Hey guys, I did a search and found some great info on clay barring my car. I recently bought an '03 black Z06 and am about to use the clay bar for the first time. I just want to see if I've got it right. My paint is nice and glossy, and feels "soft" from waxing. I want to clay it to start detailing with a clean slate. First....I should wash the car with Dawn dish liquid and dry, #2 use clay bar with lubricant, and dry, #3 wash with my regular car wash (I use Meguires Gold Class), then lastly wax as normal. Is this correct? Is there any particular advice....do's and don't's that I should be aware of, or do I have it down. Thanks in advance.

 

Skip the Dawn and use a car wash solution. The idea behind dawn is to strip your car of any remaining wax, which the claybar is going to do anyway. I'm not a big fan of using Dawn as a car wash, simply because its job is to remove oils, thereby drying out whatever surface it is cleaning. Over time, this can lead to problems on clearcoat finishes.

My best advice with claybars is to use lots of the lubricant. I'm pretty sure it's impossible to use too much, and you want the claybar to glide over the surface, not bind.


-Mike

 

Use the claybar AS you are washing when the car is wet and full of suds. It is much easier and more effective. After all, that solution is nothing but soapy water anyway. Just make sure to go over it again with your wash mit/pad after you use the clay. Good luck bro.

 

I thought the same thing but this year I washed my car without dawn and after using the clay bar on the entire car the water after the next wash was still beading on the car which meant that the clay had not gotten all the original Zaino off the car. I washed again with Dawn mixed with alcohol and water then re clayed and after the next wash the beads were gone. My guess is the clay bar could not penetrate the Zaino.

Also, no need to dry your car before using the clay bar. Water spots won't matter before you clay. The clay will get rid of them.

 

not necessarily true .. a good paint job will bead water even with no wax on it ..

 

Wow...I'm getting schooled here. I must rethink my original plan now, because I thought I had it all together. So, you all seem to be in agreement, not to use dawn? That is okay, because that made me a little nervous anyway (Black car). I've got the Mequires Claybar Kit that comes with lubricant. Since the lubricant is soapy water, would you recommend that I used it, or just go ahead and clay the car while it is wet with my original car wash/soapy? I thought, before you clay a car you had to strip it completely of all wax/oils for the clay to be used effectively....is this not the case? I really appreciate the advise and definitely want to hear more opinions from you "experienced" people.

 

Last time I clayed, I did this:

1) Wash car with Black Magic car wash
2) Rinse
3) While still wet, I used the lubricant to slick the surface, then ran the clay over it a few times
4) Knead clay to pull the dirt away from the surface
5) More lubricant/clay again same spot
6) Wash again with Meguiar's Gold Class wash, fresh mitts, fresh water
7) Dry with microfiber waffle weave towel

Mike02Z is right about ot worrying about the water spots before claying, but I rinse mine before claying because it helps rinse away any dirt the agitation of the wash mitt might leave behind.


-Mike

 

I detail as a 2nd source of income and chupr0kabra has it dead on right. DO NOT USE DAWN ON YOUR CAR!!!! That can and will cause so many problems if you do.

1. Wash the car completely with car wash solution of choice (I'm a Tropi-Care detailer, so I'm biased there)
2. Rinse car off and remove whatever dirt is still in the soap that is on the car. You don't want the clay bar grinding that into the paint
3. Clay bar and keep water bottle close by. The water on the car should keep the bar lubricated, but if it doesn't, keep the water bottle close.
4. Rinse off car again
5. Dry with waffle weave towel

6. Proceed with wax or polish of choice.

Oh and just because the water beads, doesn't mean there is still wax there. A good paint will always bead. Feel the paint with your hands and you can immediately tell if there is wax still left behind.

 

Here is my normal yearly clay/wax routine. I only do this once a year and wash it 3 or 4 times during the year but I put less than 5k on my car a year and it is garage kept.

1.) Wash with Dawn, mixed with alcohol and water. (The alcohol is suppose to break the Zaino bond)
2.) I do not dry my car just pull it back into the garage.
3.) I have a squirt bottle I fill with water and 4 or 5 drops of dish soap.
4.) I clay the entire car keeping the surface very wet with the squirt bottle. I do not rub the clay I just glide it over the surface.
5.) Once the whole car is clayed I pull it back out wash it with the Zaino car wash and dry with microfiber towels (Just got 24 at Costco for 9.99)
6.) I pull the car back into the garage and make sure there are not water spots.
7.) Apply Zaino Z1 in very thin layer using a diaper or terry cloth padded applicator.
8.) Follow up with Z5 right on top of the Z1. I let the car sit at least 2-3 hours, Overnight if it is below 70 degrees.
9.) Wipe off the Z1/Z5.
10.) Buff the paint using a microfiber towel making sure all Zaino residue is removed.
11.) Apply Z2 in a thin coat. Allow 2-3 hours drying time.
12.) I allow overnight to "cure" and then apply another coat of Z2.
13.) I normally repeat steps 11 and 12 5-7 times in total.

I never use a leaf blower to dry my car as I've seen some guys actually embed debris in their paint doing this. I do not use any DA/Orbital to apply the Zaino. I'm not oppsed to a DA just rather take my time and do it by hand. I used to get 6 weeks off a year and would take my first week in early May and spend the whole week doing the above steps.The very first time you clay it will take a long time to do right. Succesive clay treatments should go much faster than the first treatment.

I'm pretty much a nut when it comes to my Z so I'm sure I overdo it with the Zaino. 2 coats of Z2 or Z2pro are probably enough. Next year I'll try the ZFX and Z2pro but I had a lot of the Z1 and regular Z2 so I figured I'd use that all first.