T-One

Has anyone used a clay bar for detailing their exterior? I don't get how the clay can remove the imperfections (specks), without damaging the actual paint. Would someone please explain how this works.


Thanks,

Wiremaxless

clay is really good for getting rid of contaminents...not necessarily imperfections though. what you do is clean the car first then dry it off. wet a small area of the car w/ detailer or a soapy substance and rub the clay over it...not too hard but not too soft....it will pick up contaminents etc. a small piece of clay can be used for the whole car. makes the paint feel like glass!

T-One

After the first swipe. Do you have to shave off a layer of clay? So that you don't scratch the paint with the contaminants.

DFWmax

i have used a clay bar before. you dont leave any clay behind -- you spray the surface with a light detailing wax, it acts as a lubricant, and then you rub the clay over it. the clay will shear off any embedded particles. you need to knead the clay as it will get dirty from picking up the particles.

wiremaxless is right, the paint is super smooth after the clay rubbing. it takes off the road tar, tree sap, and whatever the gritty stuff is that gets on the paint that you can't wash off...

i got my clay from griot's garage (www.griotsgarage.com), they have a 8 oz. clay bar, and i use the "speed shine" that they sell for the lubricant. works great. they say that their clay is less abrasive (?) than other clays -- i didnt know that a clay bar could be abrasive.... anyway, they have some info on their website.

teejnut

iTrader: (8)

i've used it... it works wonders... makes the paint so smooth. i never heard of clay bar being abrasive before...

B.C.

Detailing clay saved my finish...

They spray painted an apartment complex across from my work on a windy day and a cloud of spray paint descended on our parking lot. All the cars were covered with specks of enamel paint. Since it wasn't latex paint, no amount of elbow grease and water or wax would remove it. Everyone took their insurance check to their local body shop where they proceeded to abuse the clear coat with all sorts of torturous methods such as wet sanding, rubbing compounds, etc. I had recently read an article in Motor Trend about Meguiars Detailing Clay and ordered a few "bars". They actually make two kinds - one for regular bug grime etc. and another for "paint overspray". You can find the paint overspray variety at professional automotive paint stores or order from their 800 number. The stuff just "lifted" the paint specks right off the finish! This is what it is meant to do - remove above surface contaminants. You use it with some sort of lubricant, as others mentioned. Meguiars recommends their own detailing mist. Just "knead" the clay every so often and flatten it like a pancake and keep right on going. Just use plenty of the spray otherwise the clay will kind of screech to a halt on the paint and leave a streak. Not that that is disasterous, you will just have to rub the streak off. Finish the job with some Meguiars #7 glaze and two coats of #26 and you'll be better than new! I ended up up pocketing the insurance money and knowing that I had preserved my clear coat to boot!

Let us know how it works out for you.

DFWmax

hey B.C.:

do you work in fort worth?


dfwmax

deezo

iTrader: (3)

I got my clay from Griot's also.

NewMaxOwner: I have used water for lubrication and it works fine. It's about time for me to use that clay.

T-One

Thanks deezo! Thanks to all of you!

B.C.

No, DFW, I don't. Did you hear about a "paint cloud" incident in your area that gave you that idea?

DFWmax

yeah, i used to work at motorola over in fort worth, and across the hi-way, there was construction on a motel. they were spraying paint one day, and got micro paint drops that came over and "dotted" a bunch of motorola employees' cars. their insurance settled, and for a week and a half, a detailing shop setup a tent so that the employees could drive their cars over and have the white dots removed... they used clay to clean off the dots.

i dont think anyone would have noticed tho -- the people who discovered it were the group of new hires that noticed that their corvettes (we had maybe 5 of them that would all park in a row) all had dots. doh!

dfwmax