Clay Bar Alternative Supplier

[240260280z]

Just got some clay bars from craft store.. different suppliers. I will test this week.

btw I thought of a good tip... When clay barring your car, put news paper around the perimeter because you will drop the clay bar.

[Gary in NJ]

I was at the local hobby shop the other day and walked past a display of various clay products and remembered this thread. After looking at and trying to decipher the different "properties" of the products I settled on DAS modeling clay in white. I chose white so I could see when the clay was dirty.

I had two test subjects for the clay experiment; my 2007 Audi A4 daily driver that has only been washed at a car wash about 10-15 times since new and has never been waxed, and my son's 2001 Eclipse that was just flat out dirty with very dry looking paint.

Both cars were washed well. The water in the buckets turned black and had to be replenished half-way for both cars. After the cars were cleaned we broke open the package of modeling clay. I used a Meguiars spay wax/cleaner as a lubricant on my surface and Connor used a bottle of soapy water.

The process was fairly straight forward; spay the surface and then rub the bar on the surface. Connor used up-n-down followed by left-n-right motions while I used random motions (to determine if one style was better then the other). We couldn't determine if there was any difference in the motion. The DAS clay was quite soft and easy to work with. When a section was done we'd hand rub the surface and then hose down the section to remove the clay. It's worth noting that this was a wet process. At no time did we allow the clay to get hard or dry on the surface. From time to time there were clumps of clay that had to be hit with a good stream of water. I saw on Youtube that some allowed the clay to dry on the surface and then buff the surface. I saw this as more of a wet polish process. I'd be interested to hear from those that allow the clay to dry.

Half-way through the process we decided to exchange spay bottles. I found that the difference between the wax/wash and water/soap was negligible. Connor said the same. I wouldn't spend the money on a cleaner.

After the cars were done we did a final rinse while hand rubbing. When it was all said and done, the cars were clean and smooth. That was the point. Both cars received a coat of wax and were buffed to perfection. I did note that the wax (I use NuFinish liquid) went on much smoother then a surface that is simply cleaned with soap and water. So I believe that the clay bar process did in fact remove more dirt then just washing. Given the poor condition of the surface of each car I think this was a worthwhile effort. I would do it again.

Cost: the package of clay was $6 and we could easily get three cars out of a single package. Like I said above, I wouldn't spend the money on a spay wax as it didn't produce a superior result nor did it speed the process. All in all, I think the generic approach works well. $2 per cleaning vs. $20 for the Meguiars kit.

One final thought, for those that said that they are getting color or paint in the clay, you have a paint problem. The clay glides on top of the surface and just removes dirt. It is not a rubbing compound. It is incapable of removing scratches and swirls. It's just a cleaner...that is all. It isn't the end-all be-all magic surface prep tool.

Edited October 9, 2011 by Gary in NJ

[CoastGuardZ]

Thread Revival!

I'm big fan of clay bars. About 5 years ago I bought the Meguiars kit that comes with the two individually wrapped small bars. I never looked at these as a use once and discard item... in fact I clayed my Z twice, my '07 Frontier once and my wife's '05 Sentra once before I tossed the first bar and moved onto the second. I have always used the Meguiars exterior detailer spray which I keep on hand because with a black truck I find it useful to go over after drying to get off little water spots.

Worth noting... I bought the clay because after washing and waxing the Z it always felt rough and dirty. The first time I clayed her it took forever and the clay did pick up quite a bit of orange color along with with the contaminents. Even when I used the Meguiars cleaner wax afterwards I picked up even more "dead paint", but since then I have never noticed any color on the wax applicator, buffing cloth or clay bar.

I've turned a bunch of friends into clay lovers too. Heck, I've got a buddy that apparently drove through some wet cement with his 350Z and the clay got it off without damaging the paint... that took a lot of work, but it did the trick.