New trick to the clay bar...

I

imported_dl9589

New member
At least to me it's a new trick.



I've been detailing a 1997 GMC Work Van since about 8 o'clock this morning, finished now thank god. But during the detail, I encountered a problem that many, many people have come across when detailing either their vehicle or somebody elses vehicle. And that's those stubborn tar spots that won't seem to budge.



I encountered this exact same problem today while detailing this work van. It looked as if it had just followed directly behind the truck laying the tar, it was horrible. I started claying as you would normally do. Sprayed the lube on surface I was working on and began claying. NOTHING, every single spot was still there. So I went and got the Bug & Tar Remover, blotted it on the spot, let sit for about 15 minutes, wiped off with my MF....NOTHING.



At this point I was ready to give up on getting this tar off, until I looked into the garage and seen a bottle of Simple Green staring back at me. I thought, that stuff can get out some of the most stubborn stains I've ever came across, why can't it aid in getting off some tar. So I grabbed the bottle, grabbed an empty spray bottle, and diluted the simple green 50:50 with hot water. Went over to the truck, sprayed the diluted simple green as a lube, let it sit for about a minute and began claying...it was amazing, everything that wasn't a scratch or stone chip came off with very little rubbing...I'm happy with the results.



So, if you come across that tar that just won't budge, grab your Simple Green, dilute it down and go to work on that tar...I guarantee you won't be disappointed!!!!!



Only one question, will a diluted Simple Green solution damage the paint? I didn't have any trouble with it damaging or staining the paint, but I'm not sure if continued use of this would eventually damage it or not.



I wouldn't use this diluted Simple Green as your lube everytime, just for those real stubborn stains.
 
I think simple green is a non-caustic degreaser so it shouldn't harm your paint.



I guess you could save your older claybars for this purpose. You wouldn't want to use the clay bar on your hood or door panels again :D
 
Cool tip! I'll have to remember that a few weeks from now when I give my wife's car a semi-annual detail (only get to it twice a year amazingly enough....) :up
 
Intel486 said:
I think simple green is a non-caustic degreaser so it shouldn't harm your paint.



I guess you could save your older claybars for this purpose. You wouldn't want to use the clay bar on your hood or door panels again :D
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I used an old clay magic blue bar that I had used on a vehicle before hand...it was getting dirty as it was, so I decided to use it. I used it generally on the wheel well area of the van, which was pretty caked with tar.



I was just amazed at how easy it got out even the biggest tar spots.
 
Mmmph said:
...Or get $.99 of that Poster Tack stuff that Clint wrote about a couple weeks ago:p
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oh wait.... you dont even need the simple green lube with that stuff - its the magic clay that will get anything off anyways!! :rolleyes: :D
 
WD 40 on a soft cloth, then wash, then clay. Cheap , easy and I can still use my clay bar :) Just another thought.



Joe
 
I spent almost two hours today cleaning the rocker panels and the rear side bumpers on a MB C320 today. I used the Mothers clay bar with the Meguiars Wipe N Shine. It took MANY passes but I was able to get all the tars, rail rusts and other surface contaminants off.



I will give it the Simple Green a try next time. Thanks for the tip.



Kenneth
 
kenneth said:
I spent almost two hours today cleaning the rocker panels and the rear side bumpers on a MB C320 today. I used the Mothers clay bar with the Meguiars Wipe N Shine. It took MANY passes but I was able to get all the tars, rail rusts and other surface contaminants off.



I will give it the Simple Green a try next time. Thanks for the tip.



Kenneth
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You shouldn't have to exert as much effort next time if you keep up with the car. The next time will probably be in 6 months to a year, maybe more.



Also, a lot of people don't even use Simple Green on their wheels, none the less paint because of it's strength. What's the deal? My understanding was that SG is a degreaser.
 
As I understand, Simple Green is a non-caustic degreaser as Intel said, so it shouldn't harm your paint...but I diluted it just in case...I didn't want to take any chances with somebody elses vehicle.



You also aren't going to leave the SG on there long enough for it to really start damaging the clearcoat. So it should be all right.



JustinTRW said:




You shouldn't have to exert as much effort next time if you keep up with the car. The next time will probably be in 6 months to a year, maybe more.



Also, a lot of people don't even use Simple Green on their wheels, none the less paint because of it's strength. What's the deal? My understanding was that SG is a degreaser.
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the ultimate-

handi-tak and simple green together!



..see the thread 'clay experiment' if you didn't already..



:doh
 
I'm sorry, I understand that SG removed the contaminant on your car this time. A lot of other chemicals would have also. :nono It's like using a flame thrower to light your cigar!:eek:



Please folks, use chemicals in proportion to the job at hand. There are a LOT of effective and less invasive chemicals on the market than SG. I don't want to steal your thunder, AuroraV8, but SG is nasty stuff and I highy recommend you NO NOT use it on your paint.



The negative effects will not be apparent right away but I guarantee you the accumulative effects of the damage to the surface will show up eventually. It is a harsh product that will eat into the surface.



I have gone into this repeatedly. (Do a search.) I use to use this product until I proved to myself the damage it did to the clearcoat on my Speedline wheels. :scared
 
Brad B. said:
I'm sorry, I understand that SG removed the contaminant on your car this time. A lot of other chemicals would have also. :nono It's like using a flame thrower to light your cigar!:eek:



Please folks, use chemicals in proportion to the job at hand. There are a LOT of effective and less invasive chemicals on the market than SG. I don't want to steal your thunder, AuroraV8, but SG is nasty stuff and I highy recommend you NO NOT use it on your paint.



The negative effects will not be apparent right away but I guarantee you the accumulative effects of the damage to the surface will show up eventually. It is a harsh product that will eat into the surface.



I have gone into this repeatedly. (Do a search.) I use to use this product until I proved to myself the damage it did to the clearcoat on my Speedline wheels. :scared
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I've spoken with some professional detailers (as I used to use Simple Green on my wheels) and they pretty much concur with Brad B.'s statement.
 
Someone published a chart (can't remember where - here?) showing the pH of various cleaning chemicals. Simple Green was at the extreme base end of the chart - something like 10.0. So it is nasty stuff. It can cause corrosion on aluminum parts pretty quickly. I also freakin' HATE the way it smells. So I don't use it. I prefer the citrus-based cleaners for degreasing. In either case, though, as long as you use it where it cannot be trapped in some "between the panels" location, and you flush it with PLENTY of water afterwards, it should be OK to use.



P.S. - "SG" is generally used hear to refer to Klasse "Sealant Glaze" - let's not confuse newbies by referring to Simple Green as SG.
 
I knew the stuff was pretty harsh, but I was at my wits end. The only place I used it on was down where the body paint wraps under the wheel well. Not in any "open" body panels. I also could have diluted it a bit more, but just thought that a 50:50 mixture would suffice.



I'm glad you guys said it would harm it, I wasn't positive, but since I wasn't using it in any open area's I figured I couldn't harm it to bad doing it this once.



Thanks for letting me know though, so I don't use it on any nice vehicles though:scared







I don't want to steal your thunder
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No worries about that. This is the reason I posted it...if it was a good idea then people would do it. But I knew the more veteran detailers would be able to tell me if it was a bad idea. Glad you did tell me.:xyxthumbs
 
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