click to expand...

Agreed, and for me, there was nothing like the Opti clay, that i had ever used. It was THE clay, for which I measure all others......
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top