Clay Bars

[Black Pearl]

I have to be an idiot. I spent the last 4 hours washing and claying my V. Well from what I seen, I may as well rubbed it with a piece of Saran wrap or silly putty. I have some tree sap on the car and the sides have tiny tar spots. Never got to the sides. I was not successful in removing one spot of tree sap with the clay and quick detailing mist. To me the whole affair was a vast waste of time. I used Meguiars Smooth Surface Clay Kit. I wished I bought an old can of Simonize. The entire car would be done now. (Granted by the 3 rd wax job, the clear coat would be rubbed away but it would look great for wax jobs 1 and 2 and wouldn't have any tree sap or tar on it).

Car detailing is proving to be far too prissy of a enterprise for my tastes.

[Black Pearl]

Well I am idiot. I tried the clay bar again. This time on the side of the door where all my tar is.

Wow!

Amazing!

Its a PIA, and I am not sure that the prissy factor exceeds my patience, but the damn clay bar works amazingly well.

Last night I was fighting a variety of factors. 1) I am an idiot. 2) I did not know what I was doing. 3) I never used a clay bar before. 4) I had a very nice well meaning neighbor yacking away at me the whole time and I couldn't take the time to figure out what was wrong. 5) I am still fighting the wax the dealer put on a year ago (it must be 100 coats thick). 6 The top surfaces did not need the clay bar. All the tree sap is under the dealer's wax.

As I did the top and the hood, the clay just slid around like a piece of Saran wrap and picked up no dirt. If your clay is not getting dirty, it don't need clayed. Hard to believe after a year. But the clay picked up nothing.

Today on the sides the clay turned brown in one swipe! So I am going to drive off to some shade and continue on my clay adventure.

The other thing I am considering is using those toxin absorbing foot patches. Maybe I can just paste them all over the side of the car and 14 days have a car that looks beautiful, feels better, gets better gas mileage, and has improved amorous qualities.

[davos]

So what was the different? I am think of using it on mine so some words od advise could save me a lot of aggravation.

[PINODY]

Claying tips (any clay will work fine) ... Zaino Store: Showcar Guides Cleaning with Clay (http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=SGCWC&Store_Code=Z)

[T Mac]

Yes... I prefer Zaino products. Tell them "T Mac" sent you. :)

[Black Pearl]

So what was the different? I am think of using it on mine so some words od advise could save me a lot of aggravation.

The top surfaces of the car were clean and didn't need clayed. The sides especially behind the front wheels were filthy and the clay was quite effective. It is hard to believe that the top of car after a year had no significant crud. The sides and the tail gate sure did. I believe the tree sap I tried to remove is under the dealer wax. That must be some tough stuff, it is still on after a year and it still buffs up. It was called Auto Butler. Some kind of sign up deal. I didn't want bothered returning to the dealer every 6 months for a wax job, and it wasn't cheap.

Claying apparently is not for those in a hurry. I spent another 3 or 4 hours doing the passenger side and the tail gate. Works great but it takes time.

With an 08 you probably don't need to clay yet. Feel the finish, if it is smooth claying probably won't do much. If it feels rough and bumpy it will help.

[CRV_Babe]

I'm new to all the wax on, wax off, clay bar thing. I have no idea when I should starting doing mine. Got to start reading more on this issue.

My husband seems to think going to the car wash place, whether the express one or the one you keep putting the quarters in, doing the whole car wash with the clear coat protection should do it. To me, I really have no idea.

[Black Pearl]

You want to stay out car washes that have brushes or any mechanical devices that contacts the finish on your car. These contraptions get loaded with grit and they can scratch your car. Some say to stay away from the high pressure spray washes too.

I am not a real car detailing aficionado, nor do I know much about it. A bit too prissy for me--although I have been a clay barring fool this weekend. There are some detailed threads here with a lot of conflicting information. Use this, use that, do this, do that. Religion, politics, oil change frequency, oil brand, and the kind of wax you smear on your car are all subjects that could get you into one hell of bar fight. Your 08 probably will not need clay barred for a while. Although I have heard people say they do right away because the cars get exposed to a lot of environmental crud in shipment and storage.

[Black Pearl]

Have you ever heard of a clay bar? I didn't until I joined this forum last summer. I am not exactly an email subscriber to Jay Leno's Garage, in fact, I pretty much maintain a 1950's mind set on car detailing. Remember your Dad's (perhaps granddad) 58 Pontiac? Dad didn't detail it, he washed it and Simonized it spring and fall. The fact that the Pontiac lost 1/2 its paint thickness to the abrasives in Simonize, a real man's cleaner wax, in 3 years didn't bother your dad. What the hell he would trade it in at 4 years. I have been in an automotive neverland since the 70s, didn't particularly give damn about the car enough to worry about what to smear on it so I bought what ever dropped into my hands. Simonize, Vista, Rain Dance, Nu Finish... Good enough.

