How to use a clay bar...?

[geoffsgt]

Edit: nevermind, found my answer

I bought the Mothers California Gold Clay Bar Paint Saving System. Comes with Mothers CG Showtime Instant Detailer spray, Cleaner Wax, and an 80g Clay Bar. Never used one of these before, and there are no real instructions on using them together. The bottle of the instant detailer says what most of them say: spray on, apply evenly with a towel, buff off with a dry towel. But the picture on the back of the box shows the Showtime sprayed on a surface, and the Clay Bar being pushed through it.

So... I spray it on, clay bar it, and buff the rest away?

 

[kaostik]

wash it real good once over. id use dish detergent to help get all the old wax off.

then, i spray a small section at a time, and run the claybar over it until its smooth. it takes a few swipes back and forth. it should feel rough on the first few swipes. HOLD ON TO IT. if it drops, its junk. do not re use it. as a matter of fact, it might be worth it to lay a towel down on the ground where you will be working. if it drops you could still use it.

also, break it into like 4 peices. that way, if you drop it, and its ruined, you have 3 peices left.

make sure you are constantly kneeding it after you do a section, it helps keep the surface of the bar kinda clear.

do the whole car a little at a time, and when you are done, re wash the entire car with a high quality car wash formula, then polish and finally wax and whala!!! nice and new looking.

 

[rebelleader]

Do not use dish detergent on your car. Other than that the description was accurate.

 

[san~man]

Do not use dish detergent on your car. Other than that the description was accurate.

A detergent such as Dawn is fine on your paint, but it's not recommended to use it all the time.

You only use a detergent to strip off any old wax. Other than that, use a good quality car wash liquid.

 

[kaostik]

thats what im talking about.

i never use dish detergent on my rides unless im clay barring.

i should have been more precise by saying use a gentle style.

but, if you are worried, regular car wash formula will be fine.

 

[isjoining]

when claying, it should strip the wax anyways. Also washing after claying is not required, but it doesn't hurt to do it.

 

[san~man]

thats what im talking about.

i never use dish detergent on my rides unless im clay barring.

i should have been more precise by saying use a gentle style.

but, if you are worried, regular car wash formula will be fine.

You use the dish detergent as the lubricant? Is that what you're saying?

 

[supastang03]

no, i think he meant he uses it as a prep for claybarring.

as in he uses it during the pre wash, not lube

 

[goshia]

I have a spray bottle of water in one hand and the clay bar in the other. Just keep the area your working on moist. Then go back and wash you entire car, polish and go. Then use a high quality car wash after that. No more dish soap.....

 

[Matt's 03 GT]

You use the dish detergent as the lubricant? Is that what you're saying?

You can use a soapy water solution instead of the instant detailer.

By the way to the OP a couple of things:

Don't let the quick detailer dry, it will make a streaky mess.

You may want to re-wash after claying. If the car has a lot of contaminants this is recomended.

Be sure to polish after the clay followed by a good wax. The clay will remove the majority of the wax and the paint will need protection right away.

Then just sit back and enjoy the Bling!!!

 

[kaostik]

no, i think he meant he uses it as a prep for claybarring.

as in he uses it during the pre wash, not lube

yup, that is what i meant.

its amazing how much crap is stuck on your ride that you wont realize until you claybar and see all the particles stuck to the clay. the paint looks so much smoother when you are done.

i try and claybar once temperatures start to warm up, usually may, and then again before the winter.

 

[Kraw]

it's a waste of time to wash, clay, wash again. No need for a spray bottle. Just do like I do and clay WHILE you wash

I've always done this with great results

 

[DTNODYA]

it's a waste of time to wash, clay, wash again. No need for a spray bottle. Just do like I do and clay WHILE you wash

I've always done this with great results

+1

That's how I roll ...

 

[geoffsgt]

Well, did it before I got any replies...

I washed beforehand, like yall said, as well as the website i read said. When I was claying, I sprayed the detailer on, clayed, and then buffed the detailer off (instructions on the detailer bottle) to avoid having to rewash again. I was kinda pressed for time. Afterwards, I didn't have time to polish, so I just waxed it, did the wheels, tires, and plastic stuff, and left. Woke up in the morning to polish the exhaust tips and CAI, kinda cleaned up the engine, then headed out to the car show. Pics gonna be posted in another thread soon...

My car has a lot of paint damage that can't be fixed with polish, but my car still looked good enough to win a prize

 

[thomas91169]

what i do when im doing a full detail:

wash with Dawn to take off the previous wax.

spray a 1' x 1' section with the quick detail, and work that section with the claybar until you can feel the surface go from gritty to smooth. i re-knead the clay about every 5-10 square feet depending on surfaces (top surfaces will always be worse than sides, harder for dirt to settle and embed into the paint on a vertical section). after barring a section, wipe the residual off with a microfiber towel. btw, you can never have too many microfibers.

after claybarring, you NEED to wax the vehicle. the paint is left unprotected since you took off the wax with the clay, if you didnt already do so with the detergent wash. btw not washing with detergent before claying doesnt do much, as you will still have a layer of wax between the clay and the paint surface, so youre just wasting your time.

usually what i do after a claybarring, i bust out my PC (Porter-Cable electric da sander) and go to work with a few different polishing pads, optimum polish, and a six-pack. i work the polish into the paint and it kills 99% of any swirls and minute surface scratches (any scratch that you can catch a fingernail on is too deep to be fixed). i then hit it up with a quick coat of optimum poly-seal, and then a final coat or two of Natty's Blue. then hit up the plastics with lots of Back to Black, get the rims all nice and shiny and do up the tires with nxt tire shine.

thats what a full detail consists of for me. start at 12 or 1 in the afternoon and get finished around 9 to 10 at night.

usually i do this about once every few months. it takes a while after this procedure for swirls to show back up or for the shine to go away, standard upkeep (weekend wash) usually keeps it good for a long time. though its almost time to do it again, though i have no garage to work in (my dsm is in there) so its gonna suck to try to do it outside.

 

[geoffsgt]

Took me 5 hours to do the job, plus an hour in the morning. Most people I talked to said that was crazy, but I was like "but there was so much more I could have done..."

Does Wash + clay bar + wax + details = 5 hours seem slow?

 

[kaostik]

not to me. when i do the full shabang, it takes me a while too.

 

[EDGE Motorsport]

i normally have to set aside a whole day to do mine.... time just disappears when there are so many stages and so much that needs doing