Okay, you all know I am an old timer, that is new to trucks, and new to this high level detailing too. With that said, I have seen this "clay bar" mentioned several times, what is it??

Thanks in advance..

 

I think it is some kind of clay shaped like a bar, I guess one rubs his truck with it.

I'm curious about it too!

PS: Please don't judge me on my spelling

 

Clay is a material that many detailers/enthusiasts utilize to remove bonded contamination that is on the painted surfaces (and other flat surfaces -- like glass, etc).

The concept is simple... you're cleaning the paint (after you've washed and such) by mechanical abrasion... the clay glides back and forth across the paint using very light downward pressure and a lubricating agent (typically some kind of quick detailing spray).

As the clay glides, it snags stuff that regular washing didn't/couldn't get.

Ultimately, this yields a smooth as glass finish which is important for proper optics and such...

A quick search will yield hours of reading on this topic.

RP

 

Thanks RP,

You make this forum a great place to gain useful knowledge.

 

Thanks here too.
My gawd things have changed!!

Like I said, I am from the old school. Polish, compound, and old fashion-yellow-can-hard-to-put-on-simonize!!

 

RP;

Could you give us some advice and pointers as to when to use the clay. I believe that you do it when the paint/clearcoat "feels rought."

Thanks for your comments.

 

A painted surface should feel like a smooth piece of glass when it's at it's prime. For example, the rough texture that most will feel on their paint isn't a 'normal condition' -- it's caused by 'gunk' that has attached itself (either by sticking or embedding itself) and cannot be removed by normal washing.

Pointers:

1. You're not going to 'over lubricate' the surface. Make sure to use ample amounts of lubricant.

2. Let the clay 'glide' along the surface. You don't have to 'press down'. A simple amount of hand-weight downward pressure is ample.

3. Rotate the clay often. Knead it frequently.

4. Drop the clay on the ground and it's trash.. no exceptions.

5. Because it's painful to toss a $20 claybar in the trash (trust me, been there -- done that -- own SEVERAL t-shirts), cut the bar into a couple of 'user friendly' sizes. Store the clay in it's original container or in a ziploc baggie. Once you drop a piece (and this will happen - plan on it), and you throw it away, you'll have a couple of clean pieces in the kitty to finish your job.

6. Clay as needed. There's no golden rule for how often you need to do it. Different environments will yield different frequencies.

7. Use common sense... simple things like staying away from wheel wells and, when you are claying such an area, using a piece of dedicated clay (as it will pick up more grit and grime in this area) are important steps in securing a problem-free surface in the future... trust us, a piece of sand positioned in the right spot on a clay bar can spell DISASTER for paint so, make sure you check it often, knead it often and, again, use a lot of common sense...

Those are a few 'down and dirty' hints...

RP

 

As always, thanks for your comments RP. You are a wealth of valuable info.

I guess that I should do the clay thing on my new truck (before I polish it for the first time) once the weather warms up and I can give it a thorough wash to get all the salt off.

150Lover

 

Wash
Clay
Wash (I typically don't though -- not a necessity but, again, if you think you need it, do it).
Polish
Polish
Polish
Polish
Polish

LSP
LSP

RP

 

I recently used clay to remove a lot of small white paint spots that resulted from some yo-yo going crazy with the stripping gun. The thing worked great, but definitly needed a good polishing afterward. And like RP said, you can never overlubricate.

 

One more thing to add. Make sure you have plenty of lubricant before you start. I bought the Mother's kit that came with a spray bottle of quik detailer (or whatever Mother's calls it). I used the whole thing and had to finish up with some Meguiars Quik Detailer I had on hand.

 

Well, if you used the whole bottle on one vehicle, you used way too much QD. Using too much QD can defeat the whole purpose of claying, as too much lubrication will not let the clay do it's work.

Use only enough QD to keep the clay from sticking. It should just glide over the paint. You should be able to feel it grabing the "crap", but not "dragging" on the paint.

Yes, a "little" more is better than too little. However, too much is a waste of time and product. It takes a little practice, but you'll get the hang of it.

 

Do you want an even coat of 'lube' or what?

 

Will the clay bar take off a previous wax job?

 

Well, not sure how even you can get it with a 'spray' but, like Boss mentioned, you don't want too much but, you especially don't want too little.

I suppose I need to add a caveot to my 'you're not going to over lubricate' comment because, as Boss mentioned -- well, you can but, even if you over lubricate, you'll eventually be through the lube and the clay will be doing it's job.

I suppose this is something you'll just have to experiment with to obtain the proper 'feel' to the action.... obviously, you want to remove the water out of the pool before you repaint the deep end...

RP