I was reading up on some articles reguarding clay bar. And everything was a little confusing. So i wash the car and then dry it. There after i should clay bar to the car to remove all the dirt particles and what not from it.

What is this lubicant everyone is speaking of? Is it speical stuff? From what i read, you spray lube on the area you want to clay bar in and go at it with the clay bar untill you feel no restantancess, but if you lube the area shouldn't you feel no restantances? And on top of that wouldn't the lube get in the way of the actual cleaning of the car since the lube is acting like a layer between the car and the clay bar?

I think i'm over reading/thinking this. I never waxed a car before in my life and since i got a black max. I want to start doing this now. But i can't get past step 2 in most of your guides to waxing a car. lol.

 

go to a parts store and buy a box of clay bar and read the directions the lube comes in the box with the clay bar and a small thing of wax

 

you don't really need to use the lube they gave i believe...when i was clay baring my car i ran out of their lube so i just used water and it works fine...maybe use some soapy water and should work like the lube they give.

 

just use very diluted car wash as a lube. the clay should move like a puck on ice. even tho there is a layer of lube the clay will pick up contaminants. you may have to go over an area multiple times depending how bad it is so work in small areas. if you feel resistance that means you dont have enough lubrication.

 

Yup wash you car first. Use the Mr.Clean auto dry. make sure your car is 100% dry. next use the lube and the clay bar. make sure the area that you are clay baring is lubed up good or the clay will stick to your car. do small areas at a time. also try to work in a cool dry place. if you so it out in the sun the lube will dry up on you.

By clay baring the entire car this removes all dirt particles from the surface of the clearcoat.

If you feel any resistance while using the clay bar apply more lube.

as soon as you are done with the clay bar do the following:

1st i used mothers clay bar (didnt use the wax that came with it)

2nd meguiars deep crystal system PAINT CLEANER

3rd meguiars deep crystal system PAINT POLISH

4th meguiars nxt generation tech wax

results are awesome havent found anything that works this good

the only down side is that this 4 step process takes quite some time to complete

but its well worth it

 

Claybar instructions:

1. Wash the car thoroughly
2. Dry the car
3. Spray with a lubricant (I use a spray bottle filled with soapy water)
4. Rub the clay over the lubed area; continue to rub until it slides without any resistance
5. When the clay bar has become visibly dirtied, stretch it and fold it on itself to expose clean area.
6. When the entire car is done, wash the car again.

 

ok well i'll be trying this shortly. 2nd question i'm not ready to try the waxing parts yet. so can i do this?

wash, dry, clay bar, wash dry call it a day for now.

 

Sure. Waxing/sealing is really easy though. What's important is/are the products you choose to use.

 

i've seen it done and what not. but i just wanted to get the whole clay bar thing down a couple of times before i start waxing.

 

You only need to clay bar the car once or twice a year.

 

the more i do, wouldn't hurt the car would it. I know your suppose to wax the care once or twice each year and the clay bar would normally take the wax off and what not. But the more claying wouldn't hurt would it. Just make it super clean.

 

once you clay for the first time you wont wanna do it more than you need to. ive defintely been bitten by the detailing bug recently but claying is ***. twice a year is all you need.

 

I would wax the car a lot more often than that esp. if using a carnuba wax.

 

what is the difference in results of a clayed and non-clayed car? shine/gloss? smoothness to the touch? what noticeable difference can you tell from a clayed car?

 

Smoother finish, deeper color, more reflective. When you run your hand over a freshly clayed car, its smooth as glass.

 

ya after claybaring the car i put a cloth on my hood and it just slides off haha i love that feeling of a smooth car

 

If you've ever slid your hands across the hood after waxing and smiled, your smile will be much bigger after you clay AND wax!

I've posted this in other threads, but I read a little trick when researching detailing back when I bought my Max. Get a standard ziplock bag, and put your hand in it. Rub your fingers across the surface of your car. Take a few seconds to clay a very small section, and repeat the bag test. I do this every time I clay just for the self satisfaction...

I just did a full clay/polish/wax on our Vibe yesterday, and the results never cease to amaze me. I always say it feels smooth as glass, but in all honesty, I think it's even smoother!

 

I'd say that if you're only going to do one of the two, wax more than you clay. I would never clay unless you are going to immediately follow it up with wax. The clay pulls off all of the paint protection. If you wax, at least you're adding protection to your paint. I love the effects of claying, but waxing is definitely more important for simple maintenance.

I personally tend to clay once in the spring to get a nice post-winter cleaning, and once in the fall to give a pre-winter protection. At 3-4 hours per shot, it takes some dedication! I would prefer to wax about once a month, but don't necessarily get it done that often.

All depends how badly you want your car to look nice, and in my case, how well the weather cooperates when you have time to do it!

Good luck!

 

Think of taking a hunk of play-do (sp?) or silly putty and rubbing it across your car or your kitchen counter. It will not move freely at all - the lube allows it to slide across the surfact, but it still picks up plenty from the surface. The Meguiars clay bar just comes with their spray detailer for the lube. I'm sure water or soapy water would work fine. I typically use Clay Magic - there was a thread that someone posted their review of each brand of clay, it might even be sticky. Clay Magic tends to be cheaper on top of it all - I got it for 9.99 at AutoZone.

(I feel like I'm hi-jacking the thread with 3 straight posts - sorry!)

 

haha, post *****! alright, well, I definitely think it's about time to clay bar. the local checker only has one brand of clay, i believe, Meguiars, so I guess i'm goin with that! I've got the day off tomorrow and looks like i'll be sittin in the driveway all day!

 

warning: don't clay bar in the sun.

you can, but you'll end up using a lot of lubricant, and sun burn.

 

The mother's clay bar is a bit expensive. As an alternative, you can get a polymer clay bar at an art store a lot cheaper. It seems to work the same way. Just use lots of lubricant

 

i use water for the lube here are the step:
1.wash
2.Mcquire quick clay (with water)
3.Mcquire deep crystal paint cleaner (to remove all wax)
4.Klasse (long lasting stuff)
5.wait 24 hours @ lease
6.wash
7.Klasse (2nd layer)
8.mothers Carnauba

after that just wash every week and mothers carnauba everyweek...

 

opz should be mothers every month, sorry~

 

one thing I am not getting is that a lot of you guys are using water for the lube with the clay, yet you say it is very important to get the car very dry...this does not make sence to me. Also, do people use clay on carbon fiber as well, are there ill effects?

 

I don't use water. I use soapy water, the same soapy water I use to wash my car. And yes, you can use a clay bar on clearcoated CF without issue.

 

i clayed the other day with mothers and it was an incredible difference! would highly recomended it! it is one other step to take care of, but not that time consuming and definitely worth it!

here's what I did for fantastic results, IMO:
1. Wash w/ Meguiars purple car wash stuff
2. Dry
3. Mothers Clay Bar
4. Meguiars Step 1 Paint Cleaner
5. Meguiars Step 2 Polish
6. Meguiars NXT Generation Synth. Wax
7. GO FOR A DRIVE!! I love it!