Then I bought the Black Pearl, first car since 1970 that I actually got excited about (hmmm, kind of pathetic getting excited about a CR-V) and then I joined this forum and learned what a car care buffoon I really am.

Still--to me there is a manly (or womanly) level of car care and then beyond that...I don't know. It seems to get a little snively, a bit decadent, a bit "my life is reflected in the finish of this car". Well I am not signing up for the latest detailing tips from Jay Leno, yet I want to reasonably take care of the V.

I read about clay bars last summer and decided to try one. This post is not a tutorial. I don't have the foggiest idea of how to properly use a clay bar. Rather this is my experience this weekend.

First you have to buy something. I bought a Meguiars Smooth Surface Clay Kit. Is it the best? I don't know. It is what I found at Wally World. Inside the kit you get: 2 clay bars, a 16 ounce bottle of spray quick detailer, a very nice micro fiber polishing cloth, a waterproof box for your clay, and a sample of Cleaner Wax (probably enough for one wax job). See photo 1.

The cloth they give you is too nice to waste on claying so I got a whole bunch of my car care terry cloth towels. I also bought Meguiars wonder wax THE NXT TECH WAX 2.0. The best stuff under the sun--I guess. To be honest it reminds me a lot of Rain Dance, which I haven't seen for 25 years. Is it better than Mother's, Zainos, Turtle Wax, Geritol, or brand x? Hell, I don't know, and I don't really care. If it protects the car until fall, good.

So let's look at this clay bar. (photo 2) Here is an unopened one. Not much to it, 50 grams worth actually. They keep it in a nifty moisture proof box (black box with the clay smeared all over the inner lid in photo 1). Hmmm just how long are you supposed to keep the damn stuff? I don't know.

Photo 3. Here is my clay bar after I used it to clay the entire car. The clay reminds me of a stiff grade of plumbers putty. I don't think it is actually clay from the ground. It seems non-soluable in water. So it must be some kind of plastic compound. How many cars worth of claying do you get out of a clay bar? I don't know. Mine didn't get horrible after doing the whole car. I am going to keep it for touch ups, but use the new one the next time I do the entire car.

So how do you use a clay bar? I am not sure. The directions on the package just said to rub it over a well lubricated (with detailer) surface. Wipe dry.

So here is how I used it. (Photo 4) I washed and dried the car. Working in one area at a time, I sprayed on some detailer. What is detailer? I don't know, it came in the box. The detailer from the best I can tell is a pint of water with 3 tablespoons of milk mixed in--not really, but that's what it looks like. In the area wet with the detailer I rubbed with not much force the clay in one direction to avoid swirls and cross hatch. I started with the roof and the hood. It seemed I was doing nothing, and I think the reason it seemed that way was that the roof and hood were clean and didn't have any contaminants on them. I did the entire roof and hood and thought, I may as well rubbed this with a piece of saran wrap. I picked up nothing in the clay and it didn't seem to do anything. (First post in this thread.)

The next day, I tried the clay on the area on the front door behind the front wheel. It was speckled with tar. Voila! It worked and rather magnificently. (photo 5) Here is the clay after it did something, this is about 30 to 45 seconds of rubbing. So I re-kneaded the clay and got a clean surface again, sprayed on more detailer and rubbed again, and re-kneaded etc. I don't think you want to drag the clay over the paint with it looking like photo 5. Pick out the big stuff and re-knead the clay for a fresh surface. Its amazing all that gunk just disappears into the clay and you get a nice fresh surface. Of course, remember it is still in the clay so check your surface after re-kneading.

What I found was that on dirty surfaces you can feel the clay dragging. As you work, suddenly it will get real easy to move the clay, that is your first sign the area is clean. Re-knead your clay and work it again. When you don't see any more gunk on the clay, and the car's surface is clean and smooth, you can move on to the next area.

Lubrication! Lubrication! Lubrication! With the detailer of course! Keep it good an wet. When you are done with an area wipe off all the detailer. What I found was that the clay would either leave a residue or mar the old wax (not sure which or if both). After you wipe up the detailer, buff the area with a terry cloth towel to remove the residue/marring. When I got a door or fender done, I would wax that area and move on with the clay bar, while the wax was drying. I found that dirty areas move slowly and clean areas very fast. It took me as long to clay the front door as it did the rest of the side of the car. On my car the concave area on the front door was the worst. The lift gate was nasty also but not as bad as the front door. The roof and hood were amazingly clean.

