Using Clay Mitts vs Traditional Claying

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bes225

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Has anyone used a clay mitt? If so, how do they compare to using "traditional claying"? Do you have a favorite brand and what are the steps you used?
 
bes225 said:
Has anyone used a clay mitt? If so, how do they compare to using "traditional claying"? Do you have a favorite brand and what are the steps you used?
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I have a Nanoskin Autoscrub. It`s not a mitt, it goes on my PC 7424XP. It`s certainly faster than traditional clay, but I`m not 100% sold it does a better job overall.

I use Riccardo Yellow Clay for the tight spots the Autoscrub can`t get to, and when I`m in the mood to clay my car.
 
Since I`m only taking care of our two cars I use the Nanoskin Speedy Prep Sponge as it`s much less expensive than the mitts. I find it much faster and safer than using clay in that you can rinse it off after every panel. If you drop it you can also just rinse it off. It`s also able to get into tight spots because of it`s shape.

I wash the car, rinse, IronX decontamination, rinse, Nanoskin decontamination with waterless wash as a lube, rinse, dry then on to polishing etc.

 
Only conventional claying for me. Can`t see how the mitts/towels could be used without a greatly increased risk of marring and I`m not gonna polish my paint if I can avoid it. But then my clay technique is kinda extreme...not like I go inches without kneading/replacing my clay since IMO as soon as it picks up anything abrasive it turns into sandpaper. Plus, I clay so gently as to basically just "clay the LSP clean". Just never seem to need to do a serious decontamination any more.

Now OTOH, if a vehicle had hideous contamination, *AND* I were gonna do a serious correction anyhow, I *might* consider one of the mitts/towels...if, for some reason, I weren`t just doing a Chemical Decontamination, which is almost certainly what I would do. Eh, nah...I`d just ABC it and maybe clay while the stuff is dwelling. That`s taken care of worse contamination than I`ll ever encounter again.

Now OTOH...for a Pro, where time is money, vehicles are often in terrible condition, a full correction is in the works anyhow, and long-term clearcoat survival is somebody else`s concern..then sure, use whatever works both effectively and efficiently. For anybody else I dunno...
 
I have used the Nanoskin Autoscrub Towel – Fine Grade for years with good results. I have not seen any micro marring from the FINE GRADE.
I had a 2010 White Ford F150 recently that was "covered" in grey paint overspray from painters spray painting the house next door to his.
For that I used the Nanoskin Autoscrub Fine Foam Pad – 6 inch on a PC 7424xp and it made short work of removing 95% of the overspray.
There were a "few" areas and curves that I followed up with a traditional clay bar in order to remove overspray in the small curvy areas.

When my current towel "wears out" my next purchase will be a Nanoskin AutoScrub Fine Grade Wash Mitt instead of a towel. Why you ask?
I fold the towel into 4 sections (like I do microfiber towels) and if the polymerized rubber is not wet with clay lube the rubber sticks together.
A mitt is one sided, I can put my hand inside and should easily be able to decon the worst of the contaminants with the one side of the mitt.
The advantage of the towel is that I have 8 clean sides (although much smaller) to work from and I can continue without constant rinsing.

Now is a mitt "better" than a traditional clay bar? I`ve found that on "most" vehicles (after Iron-X and a thorough rinse) the Autoscrub works fine.
Even if (after the baggie test) I still find a few specks left behind, I then use traditional clay to refine the surface for any "orphaned" contaminants.

Short version: The Autoscrub works 90% of the time. If traditional clay is needed for a follow up, the clay bar is MUCH cleaner when you are done.
I can do 50+ vehicles with an Autoscrub. If you drop Autoscrub on the ground you can rinse it off. I`m lucky if I get 4-5 vehicles out of a clay bar.

IMHO the (Autoscrub FINE GRADE) is a worthwhile investment. It makes your quality clay bars stay cleaner and they last much longer.
 
I`ve used both the fine and medium grade Nanoskin Autoscrub mitts with good results -- the medium grade works wonders on neglected paint. I haven`t seen any marring attributable to the use of the mitts.

I also bought the Nanoskin Autoscrub disk for my DA, but haven`t used it at all -- you can`t feel how it interacts with the paint and any contaminants that may be on the surface, so what`s the point?
 
I have found that the Nano towel does an adequate job if your paint doesn`t have a bunch of crap on it. I think that a clay bar does a better job if you have lots of contamination on your paint.
Jay
 
Agree with Merlin - had a neighbor borrow my older Nanoskin fine grade to remove overspray. He was about to spend 8+ hours with clay that would not last for the work being done. 30+ minutes later, he gave me back my towel and clay lube a happy person. The towel is the only think I use on my SUV (soooo much real estate to cover) and yes clay can only cover those fine areas that the towel cannot fit into or is too awkward to work with. If you have mostly large flat panels to deal with, clay is pricey when it gets dropped or full of gunk. I like my towel very much for this purpose.
 
