Clay bar is not recommeded by any automobile paint manufacturer, automobile manufacturer or taught as part of paint detailing by any national certification training center. Clay bar does not remove contaminents in the paint pores but merely the top/surface area, leaving contaminents beloe the surface which in essence, then destroy the paint from the bottom up. All factory service manuals (including Ford, GM, porsche, Mercedes, Saab) list specific products for removing contaminents (environmental and chemical related particulates) and clay bar is not on any list! this is nothing new as I have postings from oem service manuals dating back to 1997- current manuals can be viewed on helms.com.

Additionally, your oem paint is about 3-4 mils thick- check out the mil thickness of a trash bag- any oops with a clay bar will REMOVE a very tiny amount of paint- how much paint are you comfortable with loosing- compare the oem paint thickness to a plastic trash bag- you will probably become very uncomfortable with using clay bar products.

 

Well damn! I just wasted money ordering clay bar then.

 

I'm VERY intersted in getting other member's take on this one. I never even heard of claying a vehicle until I became a member of this forum. Since that time, I have heard that claying is a very important step in the overall process. Furthermore, almost everyone I have talked to that details professionally recommends it. Huh.

When I clayed, there were a few times where I didn't have enough lube on the paint and the clay would basically come to a screeching hault. Are you telling me I have actually removed paint when I did that? If I did, it's not noticeable. On the other hand, if what you say is correct, I would rather save myself time, money, and effort.......and just not clay my truck to begin with.

Some of you other experienced detailers should chime in on this.

 

I doubt using a clay bar will harm the paint as you described.

To each his own, though.

 

Bigsur, you don't have anything to worry about. You used a very mild clay bar. The results are awesome, eh?

 

we're not talking single stage paint here, we're talking base coat clear coat and maybe a mid coat depending on the model...



I've never useda clay bar and there are some good points in this thread teh one I quoted above is not one of them though

I'm goiong to order a white clay bar and an additional 32 ounces in hopes I can clay bar my wife's expedition and remove the tree sap left on by the PO I will follow it up with my buffer and see how it turns out

 

We've been through this before on this forum, but just so this post doesn't confuse people.....A CLAY BAR WILL NOT HARM YOUR PAINT.

 

I've been claying for a few yrs now .

I work in a area with industrial contaminates , nothing works like claying to remove these.

I've used Megs products for several yrs , great products , great support , use there website.

http://www.meguiars.com/howtocenter/

You can call them or e-mail them for advice and I have several times in the past.

http://www.meguiars.com/customercare/

Clay does not remove swirls . If you have swirls you put them there !!

My detailing cloths are kept inside a garbage bag inside of a small trash can with the lid ON.

NO wind blown dust is on my cloths.

Once you start getting good at detailing , if your like me you'll see at car shows many don't have a clue.

Don't be one of those people.

I don't want to sound like a commercial but Megs has worked well for me , I'm sure there are other companies that are as good .

 

My results were great. My paint is 3 years old with no swirls. After the clay, wax, and final QD, my paint was the smoothest and shiniest I've seen it thus far. I'll be doing it again.

 

Great! It really shows you what's left over on your vehicle after you wash!

 

My advice is not to do an "oops"

In all seriousness, if anyone has doubts that claybars don't work or that they remove your paint just stop by and take a look at my truck sometime. It's 10 years old and after a wash/clay/wax the paint looks better than new.

If anything you are removing part of the clear coat, not the paint, correct? After all I assume not many people are running around with basically single stage paint jobs.

Nonetheless don't be afraid to use a claybar. Just make sure to keep it properly "lubed" and def. throw it away if it gets contaminated (aka you drop it).

My .02