Can you clay bar with soapy water?

B

biolchin12345

New member
Just wondering bescause it would be much faster to just run it over the car while washing. I heard doing this causes micro marring, but if you polish after wouldent that just remove the marring. Just looking for some opionions on the subject.
 
some soaps will break down clay... Try it with a bar you can spare, if it holds together, keep doing it. It wont mar anymore than it will with a quick detailer..
 
take a spray bottle, add water and a few drops of car soap and use that for lube after you've washed and dried off the car, if you don't want to runk the risk of micromarring while washing and claying...
 
When using a car wash as clay lube, is it OK to put the wash in a spray bottle and mist it onto the paint? The "How To" section shows using the traditional wash mitt and bucket method to apply the car wash. It just seems like it would be easier to spray the wash on when you have clay in your hand.



On a side note, if you are using car wash as lube, after finishing a panel, shouldn't you rinse off the panel (and the car as a whole) before continuing? I assume you don't want wash drying onto the paint.



Lastly, if you are using wash as lube, doesn't it need to be two or three times more concentrated than during a normal wash to get adequate lubricity?



Sorry about all the questions but I too have been planning to drop using quick detailer and just start using soapy water.
 
i actually tried doing it with sonus clay bar and soapy water and some lub.... and it broke it down... i also tried it with pinnacle ultra clay and it broke it down just as well... both clay bars to the trash!!!!!
 
BigAl3 said:
take a spray bottle and add a few drops of car soap to water and use that for lube after you've washed and dried off the car, if you don't want to runk the risk of micromarring while washing and claying...
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You must have posted this seconds before my post.:)
 
I have Zaino's and Mothers clay. I use soapy water in an old instant detailer bottle and use that as a lube. The clay hasnt broken down for me.
 
hXc drummer23 said:
I have Zaino's and Mothers clay. I use soapy water in an old instant detailer bottle and use that as a lube. The clay hasnt broken down for me.
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How concentrated does the soapy water have to be? More so than a usual wash for additional lubrication?
 
I still have some of the good "yellow" clay that is no longer available and I almost always clay with my car wash solution at the same strength that I use for washing. I use Poorboy's S,S,&S and haven't had any problems with the clay breaking down.



From what I have read it seems that some clays and some car wash solutions are not compatible. Several members have reported using ONR as a clay lube (2 oz per gallon) and don't seem to have problems with clay breaking down.



I do rinse each panel when finished, but I just apply the car wash with my mitt instead of a spray bottle.
 
hXc drummer23 said:
Its a 16 oz. bottle. I use like 2 oz of soap and the rest water.
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It doesn't need to be that strong to lube well. The stronger the mix, the more likely it will destroy soap-sensitive clay. I know guys who only use a few drops in a spray bottle...some even straight water, but I wouldn't recommend it.



The truth is it's Russian roulette. Some clays are immune to car soap; some shampoos will dissolve soap-sensitive clay, some won't.



There are so many combos that you just need to experiment, or get someone here to tell you a clay/shampoo combo that works.
 
as for me i wash the car completely getting all road grime off, then with my foam gun in hand i spray where i'm gonna clay then rinse and go on to the next section this works well for me.
 
I have used Mother's and Clay Magic with soapy water as a lube without any problems. These two clays, IMO, are more of the "plastic-y" type of clays whereas the Griot's clay is a bit more "doughy" if you will and have broken down even with their Speedshine quick detailer as their recommended lube. Perhaps there were other factors to why it broke down... temperature, too much pressure applied, etc..



-Mike
 
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