Clay bar questions

S

shopking68

too many cars....
I just bought some Meg. Clay Bar kit from pep boys, now I think of myself as a good detailer, but I have never clay bared a car before.

Just curious if there is anything I need to know and any tips or tricks for first timers?

I am goin to try on one of my old cars I have tore down before I go on and do it on my new car.
 
Just remeber lots of lube. I think the kit comes with a qd spray, make sure you use enough and don't skimp. Other then that it's soooo easy. You could check out www.adamspolishes.com and look at their videos. They have one on how to clay.
 
Your kit comes with quick detailer spray that is the lube that will make the clay slip over the paint...Wash the car down and dry real good...You might want to cut the clay in half so not to use it all on one job, or if you drop it....Then flatten the clay out best you can by kneading it....Working in small panels spray the lube on and rub the surface back and forth...there is really no special direction for this...the clay should slip over the surface not grabbing at all....if so then a little more spray...you can see that the clay is working as it starts to turn brown on the bottom.....I check my work with the back of your hand to make sure its smooth....wipe that area dry and move on...clay is not a hard process at all just make sure to keep turning and kneading the clay to keep it fresh while working...also clay will work on about all the cars areas..windows, chrome, etc...avoid the rubber its grabs up the black in the rubber big time.....to store it place in a plastic baggies and seal....you should be able to get a few cars out of what you have no problem
 
Thought I'd ask a quick question while we are on the topic of claying....Can I use soapy water or something else as the lube instead of QD - It's kinda expensive and I'd like to save it for well..QD'ing if possible.
 
gandblah said:
Thought I'd ask a quick question while we are on the topic of claying....Can I use soapy water or something else as the lube instead of QD - It's kinda expensive and I'd like to save it for well..QD'ing if possible.
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You sure can get some clean soapy water and follow the same directions as above and then rewash, rinse and dry
 
gandblah said:
Thought I'd ask a quick question while we are on the topic of claying....Can I use soapy water or something else as the lube instead of QD - It's kinda expensive and I'd like to save it for well..QD'ing if possible.
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Yup. You can clay during the wash as well to save time & QD. It's just as effective, if not more so, that claying as a stand alone step in your detail regimen.
 
Claying does wonders. Everyone else has already mentioned the basics. It'll feel like you just waxed it... and after you wax it, you'll be amazed at how smooth it is.
 
The Chee said:
Check this useful link out :howdy

http://www.ocdetails.com/html/clay_and_ifo.html
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Question: after watching the video on the use of clay bar will it take off the rail dust???. I have not washed my (white) truck in 3 weeks and did last weekend and found lots of the orange dots all over my hood and the roof.
I did wax useing some turtle wax and if I rub REAL HARD on a single spot it would disappear will I have to work as hard useing the clay bar to get rid of the spots
 
Goldneye said:
Question: after watching the video on the use of clay bar will it take off the rail dust???. I have not washed my (white) truck in 3 weeks and did last weekend and found lots of the orange dots all over my hood and the roof.
I did wax useing some turtle wax and if I rub REAL HARD on a single spot it would disappear will I have to work as hard useing the clay bar to get rid of the spots
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Best thing that I can advice is use the clay on the spots and see if it lifts them.....rail dust is on bumpers for the most part and clay will take some of it off....however if its embed in the clear it will not....How old is your truck?

If the wax took the spots off I suspect that the clay will as well....I would follow the clay with polish to clean the surface a bit more and get some luster back...then you can use your wax to top that and your good to go
 
Beemerboy said:
Best thing that I can advice is use the clay on the spots and see if it lifts them.....rail dust is on bumpers for the most part and clay will take some of it off....however if its embed in the clear it will not....How old is your truck?

If the wax took the spots off I suspect that the clay will as well....I would follow the clay with polish to clean the surface a bit more and get some luster back...then you can use your wax to top that and your good to go
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My truck is an 04'
Can you recommend some Clay, Polish and wax to use for this application to achieve my goal to get rid the the rail dust?
 
Goldneye said:
My truck is an 04'
Can you recommend some Clay, Polish and wax to use for this application to achieve my goal to get rid the the rail dust?
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Sure can I like all the products from Poorboys World....his clay is real good for the price, but if you are looking for over the counter....Clay magic has a kit with the lube and directions that is a good buy, avaiable at most any auto parts store....For polish the one that I really like is PB polish with carnauba its a one step polish / wax combo and its the one that I use on all my details...its user friendly can be used in the sun, by hand or machine...it just speaks of the right choice for me..You can then top this with a sealant, wax or both
 
Goldneye said:
My truck is an 04'
Can you recommend some Clay, Polish and wax to use for this application to achieve my goal to get rid the the rail dust?
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pretty much any clay will do as long as it is not aggresive clay
i would follow that up with a dedicated paint cleaner or maybe just a cleaner polish.

rail dust can be a real pain to remove
4549mini-Stephs_GP_003.jpg

4549mini-Stephs_GP_004.jpg

sorry the pics are really bad
 
Well I did the clay bar and paint cleaner and it turned out pretty good, I am still waiting on my PC, so this was all done by hand:)

(Hood of my 96 SS Impala)
DSCN0669.jpg
 
I used the clay bar on my white truck to take off the rail dust and it worked well for me. A friend did his truck and used an aggresive clay and it looks like it took off some of his clear coat. As I told him before he did it to rub vary vary lightly useing an aggresive clay so now what does he do?.
 
Goldneye said:
I used the clay bar on my white truck to take off the rail dust and it worked well for me. A friend did his truck and used an aggresive clay and it looks like it took off some of his clear coat. As I told him before he did it to rub vary vary lightly useing an aggresive clay so now what does he do?.
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Clay by design will not remove the clear...no matter how aggressive...its designed to remove surface level contaminates...I would be interested in why you guys felt that it had removed clear....what did the paint look like after what was the condition to start with?
 
My friends truck is white as well and in good condition. When you look at my paint and compair to his it looks like it has (small) dull spots all over as mine looks fine.
 
Goldneye said:
My friends truck is white as well and in good condition. When you look at my paint and compair to his it looks like it has (small) dull spots all over as mine looks fine.
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OK I would say get some good polish and use that on your friends white paint and those dull spots should come out and even the finish...clear coat can become dull over time its oxdation...on white its hard to see at times...darker colors would be alot easier...that's my take
 
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