Clay process: while washing or just with quikdetailer?

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SIK L

New member
Is there a preferred method to claying? I usually do it while I wash the car. I wash a section, then clay it. Then once the entire car is clayed, I rewash it. I have read and seen on here that most detailers prefer to clay with just a quick detailer spray bottle or something similar. Any pros or cons you guys would like to mention? Thanks as always!
 
Very interesting, and the first time I heard of it done that way. I guess the key point is as long as the surface is properly washed, it doesn't matter when you clay.



Are you saying you clay using the car shampoo as the lubricant? That I've never heard of, so other experts need to chime in if that's ok.



Regardless, sounds messy, and if you aren't keeping the other parts of your car dry, you may be getting water spots! If you wash and dry each section, then clay, then wash and dry the next section, that sounds like a lot of start and stop time, which is more inefficient :)



For the rest / most of us, we wash / dry the car first, then clay using a clay lubricant. Many quik detailers can serve double duty as clay lubricants, thus the frequent mention of quik detailers.



SIK L said:
Is there a preferred method to claying? I usually do it while I wash the car. I wash a section, then clay it. Then once the entire car is clayed, I rewash it. I have read and seen on here that most detailers prefer to clay with just a quick detailer spray bottle or something similar. Any pros or cons you guys would like to mention? Thanks as always!
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SIK L said:
Is there a preferred method to claying? I usually do it while I wash the car. I wash a section, then clay it. Then once the entire car is clayed, I rewash it. I have read and seen on here that most detailers prefer to clay with just a quick detailer spray bottle or something similar. Any pros or cons you guys would like to mention? Thanks as always!
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I used to clay this way but I stopped when I figured that my wash water had too much suds in it and it was breaking down my clay too early. But if it works for you, then just keep doing it. There's usually more than one way to do things :-)
 
First I wash my car completely to remove all debris from the car. I don't like the idea of claying while the debris is still on my car mixed in the suds. After washing and rinsing my car, I don't rinse it off. I simply dump my rinse and wash buckets, rinse them out and refill them. I put twice as much wash in the wash bucket as needed for the additional lubricity.



With a wash mitt in one hand and clay in the other, I wash and clay the car. After finishing a section, I rinse the entire car in order to prevent spotting. When I am done, I dry as usual then use a paint cleaner, AIO or polish before I seal.
 
Personally, I prefer to wash the car with the soapy water solution, rinse it, then clay it with a new soapy water solution. You don't really need "clay lubricant" as soapy water will suffice as long as the surface being clayed is lubricated. If you're polishing after claying, I wouldn't worry too much about the water spotting.
 
Denzil said:
Personally, I prefer to wash the car with the soapy water solution, rinse it, then clay it with a new soapy water solution. You don't really need "clay lubricant" as soapy water will suffice as long as the surface being clayed is lubricated. If you're polishing after claying, I wouldn't worry too much about the water spotting.
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+1. That is exactly how I do it. I will wash the panel first, then I will rinse the panel, then I will use the hose to keep the panel and clay lubricated. I won't rewash the clayed surface until I've clayed the entire car, then I will rewash with new soap.



I personally just think that using a quick detailer to clay your car is a waste of money. I mean you could easily go through a whole bottle of that stuff, especially if you're detailed a truck like I have!



I haven't heard anything about how soapy water will break down your clay. Is this true? I wouldn't think this would be true...
 
SIK L said:
..I haven't heard anything about how soapy water will break down your clay. Is this true? I wouldn't think this would be true...
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It's true in some cases. I've had Griot's/Mother's and various versions/generations of Sonus clay be compromised by using shampoo mix as lube. If your clay and shampoo work fine together, well, OK...but when they don't you'll know it.



I'll sometimes still use shampoo mix or QD (usually #34 for this) as clay lube, mainly for small, quickie jobs, but I usually use Glyde (which is one slick, *soapy* lube). And I honestly believe that Glyde provides bette lubrication (than even Griot's Car Wash mix) and that my claying goes better that way. Other QDs sometimes cut down on the effectiveness of the clay (e.g. Griot's SpeedShine, Mother's Showtime to a lesser extent) and the ClayMagic lube I've tried works OK but won't replace Glyde for me.
 
Accumulator said:
It's true in some cases. I've had Griot's/Mother's and various versions/generations of Sonus clay be compromised by using shampoo mix as lube. If your clay and shampoo work fine together, well, OK...but when they don't you'll know it.



I'll sometimes still use shampoo mix or QD (usually #34 for this) as clay lube, mainly for small, quickie jobs, but I usually use Glyde (which is one slick, *soapy* lube). And I honestly believe that Glyde provides bette lubrication (than even Griot's Car Wash mix) and that my claying goes better that way. Other QDs sometimes cut down on the effectiveness of the clay (e.g. Griot's SpeedShine, Mother's Showtime to a lesser extent) and the ClayMagic lube I've tried works OK but won't replace Glyde for me.
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Are you talking about Sonus Glyde? If so, I agree, pretty good stuff. I just wish you could buy it in a larger container than 16 oz, gallon or half gallon if possible.
 
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