I was unable to get a true 'quote' on what the composition of clay is however; I did get a reply back from Meguiars Customer Service stating that the Body Shop Professional Clay (the stuff that I use on my vehicles) is made of both natural and synthetic ingredients. I know... I know... that's a blanket statement for just about every product on the earth but, that's what I was able to find out.

RP

 

Thanks RP,

I can't seem to find anyone who sells any kind of claybar around here. I'll go looking again today, as I would like to wax my truck this weekend. I bought some Meguiars #7 polish and #26 wax. I've never waxed myself before, so hopefully I won't screw up too bad.

When I find a claybar, I might go get some pieces of various clays and see how they compare to the claybar on a little piece of my car.

We shall see......

 

Try a Dupont store. I didn't even realize there was such a thing. Turns out there was one right up the street with the clay bars and the Meguiar's Professional line. Also check Advanced Auto, O'Reilly's, and Autozone for the Mothers Paint Saver System which includes clay bar, detail spray, and cleaner wax for like $14.

-AR

 

Hey there guys, allow me to introduce myself real quick. I am a detailer at a Ford dealership and I was looking here for some inforamtion on another matter and came across this post, thought I would add my two cents worth.

Waxes. Whilst there are many waxes out there, there are few that are truly durable. I think I have tried a large majority of them and there are maybe one or two that I have been impressed with. A lot of what you read on the labels is very misleading. For example "100% Caranuba wax" , is very misleading. Pure Caranuba wax is a solid, with the consistency of a brick. While a wax may contain some pure Caranuba wax , it usually only makes up about 14 - 20 % of the total composition. Waxes are very good for making your car shine, but they are not very durable, no matter what the manufacturer claims . A good quality wax will give you no more than 6 weeks of good protection. The "only wax once a year " claims are very misleading. If your pride and joy is stored in the garage 6 days a week and only driven on sunny Sunday afternoons then it may well last a year. With regular road use , with winter coming up, probably about 4-5 weeks.

On my own vehicle I stopped using wax and now use a Paint Sealant. Paint sealants are much more durable and if you know where to look are very inexpensive. While they may not give the gloss of the some of the waxes they will be a lot more durable. They will also offer you much greater protection against acid rain and water spots. As a general rule of thumb, the shiner the wax, the less durable it is.

Clay Bar. This is a wonderful product , and can help to give a truly great shine, but clay bar has also been marketed in ways that can be misleading. For example, rail dust removal. Whilst it can remove many contaminats that are on the surface of the vehicle, it will not remove particles that are embedded in the clear coat . It simply breaks off the tip of the contminant. Rail dust ( or ferrous oxide ) is hot when it lands in your clearcoat and melts in to it, when you clay the vehicle you remove the part that is sticking up above the surface , but not the part that is below. Eventually you will find that these small iron particles will begin to rust again Ford actually released a technical service bulletin to its detailers , with a chemical process that must be used to neutralize the particles still in the clearcoat, this is done by washing the vehicle with both an acid and an alkaline wash . If this is not done then these particles will continue to rust , until they eventually at their way through the paint and in to the steel. Ford ( and some other manufacturers will offer rail dust removal under warranty ) . Once this has been done, I reccomend that you get a good paint sealnt on the vehicle.

If anybody has any questions,would be happy to help out in any way I can . The Ford service bulletin can be read at

http://www.autoint.com/Ford%20Bulletin%2099-12-10.htm

Hope this helps you all out a little whn it comes to protecting your vehicles.

Jim.

 

Hey Jim (nice name btw )

My truck had a crap load of rail dust when I bought it and I was able to get it all out pretty easily using a claybar. Did I just get lucky and catch it in time or is there something I'm not seeing?
I'm positive it was rail dust because I've seen it before and it was all rust colored.

 

Jim, thanks !

Yes, the clay bar only removes the part of the rail dust that is above the surface, or sticking out of the clearcoat, it will not remove the remainder of the particle that is below the surface. The only way to stop the small brown rings from reappearing is to neutralize them with the acid/alkaline wash.

Here is some more information from Ford

"Ferrous metal particles (hot iron dust) are generated by manufacturing facilities , rail shipments etc. These particles mechanically bond to a vehicles painted surfaces. Moisture and temperature combine with particles to create a chemical reaction. This reaction creates an acid , causing the iron to corrode and enter the paint surface.

Description .

Light colored vehicles : Small orange stains the size of mechanical pencil lead, the surface is rough to the touch.

Dark colored vehicles: Small white or silver appearing dots with a rainbow ring around the dot. The surface is rough to the touch.

The use of Clay products does not remove the entire ferrous particle or surface contamination. Clay removes only the top of the particle and stain generated by the contamination, leaving the particle imbedded and the corrosive chemical compounds generated by the contamination in the paint system"

All of the above information is from the Ford Tech Service bulletin.

Jim.

 

Thanks Jim!
I Guess I'll take it to the dealer and have them take care of it.

 

Jim, just make sure they use the three step method to neutralize it , even a lot of the Ford dealers are unaware of the process, and may just use clay. There are specific products from Motorcraft that they should use, as per the TSB.

Jim.

 

Ok, I'll be sure to point it out to them. Thanks!

 

I was wondering if anyone has tried the 5 Star Shine polish. I haven't seen too many reviews except for this thread and was wondering if anyone else has tried it?

http://nicoclub.com/forums/showthrea...threadid=37036