If you are trying a clay bar for the first time, I recommend trying a dirty spot first, so you get the hang of how the clay works. It is pretty amazing but rather time consuming. The final result (photo 6): OH NO! MY LIFE IS REFLECTED IN THE FINISH OF MY CAR!

[CRV_Babe]

The final result (photo 6): OH NO! MY LIFE IS REFLECTED IN THE FINISH OF MY CAR!

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That was funny. :D

BTW, sounds like what you did is a lot of work but hey, it turns out pretty nice and shiny. I am not sure I want to do that myself, though. Plus, I am way too short to reach the hood or the roof.

[Carbuff2]

Black Pearl

You did a fine write up.

You hit on the secret when you mentioned "What I found was that on dirty surfaces you can feel the clay dragging. As you work, suddenly it will get real easy to move the clay, that is your first sign the area is clean."

It's at that point that you can move on to the next area with the clay.

When you run out of that expensive lubricant, you can use soapy wash water as a lubricant, it's cheaper. (I wash, rinse, lather again, then clay. Then rinse, then dry, then wax.) Takes longer to type than to do.

As long as you keep kneading the clay (I use half-dollar sized pieces of it) and don't bear down, you can re-use the clay over and over. I think my clay bar is about five years old and I use it every month or so, on one car or another.

[Black Pearl]

Your 08 probably will not need clay barred for a while. Although I have heard people say they do right away because the cars get exposed to a lot of environmental crud in shipment and storage.

Let me write something stupid, like "oh your new car probably won't need clay barred" and damned if a case doesn't fall out of the sky like meteor a week later.

Check this out:

http://www.crvownersclub.com/forums/t3518/#post21373

Which brings me to an uncomfortable conclusion. My dealer applied a wax that is still hanging in there a year later. If the surface was not properly prepped to remove rail dust, wouldn't this great wax job preclude any efforts I did to clay bar the vehicle?

I am wondering if your best bet when receiving a new vehicle is to ask the dealer not to apply any waxes. Get the thing home and clay bar the hell out of it and apply your own wax.

Then again, will telling your dealer how to prep your car come to haunt you, if you do have problem?

You know sometimes I think I was happier when I didn't belong to a car forum and hear about all the crap that can happen. If nothing else, it is a good lesson in not joining a "Good Health For Life" forum. When you start to hear all the horrible things that happen to people's health, it could get really depressing.

[JMA]

Wow! Thanks for the clay bar tutorial, Black Pearl! The only items missing were the before and after photos of your V...or were you afraid we'd see you in that shiny reflective surface? ;) I don't know...for someone who keeps saying that detailing is not his thing, you sure put a lot of time, sweat, and maybe a few tears into it! I, too, had never heard of clay bars until this forum, but the little bit I've learned since leads me to believe that they are primarily intended for lifting tiny particles that are embedded in the vehicle's surface. Although the clay bar worked wonders on removing the tar, I'm just wondering if an easier-to-use cleaner would also have worked. Not that I would want to deprive you of all that quality time you had with your black beauty!

Regarding the rail dust...you've got me worrying now. My car was assembled in Japan due to production problems in Ohio, and was shipped (I assume by rail) from its point of entry on the west coast to Ohio. I wonder how easy it will be for me to spot small rust spots on a red car...

[Black Pearl]

The write-up was not a tutorial. I don't pass my self off as a detailing expert, and again I don't know how to properly clay bar a car. That was just last week's exercise in spiritual bonding with the Pearl.

Photo # 6 was the after shot. That is a photo of the drivers side door after the final wax application. Unfortunately, I didn't get a before shot, althought I am not sure it would have shown much. You could feel the junk on the paint more than see it.

Here is a vague attempt at before and after.

1. Before the clay bar procedure.
2. After the clay bar procedure. (Notice how everything just looks better).
3. The universe in the Black Pearl.

[gary696]

Here is a vague attempt at before and after.

1. Before the clay bar procedure.
2. After the clay bar procedure. (Notice how everything just looks better).
3. The universe in the Black Pearl.

Boy, what a differance the clay bar made on your wheels.:rolleyes:

[Carbuff2]

Boy, what a differance the clay bar made on your wheels.:rolleyes:


X2! :p :p :p

[Are-we-There-Yet?]

Black pearl , after your chat about Clay, i tried the Maguiars Quick Clay detailing system. I was really impressed with its quality.
Many thanks for putting me on to it

Richard

[Black Pearl]

Thanks for the kind comment. So you have Meguiars in the UK! I really can't speak for the relative quality of Meguiars clay, because it is the only one I have ever used and as I noted before, I am clueless about claying a car.