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      08-21-2014, 08:01 AM   #1
serieD
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Clay Bar Questions

Anyone familiar with Clay bars?

Am going to start claying my m4, but have never used one before. Can anyone make a recommendation?


Thanks
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      08-21-2014, 11:28 AM   #2
Tonymiabmw
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Quote:
Originally Posted by serieD
Anyone familiar with Clay bars?

Am going to start claying my m4, but have never used one before. Can anyone make a recommendation?


Thanks
Just put plenty of quick detailer on the area and get a good claybar
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      08-21-2014, 12:07 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by serieD View Post
Anyone familiar with Clay bars?

Am going to start claying my m4, but have never used one before. Can anyone make a recommendation?


Thanks
If it were me doing this for the first time - I would volunteer to do it on a buddy's car or my other car. Even the simplest things can be a challenge when its your first time. Don't know about you but every time I do something like this I always find better ways to do it the "next" time. Weather it's the 1st or the 20th.

Good luck.
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      08-21-2014, 01:10 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew115
Quote:
Originally Posted by serieD View Post
Anyone familiar with Clay bars?

Am going to start claying my m4, but have never used one before. Can anyone make a recommendation?


Thanks
If it were me doing this for the first time - I would volunteer to do it on a buddy's car or my other car. Even the simplest things can be a challenge when its your first time. Don't know about you but every time I do something like this I always find better ways to do it the "next" time. Weather it's the 1st or the 20th.

Good luck.
Fold clay when it get dirty and use tone of quick detailer. Its not rocket science.
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      08-21-2014, 02:56 PM   #5
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My only clay bar tips are as follows (beyond the above tips, which are good):

1) You can tell whether your car needs to be clayed, or not, by just feeling your paint texture after you wash/dry your car. I just washed my M4 for the first time yesterday and the paint is so clean/contaminant-free, I went right ahead and used some spray polish. No clay needed! I'll wax it shortly

2) After driving the car through the winter, or through a rain storm where road contaminants splash onto the paint...you can literally "feel" the surface of your paint and the bumpiness (w/no visible evidence) of the contaminants. Spray liberally w/Speed Shine (I use Griot's Garage) and lightly glide the clay over the paint. You'll see the yellow clay begin to turn brown/black w/the contaminants and feel the resistance as you glide the clay over the paint

3) Careful of letting any dirt get on the clay or of not using enough spray lube. The clay will get hung-up if you don't have enough spray on the paint, so do a small section (one door, for instance) at a time

I don't do my whole car...I only use clay where I feel the contaminants after washing.

Good luck!
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      11-03-2014, 08:22 PM   #6
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i just clayed my wife's car over the weekend. had a question-

assuming using enough quick detail is being used to keep it slippery, is it possible to push too hard on the claybar to the paint? wife's car had a lot of sap stains, and had push it pretty hard to make the bar effective. it was great on everywhere else.
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      01-29-2015, 05:17 PM   #7
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No...you really can't hurt anything by pushing too hard with clay, but I wouldn't try getting sap off with clay. Get a good bug and tar removing solution on it first. You're just contaminating the clay that much faster with all that sap.

I really like this product:

http://www.detailersdomain.com/searc...x=0&search.y=0

NanoSkin Autoscrub. Works exactly like clay, but you use it on a DA polisher. They have a hand version too, but so much faster on a DA, especially compared to using clay. Also, clay eventually needs to be tossed and if you drop it you pretty much have to toss it. While the NanoSkin you just rinse off the pad.

Check out all the YouTube videos on it too. And if you don't have a DA you can get one at Harbor Freight tools for under $100. Not the best quality one...not one a pro would use...but good enough for someone just using it for their own car here and there.
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      01-29-2015, 06:16 PM   #8
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^ +1, haven't tried it with my DA yet but did a couple areas with a NanoSkin sponge by hand and it worked pretty well, plus the "rinsability" vs replacement is definitely nice
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      01-31-2015, 11:57 AM   #9
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I like griots clay bar and griots speed shine as lube. The clay is nice and soft to work with and doesn't mar the paint unlike a different brand clay I tried a while ago that completely necessitated polishing afterwards. I tried using optimum no rinse wash as lube recently and that worked well and is very cost effective, however I already got a gallon of speed shine.
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      02-15-2015, 11:12 AM   #10
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Librocation is your friend when claying, keep both the clay and the surface well lubed. I'd advise a medium clay. Some are even now suitable with soapy water. Clay cloths are handy for just the odd bits and bobs, but tend to only be a fine clay.
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      02-15-2015, 11:20 AM   #11
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There is new way to do this with a clay bar mitt I saw on another forum
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      02-15-2015, 11:32 AM   #12
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Yeah same deal as a clay cloth, fine clay so good for inbetween full decontamination sessions. I'm a traditionalist with this and would stick to a clay bar, at least you can throw away chunks of it once your done.
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