Clay Bar Tips

G

General Lee

New member
Hey Guys, I purchased my first Clay Bar. Its just the Mothers clay system, comes with a little clay bar, quick detailer for lubrication and a little bottle of wax. I'm asking for any tips to clay a vehicle or should I just follow the directions on the box? Should Claying be done on every detail or as needed? My vehicles are an 03, 98, and a 95. I feel the 03 shouldn't need claying but The other two yes, they have never been clayed. I am slowly building my arsenol of detailing products. I'm not looking to get into a buisness just want to make my cars look good along with family and friends vehicles as well. Thanks.
 
I am fairly new to clay, only used it a few times, but I have an 03 and just clayed it a week ago for the first time you might be suprised what has bonded to the paint in the short time your 03 has been on the road. Wash you vehicles well once its dry run your hand over the hood and if you feel any bumps clay it! I have not used mothers clay but I do know use lots of the quick detailer to prevent the clay from sticking and smearing. Its easy to use so you should have no problems. Run the bar over the surface until it feels smooth and glides easily over the paint. You will be able to feel the contaminates under the clay untill they are removed from the paint. Fold the clay to a new spot once its "dirty" looking. Good luck you will find it rather easy to use.
 
Clay only as needed, shouldn't need to clay at every detail. I clay when I am going to do the full treatment - wax strip, SMR, polish, then wax. Every spring and fall for me.



Instead of using quick detail, mix up car wash soap and water. I mix 16 oz. of water and a few capfulls of car wash soap. I have tried several soaps (Zymol, Cherry Power, Zaino, Pinnicle), all work very well. You want to provide lubrication for the clay, and car wash soap is very slick. Much cheaper then quick detail, so you will not scrimp on providing lubrication. Spay on plenty of soapy water.
 
My opinion differs, I think you should clay every vehicle, at every detail. I do mine every season.....And, i only clay with water. I feel too much lube provides for an inadequate ability to grab pollutants. Every vehicle i detail, gets this treatment, returning customers or not.......Keep your clay in a ziplock after use, and avoid using the entire bar for your vehicle. Just break a peice off, usually about a third of the bar is sufficient.....knead in your hand until its formable, then clay away....Dont clay in direct sun....
 
Clay is truly a wonderful tool in the detailer's arsenal. Unfortunately, your question gets asked here so often that I guess nobody has had the energy to give you an in-depth answer. And since I'm pretty low on energy myself at this moment, I'll just point you to two resources. First, check out DavidB's article on claying (you can also get to it from the "Learn" icon at the top of our pages). Also, do a search on "clay" and restrict it to posts in the Autopia Univ. forum, and you'll probably have a week's-worth of reading, with more info than you'd ever get in just one thread. Also, you might want to check the reviews in the Product Reviews forum. Most of us have had good experience with the readily-available products like Mothers & ClayMagic.



Now ... get out there and clay something! :D
 
Aaaghg...Patrick you drive me crazy with your crazy man clay technique. :D Why no sun?



Read david's article. Says it better than I could.
 
hehehe, Ive read and read, sometimes you need to tweek things a little for your liking. Seriously, give my method a shot sometime ! Qd as a lube? Humbug !!

As or sun...Sunlight warms surfaces, warm surfaces evaporate liquids, lack of liquids (a.k.a. lubricants) make for difficult claying, and clay residoo doo !!
 
True. True.



Oh, and I was telling the original poster to read, not you. You know what you're doing. You are just so freakin' new age with your "water water water." :D
 
Clay works wonders. I used to use the 3M Fine Cut compund to get rid of the rough spots. i use the clay bar from Griots Garage and it works great. It's a bit pricey, but it has worked for me.

I only clay the paint during the first major detail of the year and if the paint gets contaminated throughout the year.
 
Here's something I've been wondering about - does it do any good to clay and not polish afterwards? Does the claying leave marks that should be polished out?



The reason I ask is two-fold: first, I don't have a PC and have read everywhere on this board that polishing by hand is too much work. Second, is there a benefit to the paint in "the long run" (I keep 'em and drive 'em) to remove the contaminants with clay. I like a nice looking car/truck, but don't have the time to seriously spend on removing the minor swirling. From what I gather, swirls don't damage anything, but the contaminants can cause rust spots. Am I thinking right here?
 
buckslayer said:
Here's something I've been wondering about - does it do any good to clay and not polish afterwards? Does the claying leave marks that should be polished out?



