clay bar question
Thread Starter
TECH Apprentice
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 381
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From: Hampton, VA
clay bar question ok, i bought my car in dec., and its an '02 z28 with 27k mi. when i took it from the lot. just washed/clayed/waxed it this past weekend to see the difference in the clay process.
my question is, how am i supposed to use the clay bar? i washed my car, used the lubricant that came with the meguiar's clay package, kneaded out the clay bar to a somewhat flat bar, an simply placed it on the car an lightly slided it across a section, applying minimal force. i dunno..it just felt like it wasnt doing anything?
every now an then i saw some dirt, so i kneaded that stuff out, but for the most part, the clay bar looked pretty clean after every swipe. i *will* say that after i clayed it, i applied the meg. wax an my car felt incredibly smooth (much more so than when i just simply waxed it before, after the wash). was it the clay that helped make it smoother, or was it simply the different wax i was using?
my question is, how am i supposed to use the clay bar? i washed my car, used the lubricant that came with the meguiar's clay package, kneaded out the clay bar to a somewhat flat bar, an simply placed it on the car an lightly slided it across a section, applying minimal force. i dunno..it just felt like it wasnt doing anything?
every now an then i saw some dirt, so i kneaded that stuff out, but for the most part, the clay bar looked pretty clean after every swipe. i *will* say that after i clayed it, i applied the meg. wax an my car felt incredibly smooth (much more so than when i just simply waxed it before, after the wash). was it the clay that helped make it smoother, or was it simply the different wax i was using? I did my friends Mustang last weekend, and that car was holding on to the clay bar when I first started! LOL.
You won't see any difference as in how the car looks after claying it, you mainly pull out the deep dirt that you don't see but which you can feel. You feel it because after washing it, the car feels slicker if you clayed it before. All the deep dirt that's stuck in your paint causes the rough bumps that you can feel if you put some saran wrap between your fingers and your paint. So once the clay pulls all that stuff out your paint will feel smoother, it will be easier to clean the car, and once you put some sort of wax on it, it will feel even slicker.
Don't expect your car to go from light grey to shiny white because of using the clay bar, it just grabs the deep dirt and makes your paint slicker.
You won't see any difference as in how the car looks after claying it, you mainly pull out the deep dirt that you don't see but which you can feel. You feel it because after washing it, the car feels slicker if you clayed it before. All the deep dirt that's stuck in your paint causes the rough bumps that you can feel if you put some saran wrap between your fingers and your paint. So once the clay pulls all that stuff out your paint will feel smoother, it will be easier to clean the car, and once you put some sort of wax on it, it will feel even slicker.
Don't expect your car to go from light grey to shiny white because of using the clay bar, it just grabs the deep dirt and makes your paint slicker.
Thread Starter
TECH Apprentice
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 381
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From: Hampton, VA
ohh ok... whew. thought i spent 3 hours for nothing haha... but yea, like i mentioned, the car feels *much* slicker than wut it used to feel like after i waxed it.
thanks for the help fellas!
thanks for the help fellas!
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Being its an 02 and doesnt sound like its seen a lot of grime, thats why your clay session didnt "event" much to you as far as dirtyin up the clay.
If you had 60k on it and this was the 1st clay session, you would see the major buildup you were expecting on the clay.
Just curious, what type of Meguiars wax are you using, and are you using a polish too?
If you had 60k on it and this was the 1st clay session, you would see the major buildup you were expecting on the clay.
Just curious, what type of Meguiars wax are you using, and are you using a polish too?
I had the same feeling when I did mine. Hardly any visable dirt came off on the bar, but it made the paint feel really slick. The plastic wrap test did it for me. before claying the paint felt rough and after it was smooth as glass.
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Joined: May 2005
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From: Tacoma, WA
Originally Posted by blown 346
A clay bar will only pull out contaminents in the paint, on a car that is driven more often you will feel the claybar have a little resistance until that area is clean.
Thread Starter
TECH Apprentice
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 381
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From: Hampton, VA
Originally Posted by Ling_650vette
Being its an 02 and doesnt sound like its seen a lot of grime, thats why your clay session didnt "event" much to you as far as dirtyin up the clay.
If you had 60k on it and this was the 1st clay session, you would see the major buildup you were expecting on the clay.
Just curious, what type of Meguiars wax are you using, and are you using a polish too?
If you had 60k on it and this was the 1st clay session, you would see the major buildup you were expecting on the clay.
Just curious, what type of Meguiars wax are you using, and are you using a polish too?
used the "quik detailer" to lube up rite before i clayed, then used the "cleaner wax" sampler that came in the box - figured that counted as a "wax" so i didnt bother using my gold class clear coat. shuld i use both next time?
Originally Posted by camaroguy_02
used the "quik detailer" to lube up rite before i clayed, then used the "cleaner wax" sampler that came in the box - figured that counted as a "wax" so i didnt bother using my gold class clear coat. shuld i use both next time?
Next time just use the Gold Class.
But if you really wanna make it shine, throw in a polish after the clay and before the wax. The car REALLY shines after that.
Meguiars Pro Series #7 polish and Gold Class is what I do and I really like the shine.
But if you really wanna make it shine, throw in a polish after the clay and before the wax. The car REALLY shines after that.
Meguiars Pro Series #7 polish and Gold Class is what I do and I really like the shine.
On The Tree
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 185
Likes: 0
From: new hampshire
I was suprised how well clay bars worked, I used the Mothers kit.The paint had alot more build up that I had thought, followed up the clay with Liquid Glass cleaner and two coats of Liquid Glass.It was worth grinding my shoulder joints for the shine my car has now.
My hood looked horrible until the other day. The girl that had it before me left a buffer on it too long, almost took of the clear coat. The whole hood was a lil discolored, and felt like sandpaper. Wax would not take to it, nor any other rubbing compound. A buddy at Autofair tried his claybar, and it worked. I did the whole hood, and other places on the car. The hood looks, and feels brand spankin new. These things are awesome.
Originally Posted by HOSS
My hood looked horrible until the other day. The girl that had it before me left a buffer on it too long, almost took of the clear coat. The whole hood was a lil discolored, and felt like sandpaper. Wax would not take to it, nor any other rubbing compound. A buddy at Autofair tried his claybar, and it worked. I did the whole hood, and other places on the car. The hood looks, and feels brand spankin new. These things are awesome.
Put the clay to it, and its as smooth as a babys butt now
I dunno what the hell it is about that area but dirt just loves to stick to it on my car! 