I held off on the sponges for a long time waiting for the hype train to head outta town. I finally came around. Kinda feel foolish on this one. It speeds up claying so much. It`s like comparing using a machine to polish vs by hand.
 
This is an OLD vid but you get the idea...(turn on the audio and watch and listen till the end)
The video shows you can "hear" and "feel" contaminants being easily removed with the towel.

Currently my favorite "Clay Lube" product is Carpro Immolube. It is a concentrated product.
I like concentrated products. I don`t like "watered down" products or paying to "ship" water.

Side Note: The first time I used Carpro Immolube I used it full strenght. It was ridiculous!!!
Be sure and dilute it to suit the purpose and tool. I personally use 10:1 & that works for me.

___________________
Manufacturers doc.

Dilutions:
Claying 1:5
Wet Sanding: 1:10
 
SGM2008 said:
Merlin ... do you prefer the Nanoskin Autoscrub Towel over the Speedy Prep Towel in the video?
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Remember the saying "Find something you like and use it often"?

I have not used the Speedy Prep Towel. My guess is they are about 50/50???

I have always used the Nanoskin Autoscrub Towel products and they work for me.

BTW - as I mentioned...I have tried MANY different "clay lube" products. I like Immolube!

Wanna have some fun? Spray Immolube full strength on a "spot" and try to rinse it off! It`s a riot!
 
Merlin said:
IMHO the (Autoscrub FINE GRADE) is a worthwhile investment. It makes your quality clay bars stay cleaner and they last much longer.
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Agreed. I have plenty of clay bars (Poorboy will attest to that!) but I prefer using clay alternatives for the bulk of my work. I reserve the bars for special jobs (as in, when I don`t want to bother the LSP, Accumulator style).

I mainly use the Autoscrub (fine) 6" foam pad: by machine if I`m working on a neglected car that is in for a big correction job; by hand using the Nanoskin Hand Strap if I`m working on a car that will get a light (or no) polishing.

I also have the Autoscrub Speed Prep Sponges for tighter areas.
 
Nanoskin or Griots medium grade mitt and Glide for lube, rarely do I touch clay now days. I use the pads on the DA for glass.
 
I did a comparison this weekend with a Nanoskin sponge and Meguiars red (aggressive). The traditional clay easily took 4 times more passes to do the same work. I went back over to the sponge side with the traditional clay and couldn`t pick up anything else. While its nice to "see" what you picked up, you can hear when you are done with the sponge, it makes a different sounds. I also bought one of those cheapo knockoff clay mitts from amazon for $10. It works as well as the sponge, but honestly I don`t like the form factor as much.
 
Sounds like many people are doing correction after using the mechanical decontamination methods. That`s OK if you can spare the clear and don`t mind doing it, but if there`s not to be any correction, well...that might be a different matter.
 
Accumulator said:
Sounds like many people are doing correction after using the mechanical decontamination methods. That`s OK if you can spare the clear and don`t mind doing it, but if there`s not to be any correction, well...that might be a different matter.
Click to expand...

I think that`s the issue with either media used to "clay" the surface though. While there is the chance that the "soft" clay will absorb some amount of dirt, the sponge is spoft and has gooves. I wipe mine every few passes as well. Combined with the fact that the sponge gets loaded with QD and literally oozes it out meaning no dragging dry media around. But what do I know, I have rock hard paints and don`t see any marring, maybe some slight hazing if I really keep at it for a long time, but even then it might be imaginary until I get a gloss meter.
 
Used claybars since the 80`s..

Started using the first one out of the gate, the SM Arnold Speedy Prep Fine grade towel 25 years later..

This towel is of course, easier to use for all the above reasons, but in this Fine Grade, it needs more downward pressure to achieve the same results as the say - the Clay-Magic Blue Claybar..

And of course, any claybar is going to take longer.. But it will knock off the gunk faster.. But then the trade off of smaller footprint, either cleaning the Claybar with Claybar Cleaner or kneading it to a clean spot, etc..

I think for production work - you are Detailing for a living -, the faster you accomplish the task, the better, so the Speedy Prep Fine Grade Towel will take the win in this Shop..

And of course, you can use the Towel after washing and rinsing, with new car wash soap and it won`t hurt it, etc.. Some claybars do not do good with some car wash soaps and want to disintegrate, etc..

Or, you can use a really good claybar lube with the towel and it works great also..
DanF
 
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