Which Clay Bar?

D

dfw

New member
I've only been using the Mother's Clay bars, but now I don't need the lube anymore since I have a few bottles already. The Mother's clay bars work great but I just don't need the lube with the "kit".



I see there are a bunch of different "colors" of bars, what's the difference and what should I be looking for? The car is garaged most of the time, so there's nothing major.
 
I have read that the different colors designate the abbrassiveness of each bar. don't remember which color corresponse to which level of abbrasiveness.
 
Just like polishing pads, colors vary from brand to brand. I personally recommend looking into Clay Magic, or Meguiar's Professional Mild clay. Both are incredibly cheap (per ounce) and I find are the two best 'do it all' type of clays. Sonus, Pinnacle, and the consumer brand grade ones (like Mother's and Meguiar's Smooth Surface Kit) are not that agressive and can be a PITA to use on neglected white paint, but I find that those two blue clays work wonders.
 
Hi!



The Mothers clay bars are great, esp. this weather b/c they are very soft and i dont have to worry about them going hard in the colder weather or keep placing them in warm water.



You should QD when you dry, i cant see you never saying you never have enough QD!



My other favorites are: as mentioned the Megs pro. Mild. But beware, in cold weather it gets hard and difficult mold, even keeping some in warm soapie solution doesnt help out that much.



Clearkote 200g Blue in a box, great value and really nice clay. Easy to mold and use.



One thing i will advise you AVOID is the crappy grey Poorboys World. I had 2 bars in two seperate pots which seams nice. The stuff is as hard and unmouldable and im sure it marrs easy.





Geoff
 
lando- The Mother's clay bar (and the apparently identical Griot's one, I can't tell 'em apart with one in each hand) is a good, mild clay. It's more aggressive than the Sonus green but much less so than the current Sonus gray.



Can't help with most of the other ones, but IIRC the Mother's/Griot's is similar to the ClayMagic blue (which everyone seems to like).
 
Do they sell the Mother's clay bar, Griots or ClayMagic blue separately? I found the Meguiars pro mild ($32! :()



Oh and I have tons of QD bottles from the past haha.
 
lando said:
Do they sell the Mother's clay bar, Griots or ClayMagic blue separately? I found the Meguiars pro mild ($32! :()



Oh and I have tons of QD bottles from the past haha.
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Griot's sells the clay by itself and IIRC (8oz/226g for ~$20 but the shipping charges are steep) you can also get the ClayMagic Blue without the lube.
 
I used to buy Mother's (clay kit) but forgot my clay one day while doing a detail and had to run to Advanced to pic some up. I bought the Meguiars clay kit and must say I'm much happier with it. Like the Mother's, it comes with some extras, but the Meguiars comes with a really nice MF and Detail spray which I use anyway. With the Mother's I only used the clay.



I've wanted to try out the clay magic brand because that seems to be the most recommended but so far the stuff I'm using A. Does the job and B. Has some extras
 
I have used many different types of clay. I personally like the clay magic for the quick detail of a customer's car. It is cheap readily available and very sticky. When working with this you need to be very careful to make sure that you use enough lube, otherwise you will marr the paint. It is easy enough to clean up by respraying the marred area and clay over it to clean.



With the Meguiars clay kit (white clay), there is less of a chance of this happening because it is not as sticky, so it is better for newbies to use. I wish that I could find the Meguiar's white clay by itself somewhere. I like using that for glass.
 
I've been very happy with Four Star's clay and lubricant. The kits you can buy in the parts stores [Mothers, Meguiars, etc] are pretty much crap in my opinion.
 
I've tried pricey (WG) mid range (Megs) and cheap - Clay Magic, guess what? Clay Magic was the best. The clay will out lasts the lube, but you can use car wash or some ONR detail spray and it works just as well. The main thing is to clean the car first, really clean and rinse, clay is about getting the crap you can't see out of the paint.
 
I have found that clay magic works great for a majority of the cars I come in contact with, you find it locally, excellent price and its pliable, unlike others that are plastic clays. Pinnacle is a wonderful clay also, pliable and less abrasive.
 
Can you guys rank which clay is the most aggressive to the mildest?



1. Meguiar's Mild

2.Mother's

3. Pinnacle Green

4. Black Fire

5. Clay magic



I have these clays, but i need to find out which one i need for my dirtiest car and which one to use for my clean cars.



My experience with Pinnacle is that it works nicely but it crumbles more easily than my Mother's. Mother's is more pliable and stetchy.
 
It says the ClayMagic blue is "fine grade". Is that enough for the average daily driver, that won't marr the paint?



CM2200-history.jpg
 
lando said:
It says the ClayMagic blue is "fine grade". Is that enough for the average daily driver, that won't marr the paint?



CM2200-history.jpg
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All clay will marr paint, if you do not have enough lube on the surface in which you are working. It is just a fact of working with clay. The only reason why I am stressing it is to show the importance of using a good lube. The pros sometimes clay so often that they do not give it a second thought. But you must keep your surface well lubed.



The fine grade (blue) of clay magic is the same type that you get over the counter and is OK to use. The red Clay Magic and the red Meguiars MirrorGlaze Pro are the more aggressive. Aggressiveness generally refers to how tacky the clay is in relation to others. The tackier the clay, the greater the possibility of marring. Lube is your friend.
 
Wren said:
I used to buy Mother's (clay kit) but forgot my clay one day while doing a detail and had to run to Advanced to pic some up. I bought the Meguiars clay kit and must say I'm much happier with it. Like the Mother's, it comes with some extras, but the Meguiars comes with a really nice MF and Detail spray which I use anyway. With the Mother's I only used the clay.



I've wanted to try out the clay magic brand because that seems to be the most recommended but so far the stuff I'm using A. Does the job and B. Has some extras
Click to expand...



The detailer cleans as well and red bottle Megs but also leaves a nice shine!



Originally Posted by lando

Do they sell the Mother's clay bar, Griots or ClayMagic blue separately? I found the Meguiars pro mild ($32! )



Oh and I have tons of QD bottles from the past haha.
Click to expand...



The Megs is for quite a large amount. Get the Clearkote its also a 200g bar.
 
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