Wow, just read the back of my box of Clay Magic for a quick lowdown on instructions...clearly I'm bored. Anyway, under "Tips:" it says "Use Clay Magic every time you wash your car to maintain that Perfect Finish!"

Wha?? How rediculous! Of course they fail to mention that everytime you use the bar you strip all of the protection from your finish - therefore you should wax after every use of your clay bar. Yeah, I'm sure may are interested in performing this entire process weekly/bi-weekly.

Makes me glad there are forums like Maxima.org to keep bogus instructions from leading me astray.

 

It really says that??? That's ridiculious....

But you're right, if everyone did that, they'd sell a TON of clay bars!

I clay 2 times a year, IMO that's plenty.

 

Thats if you want your car smooth as a babies butt 24/7

 

too much claybar can be bad though

 

Although I've never heard specific warnings about overuse of claybars, I'd agree because overuse of anything that comes in contact with your paint is just opening yourself up to increased risk of scratching/swirls.

Nonetheless, in this case, the real pain would be felt in your wallet!

 

Where can I get a clay bar? Also, how much will I use it before it runs out?

 

The best retail clay kits are the ones sold by Clay Magic or Mothers. People generally don't like the Meguiar's offering.

If you cut the bar (strongly recommended) in half or even 3 pieces, you should get at least that many uses out of it. You don't really "use it up" as much as it simply gets loaded up with so much grit and contaminants that you should toss it out. Some people knead their clay bar when the face you are using gets too dirty, but I recommend just folding it instead.

There should be a few threads kicking around here about claying... (see the stickies maybe).