Clay Bars

[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]

Originally Posted by 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:

Rail Dust!!!

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]

Originally Posted by Black Pearl

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.

[Carbuff2]

Originally Posted by gary696

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

X2!

[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.