I have used the Meguiar's paint cleaner or the Professional Fine Cut Cleaner for several years with success. I also cut the Meguiars/Mothers 3 step process (paint cleaner, glaze, and wax) down to two steps with the paint cleaner and cleaner wax polish (regular Meguiars in the maroon bottle or the Gold Class Polish). The cleaner/wax is really just glaze and wax together.

Here is the question. Is it necessary to use both a claybar and the paint cleaner during the same detailing session on the car? Or, is it use one or the other? Which one is better for removing dirt embedded in the paint?

Thanks in advance for the input.

 

I used the clay before Meguiar's Paint Cleaner, so I couldn't say for sure how the Paint Cleaner performed in contrast to using clay, but the clay did a good job at removing caked dirt in the lower panels... the paint cleaner acted almost like a polish (i.e. the car looked very consistent/clean after I used it). I'd assume the two don't necessarily work the same, since the clay is a solid you use to scrub, while the paint cleaner is a wipe-on wipe-off deal...

 

spirilis,

I saw the your thread with the 4 step process. The car looked great!

The paint cleaner is a mild abrasive that is like polish but not as thick.

I have the Mother's kit with a small claybar and the detailing that I have not used.

If I decide to start using a claybar, I am wondering whether I should buy the 200 gram ClayMagic bar from an internet vendor since the Mother's claybar is tiny. I am not sure?

 

The claybar you have should be adequate. It's not really "consumed" while using it, you just have to knead it and use a clean area of it when it gets dirty.
As for your original question, I claybar only when my surface feels gritty after a wash. This can be over a year between claying. The clay removes contaminants the polish/cleaner can't. Polishing is done about every 6 months. I usually break the car down in to sections (hood, roof, trunk, driver side, pass side), doing a section a day (washing entire car each time, though). However you do it, wax any sections you clay or polish (they remove wax) to protect the work you had just done.
Check out the forums on www.autopia.org and www.detailcity.com. Plenty of good information from professional detailers on those sites. But be warned, they can be a little obsessive about car care, and it's contagious!

Dave

 

.....and I am a witness to that last statement.

However, I tend to be a little more **** on the clay and polishing since I live in an urban environment and have more in the way of contaminants to worry about (e.g. Road Tar, industrial fallout, rail dust, bird bombs, etc.) I try to do it every 6 months for the polish, but every 3 for the clay.

 

PrinzII,

When you do the 6 month polish, do you do a 3 step Meguiar's/Mothers regimen?

 

i just used the clay bar last night...No pics but i will say it makes the paint as smooth as a babys A*s. I followed up with the three steps using a walmart special 19.00 buffer and the car looks nice . make sure you have the time to do it though because all of those steps take a while.