Tonight I clayed my car and it is as smooth as glass. You know when you run a cloth on your car and you feel those bumps. Well, they are gone. I suggest clay to anyone who cares about their car. But you must wax it when you clay it. It leaves your car with a mirror finish. Just want to let you guys know that this is a must have in the car care bucket. And it is EASY!

 

This has been posted before, but I'm glad to see another member discovering the wonders of clay bar.

I try to clay every couple of months or so. It's amazing how much crud comes off the car, even when it looks clean.


I did a Meguiar's 3-step treatment on my car the other day... You should try it out at some point.

Paint Cleaner, Polish, Wax. My car is ridiculously shiny right now.

 

is it bad to clay that often? i thought at most you could clay twice a year, anymore then that will ruin the clear coat of paint or something (i could be wrong, probably am) ~ i guess it wouldnt be a problem if you clayed and then waxed to protect it everytime.

 

My wax schedule is once every 2 months. My clay schedule is once every 6 months. Don't clay more often than that. You could probably clay once every 4 months or so if your car is an outside car.

And when using a clay bar, you ALWAYS have to wax.

 

clay bar is an abbrasive, so just think about it.

 

 

Yeah, I think it's about time for me to clay my car. Is there a way to JUST buy the clay bar and where? If not, what package do I need to waste my money on? lol

 

your headlight's kinda dirty

hehe just messing

 

You can buy clay bar seperate from everything at like an AutoZone or Advanced Auto Parts, Checker etc etc

I use clay bar and Meguairs Quick Detailer

 

LOL 58,000 miles will do that to a set of headlights! :D

I posted it to give a rough estimate of the car after a nice clay job

 

Would the kit's bar be enough or should I order one from the site? I saw the kit's bar and it seemed really small.

 

clay is usually small. there are all types of clay you can use. best bet would be go to a local auto store (as listed above) and buy a bar and Meg's Quick Detailer.

Just spray in a little area, and rub clay in a circle motion and do it in sections once dry, rub w/ a microfiber (they are usually yellow)

 

Cool, man. Thanks a lot. I think I'll get on it Wednesday and see how it turns out. I've been waxing my car but never clayed in the near year and a half I've had it. Hopefully I'll see a noticable difference.

 

No prob bro! Thats why some of us are here is to help each other :D I would give your self at least 2 hours of clay, its a tedeous process, but well worth it

That pic above was the first time I clay'd my car and that pic was taken in Nov 2005 and I got my car Aug 2004.

I noticed a HUGE difference after i clay'd, its literally like glass. then after you clay wax the car once every 2-3 months

 

I gotta pick up one of these!

 

clay barring is pretty fun. lol ~ yes its tiring but afterwards.. wow! makes me wanna slide off my car but i dont want to leave a dent on the car. haha plus when your car gets dirty again, all the dirt just rinses off easily

 

You want to do back and forth motion, not circle motion with the clay bar. Also roll the clay so that it fits your palm nicely. Its recommended that you use even pressure while using the clay bar so dont hold the clay bar with your fingers, use your palm. Also make sure you use enough quick detailer spray, the clay bar should just glide smoothy over the paint. If its not gliding smoothy then your not using enough and could be scratching/marring your paint.

Also there are some fine clay bars that you can use on the car monthly without harming anything.

Check out http://www.guidetodetailing.com/topics.php?topicId=17 for all your car care learning needs. Have fun.

 

When I clayed I did a oval pattern which would be considered back and forth.

 

I just got a claybar, shine and wax kit today, the mothers california gold stuff.

90% of my car was covered with dull flat spray paint dust from when I was painting my interior plastic panels and didnt realize that would happen. 2 weeks of washings and different soaps did not crack a dent in the stuff. Then I got the claybar and the stuff took the paint dust right off, along with 2 years and 33,000 miles of highway driving off with it. Then put the wax on and now the car looks better than it did brand new. Its like a black mirror. The 5 hours of hard labor and 10 gallons of sweat was well worth it.

So... to reiterate the title of this thread....

CLAY IS AWESOME!!!!

 

i just gotta say... i wish i had spent more time detailing my car after the past year+... the finish has just gone to crap in many places and there's only so much clay+wax can do