The reason I ask is two-fold: first, I don't have a PC and have read everywhere on this board that polishing by hand is too much work. Second, is there a benefit to the paint in "the long run" (I keep 'em and drive 'em) to remove the contaminants with clay. I like a nice looking car/truck, but don't have the time to seriously spend on removing the minor swirling. From what I gather, swirls don't damage anything, but the contaminants can cause rust spots. Am I thinking right here?
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Yes, you should clay. You're right about the "removal of contaminants" stuff :xyxthumbs Yes, you can clay without polishing *if* you do it correctly/gently.



And as for polishing by hand, you'll probably want to do it *sometime* anyhow. Pick the right polish and it's not all *that* bad. At least if you have realistic expectations about the applied effort:results equation.
 
Thanks Accumulator!



What is the "right" polish for somebody who does it as maintenance moreso than an obsession by hand, but is meticulous enough that he likes a clean, shiny car. If I polish the swirls that exist, will sound, safe washing/waxing methods keep most of them away?



I can't be the only person who likes a clean car, but doesn't have the time to detail often and can't realistically afford to pay a professional year-round. Is there a reasonable solution? I'm thinking it all boils down to time invested vs. balancing your priorities.



Anyways....back on topic......anyone got a nice used PC they want to sell?
 
buckslayer said:
..What is the "right" polish for somebody who does it as maintenance moreso than an obsession by hand, but is meticulous enough that he likes a clean, shiny car?
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*I* like either 1Z's Paint Polish or 3M's PI-III MG (pn 05937), either one will fit the bill.



If I polish the swirls that exist, will sound, safe washing/waxing methods keep most of them away?
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Yeah. You just gotta be careful.



I can't be the only person who likes a clean car, but doesn't have the time to detail often ... Is there a reasonable solution? I'm thinking it all boils down to time invested vs. balancing your priorities.
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Sure, it's reasonable to want both a nice looking car and a life beyond detailing. I seldom do "big detailing jobs" on any of our vehicles. I just get them nice and do what I can to keep them that way. I doubt that I have to polish any of them more than once a year, if that often, and (except for the Jag) I drive them all year-round.
 
a.k.a. Patrick said:
And, i only clay with water.
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Patrick,



Do you use a spray bottle or are you using a contant stream of water from a hose? If hose, what approx. "flow" works best.

Thanks.
 
Don't listen to Patrick. He's a great guy, but he has this clay with water hang-up. You don't clay by abrasiveness, and all lube does is remove friction. They package it with lube, so use it.



There is no such thing as too much lubrication on a system where lubrication is needed.



I think Patrick is really the devil. :P
 
Postwood said:
Don't listen to Patrick.

I think Patrick is really the devil. :P
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Thanks for the heads up, Postwood!



Sorry, Patrick, for bothering you on the water thing. I couldn't tell you were...him.
 
Can I just chime in and say I use Shampoo as a lube for claying rather than a QD,you have to wash the car first anyway to remove any git/dirt before claying, I find I can wash the car a second time and use the suds on the car to clay the whole car but then again we don't seem have any issues with the sun drying out the shampoo over here in England unless you were detailing on the hottest day of the Year at midday!
 
Postwood said:
Don't listen to Patrick. He's a great guy, but he has this clay with water hang-up. You don't clay by abrasiveness, and all lube does is remove friction. They package it with lube, so use it.



There is no such thing as too much lubrication on a system where lubrication is needed.
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Agreed. :up I don't have the scientific/engineering background that some here have. But I would not think about claying without some kind of lube. My own preference is the lube that comes with most clay (Mothers, ClayMagic, Autopia). But I know that some folks have posted recipes for using carwash/water as a lube. Whichever option you choose, I do think some sort of lubricant is desirable with clay.



buckslayer, I have been in your shoes too. I found that just claying after a wash gave me awesome results -- even before I owned a PC. The difference in "touch" and "look" was awesome. I recommend it heartily. :bigups
 
I showed my mate how to clay his car on the weekend ( BTW I use a small amount of Perls and water in a sprayer as lube ) and he hasn't stopped raving about how his paint is smoother than a babies bum!



So my tip for clay - use it!! QD is fine, and I have found the shampoo/water mix works fine as well. What ever floats ya boat.
 
Thanks for the encouragement guys - I'll go ahead and clay. I know lots of different clays have been mentioned. Anyone like/have an opinion about the one that Winner's Circle sells? They've got a 15% Autopian discount right now too.



Now, to polish by hand, what type of applicator do I use? Foam, MF, something else? I've searched for a thread dedicated to hand polishing, but didn't come up with anything. What's the procedure?



BTW - I don't know if this matters as far as what you offer for suggestions, but I use the Klasse twins for protection.
 
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