What Happened To Cheap Clay After The Patent Expired?

S

Setec Astronomy

Well-known member
I thought the expiration of the clay patent (particularly combined with all the available clay substitutes) was going to drive the price way down, but the only thing it seems to have done is allow the Ricardo (nee Erazer) clay to be sold here in the US. What happened?
 
I always thought clay bars were overpriced as it is. I think I bought one clay bar once... ever. You would think with things on the market like the nanoskin autoscrub pads/mitts and speedy prep towels or even the sponge (my favorite), that the cost of clay would come down. Heck those sponges are what like $12? and they last a heck of a lot longer than clay without the hassle of needing to discard it if you drop it
 
It didn't get cheaper, but we got better options such as CG's OG clay bar and Adam's new clay.
 
I think ADS has a Japanese clay, fine, for $12. 200 grams. (Have not tried it but will on my next order.)

I find clay to continue to be relevant even with the newer substitutes.

I have both and use both.
 
SYMAWD said:
It didn't get cheaper, but we got better options such as CG's OG clay bar and Adam's new clay.
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Came here to say the same thing. just because Clay Magic owned the patent it's not like numerous types of clay weren't produced, it was just all by them. Either way SM Arnold/Speedy Prep is the way to go.
 
Definitely a good question.

I thought that the patent owner made a significant amount of the clay on the market. They likely did not reduce the cost and others making/selling did no reduce the price until there was market pressure - why leave money on the table. It doubt there there was a large unsaturated demand to go after. That is, clay consumption was not likely to go up significantly with a lower price.
 
In my opinion clay will never totally be replaced. I've gone over areas again with clay previously treated with clay substitutes ...only to get more contamination the clay substitutes missed. For the perfect show car look, I always use clay for best results. For DD or production work, clay can be substituted.
 
what happened was everyone got happy banging out "US" and decided "we" would continue to get reamed

from what I see they are right
 
I've been a huge fan boy of Clay Magic for years, but haven't reached for a bar since getting a clay towel.

Ironic thing is my Auto Magic guy (who is the largest distributor in the country of AM products) carries a super cheap knock off clay towel. :)
 
silverfox said:
In my opinion clay will never totally be replaced. I've gone over areas again with clay previously treated with clay substitutes ...only to get more contamination the clay substitutes missed. For the perfect show car look, I always use clay for best results. For DD or production work, clay can be substituted.
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Could not agree more.
 
What could be easier than clay? I don't see a need for a substitute, unless it's to save money in a professional setting.
 
Yeah, I tried several brands of clay and Clay Magic was the best - IMHO of course, but, since getting a Speedy Clay Towel and Nano Sponge thing - I will NEVER buy another clay bar once the ones I have are gone. Why? Well, when it's on the cool to down right cold outside - clay gets hard and doesn't knead well, doesn't work well and can be a time waster if you're spending time warming it up between panels. Second, kneading - again, not so bad if the temps are up, but still, if you ave any arthritus in your hands, it can be a pain later. Third, speed, I went through a few cars last year that had a nice layer of overspray on them and after trying my trusty clay on one side of a hood, then the clay towel on the other - I balled up the clay and threw it as far as I could toward the swamp behind my house. I could rant on, but if you haven't got the point yet, then quit reading and go to another post.
 
You can buy Clay Magic in bulk on ebay for cheap. I bought a two year supply for like $30 shipped. And they came in the original wrappers so it wasn't a generic clay called "Clay Magic.
 
silverfox said:
In my opinion clay will never totally be replaced. I've gone over areas again with clay previously treated with clay substitutes ...only to get more contamination the clay substitutes missed. For the perfect show car look, I always use clay for best results. For DD or production work, clay can be substituted.
Click to expand...

I completely agree SF. Just recently, I tested a "clay substitute" against a blue Clay Magic bar. I went over several panels with the yellow/aggressive NanoSkin clay mitt and then followed it with the Clay Magic bar. Every time, I picked up more contaminants with the blue Clay Magic bar, again, after first using the aggressive clay mitt from NanoSkin.

I realize I'm in the minority, but I'm sticking with Clay Magic till something proves to be better and based on my testing, "clay substitutes" aren't as good.
 
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