Clay Bar

[glowstang93]

I tried Mothers Clay Bar today. It doesn't take off acid rain, but it does make the paint very smooth. I have heard of people using clay bar to take off overspray, not so sure this would have done that. Results were nice. My paint isn't in very bad shape, had I used it on a car with a lot of fallout, then the results may have been more visible.

Still give it a high score on good product, but I will keep using the same wax I have for over 10 years: "Beats Um All"

 

[Jim D.]

Clay bar is a great product, but it's not a cure-all.

If what you mean by "acid rain" you mean you've got etching damage in the paint, you can start with a clay bar, but you'll really need to polish.

I've removed very stubborn water spots with Mothers clay, but I had to follow with their Carnauba Cleaner Wax -- but these were not etched into the paint.

Acid rain would follow along the lines with etching into the paint, requiring polishing for removal (or attempted removal) to smoothen the roughness, while not polishing so deeply that you breach the clearcoat altogether. Caution must be taken depending on the condition of your paint. I've used both Mothers Scratch Remover (which is a true polish) as well as the Carnauba Cleaner Wax (repeated applications) for such problems. There are other alternatives, and going from least-aggressive first is always a good idea.

The clays you buy in the retail stores are fairly mild to make them safe to use, so while it will easily remove some types of overspray, it can take a bit of effort to remove others. A little extra effort might be necessary (don't use too much lubricant in this instance). If that doesn't work, you might try using a cloth to wipe the area with mineral spirits (test in an inconspicuous area first) to help loosen the hold and then clay.

At detail shops you can get a more aggressive (and more expensive) clay, but it's not recommended for regular use as it can cause marring.

 

[kstng50]

the clay bars you get from meguiars are ok but they are not as good as the ones that profesionals use as Jim D said above. I use the professional clay bars and they take most things off. i even got some road paint off with them. Also the polish will really make a differnece. I usualy polish with a buffer then wash down with the clay bar and a lubricant then finish it off with a nice wax. All of my products come from Ardex but they deal mostly professional detail shops.

 

[streetstang03]

the clay bars you get from meguiars are ok but they are not as good as the ones that profesionals use as Jim D said above. I use the professional clay bars and they take most things off. i even got some road paint off with them. Also the polish will really make a differnece. I usualy polish with a buffer then wash down with the clay bar and a lubricant then finish it off with a nice wax. All of my products come from Ardex but they deal mostly professional detail shops.

why would you use the clay bar after the polish? the clay bar will remove the polish you just put on.

 

[Jim D.]

why would you use the clay bar after the polish? the clay bar will remove the polish you just put on.

A dedicated polish would generally not leave product -- its purpose would be to remove defects and make the paint shine.

But yes, generally it's better to clay first so you're polishing a surface that's free of contaminants, otherwise you've got small spots of unpolished paint once you've removed them.

 

[glowstang93]

I understand now that what i bought retail was not as strong as the professionals use, but I can still see a dramatic difference in the sun

 

[Matt's 03 GT]

A dedicated polish would generally not leave product -- its purpose would be to remove defects and make the paint shine.

But yes, generally it's better to clay first so you're polishing a surface that's free of contaminants, otherwise you've got small spots of unpolished paint once you've removed them.

I thought a dedicated polish will leave behind "Polishing Oils" to bring depth and shine to the paint.

I also understood that Clay is used first to remove above surface contamination on the paint. The clay takes off the "Fallout", the polish removes the minor defects (like swirls, light etching, oxidation, etc) and the wax seals it all in. Am I misunderstanding something?

 

[Matt's 03 GT]

I tried Mothers Clay Bar today. It doesn't take off acid rain, but it does make the paint very smooth. I have heard of people using clay bar to take off overspray, not so sure this would have done that. Results were nice. My paint isn't in very bad shape, had I used it on a car with a lot of fallout, then the results may have been more visible.

Still give it a high score on good product, but I will keep using the same wax I have for over 10 years: "Beats Um All"

The clay should not replace any wax. In fact it removes the wax from your paint. You should always wax after claying, and preferably you should polish between the two.