Clay bar???

[vwdeviant 0]

Ok I've heard Jedi and others talk about clay bars on here, and I understand that they remove dirt....

 

But how does rubbing clay on your car help keep it clean? and what other steps do you need to do afterwards? Does it remove old polish as well?

 

At the moment I've used Meg's 3-step (but with step 3 replaced with Gold Wax) twice in 3 months and Meg's Gold'ed it about every two weeks (weather permitting as I'm a "weekend warrior") between.

 

TBH It looks really good like this but if there's a way of getting it better...

 

Sorry for "stupid questions" but I'm from the old Skool of Show car prep where it was a wash, a chamois, and a hit or two with Autoglym Red... spray tyre foam for the plastic/rubber bits and a quick polish with Autosol chrome cleaner for the rest!

[Jim Bowen 1]

the clay bar is just to get rid of anything stuck to the surface, people will say some technical terms, like bonded contaminants :! wow i said one

 

its mainly a cleaning step before doing any polishing just to get the surface as smooth as poss

 

i went to put some polish on my mums car and it felt really gritty with a decent cloth, so you would use clay first to get rid of any tree sap etc etc

 

i bought a clay bar to get rid of some overspray on my car, must of been someone spray painting something orange, near my green car :lol:

[Jim Bowen 1]

http://www.meguiars.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3302

 

for some reading material

[iow_corrado_g60 0]

just use it to get a good base to start on before you polish then wax it is very good thou if ur car has never been clayed and you do it right youll be very impressed!

 

a few things to note make sure the panel is totally clean before hand.

 

and make sure you warm the clay up so its pliable much better results this way.

 

also you must always keep the area your claying lubed up otherwise you'll just scratch the contaminants back into your paint work if you buy a specialist clay it wont come with a spray but the megs one does so start with that one fella

 

 

Andy

[craigowl 0]

I used the Megs clay that came with a spray and found the job easier than I had imagined it would be.

[veedub 0]

I used the Megs clay that came with a spray and found the job easier than I had imagined it would be.

 

I have that one and I was dissapointed with it, didnt seem to do anything really!

[iow_corrado_g60 0]

if you use it properly it will work wonders on an unclayed car like on a diesel all the back soot that sticks to the back of your bumper or the marks from tree sap etc!

 

it will bring all this out a leave a very smooth surface but the clay its self wont make your paint look good that will depend on you polish and wax with them get the most expensive you can afford as if you polish and wax a car properly you wont have to wax as often as a cheaper wax too!

 

just a wash with a wash liquid megs soft gel or autoglym shampoo & conditioner dont use wash and wax thou or anything too strong as it will remove your wax coat!

 

if you run your hand over your car in a lunch box see through bag it wont glide once youv clayed it properly and removed the excess clay with a microfibre cloth it will glide across!

[Riley 0]

Claying wont remove polish as it never really fully meets the paint.(if done correctly!) it glides on the wax/lubricant that you use,which also helps with the end result)

 

It works by breaking down small particles of sh|t...for want of a better word :lol: although depending on how big the contaminants are/how much lubricant is used/how well stuck on they are,it does tend to pick them up too.

 

Neil. :)

[vwdeviant 0]

So how often should I Clay a car?

 

Living in London ATM and not cleaning it as often as I should due to inclement weather and lack of space...

[jedi-knight83 0]

Clay.... there is a really good guide here.

 

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4829

 

Basically i use it every 6 months... during a major detail when i know im going to rewax a car.

 

Caly is an abrassive and will take off wax layers aswell as all the other crap on the car. Like polish, you can get different grades of clay. For most people the megs quick clay will be fine. Clay also tends to leave marring (faint scratches) so i always follow with a hand polish like super resin polish

[RADO.001 0]

good readin jedi-knight83 as ive never used a clay bar b4 and have just invested in some. :thumbleft:

[jedi-knight83 0]

i'd not used it before starting my business and was sceptical at first.. but after using it on my S3 i could really see and feel the advantages.

 

for £12 is well worth the try if you have never used it before.

 

some areas of my car were clean already so i didnt think it was doing much good... but on mine the roof and the doors were filthy and once completed the car shone like it had never shone before

 

Claying is now a regular part of my detailing steps when working on both my own and other clients cars.

 

It only needs to be done every now and again though. a good wax and regular washing will stop the dirt becoming bonded to the paint anyway. Clay is the place to start if you have never detailed your car though.

[RADO.001 0]

well ive got the Megs nxt car wash, mit, speed detailer, scratch X, application pads, super terry cloths, clay bar & spray, Meg's 3-step stuff plus the gold class paste wax too. all ready for when i get the rado bk together & out of garage, but not sure on the rite order of use?! anychance u could help me there mate?

[Toad 0]

RADO.001, try this thread

[Trig 0]

Used claybar (purchased from volksdevil - Riley) on my S3 the other day. Couldn't believe how much crap came off.

 

Particularly off the bonnet and roof.

[RADO.001 0]

cheers Toad, but do i really nead to wash the car inbtween each step?

[jedi-knight83 0]

usually best to wash again after the clay but then anything else is a bit of overkill IMO

[RADO.001 0]

cool so i only really need to wash the car again after ive done the clayin and not inbtween each of the megs 3 steps? thanks mate

[Toad 0]

The washing was between different days, not stages if you know what I mean... So if you were doing it every weekend, wash it before you start say, waxing it, but put as many layers on as you want on that day, and washing it the next weekend.