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      09-20-2013, 11:40 PM   #1
cheshirecat79
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FYI: What is the point of a claybar?

There's been a lot of claying questions around here lately and I figured I'd throw out some info about the process. It's a bit long, but hopefully it'll answer all your questions.


Clay, when used in detailing, is a very, very simple tool to pull embedded contaminants (mostly dirt, sometimes other minute objects) out of your paint that are left after washing your car. That's *all it does*. It does not get rid of swirls and it does not correct scratches. It just gets rid of stuff on/in your paint that won't come off with soap and water.

When you run the clay over the paint, it grabs the dirt particle and "pulls" it out of the paint. Sometimes, rather than the piece of dirt embedding itself in the clay completely, it'll kind of embed halfway and still stick out of the bottom of the clay a bit. This is where the possible marring (scratches) come from. This is also why it's important to make sure your clay bar is lubed well and kneaded often. You want to make sure that any contaminants your bar picks up are kneaded into the clay as soon as possible- and until that happens, that they'll glide on top of a layer of detail spray (lubrication) rather than get dragged across the clear coat.

This brings us to the question... "why clay to begin with if it takes all this time and I may end up putting small swirls/streaks in the paint?"

The answer is paint uniformity. That's all we are looking for when we wash, buff, repaint, sand, or do anything else with our vehicles to try to make them look better.

The more uniform the surface of the paint, the less the light reflects at odd angles, and the more in-focus the reflections end up being, which gives us that nice glossy look we all search for when detailing your vehicle.

Pulling contaminants out of the paint gives us two things- one, a surface without visible defects caused by contaminants (which are usually very hard to see anyway), and, more importantly, it gives us a more uniform surface to work on should we want to polish or apply products over the top of the paint.

A properly prepped panel is integral to the polishing process. If your panel has detailing products such as sealant, waxes, or contaminants still on the paint, you may not obtain the results you are looking for. The detailing products may not allow your polish compound to work as it should and the contaminants may end up being pulled out by the buffing pad (the same way they would with the clay), only now you're moving that debris across your clearcoat four thousand times a minute instead of a couple of times with your bar.

When I clay, I personally:

- Wash the car normally and dry with a high-quality microfiber towel

- Spray a dilution of isopropyl alcohol/water on the panel to break down any detailing product (such as sealants and waxes) off of the panel. The alcohol should flash off (dry and disappear) relatively easily. Take this opportunity to make sure the panel doesn't have any water hiding in any crevices anywhere. water will get pushed around by the clay and will dilute your lubricating spray.

- grab a latex/nitrile glove and throw it on your left hand (or whatever hand you're using to spray as opposed to clay).

- grab your clay bar. knead it. spray a generous amount of quick detailer on a 2'x2' portion of the panel you're working on. don't worry about there being too much- you want to make sure there just isn't too little. as you do this more and more, you'll figure out the right amount without being wasteful.

- run your gloved hand across the lubed panel surface. you should be able to easily feel the embedded objects in the paint- much easier than you would with just your hand itself. these are the things you want to remove with your bar.

- run the clay bar across the paint surface as if it were an eraser. be sure you use enough detail spray so that the bar glides effortlessly across the paitn surface. it should not stick or jump across the surface. if it does, use more spray. as far as how to move it, many people feel it's beneficial to move in certain directions or in certain patterns, but today's clay can be used basically whatever way you want- just remember that you're basically using a sticky ball of goop to pull dirt out of paint. it's not rocket science.

- as you move the bar back and forth across the paint, move your gloved hand over the paint surface to check and see if the contaminants have been removed- it should feel free of those little raised bumps. your detail spray will flash away pretty quickly, so be sure to keep spraying.

- once you've pulled all those contaminants out of that section of your paint, move on to the next section of the panel. you want to be sure to move panel by panel, that way you won't skip anything. cut the panel into quarters or sixths (for larger panels such as the hood) to make it easier to keep track of. decontaminate one area and move on to the next segment. when finished, you can either continue claying the rest of the vehicle or you can continue to detail that one panel- it's up to you. panels that are heavily damaged may require more work and therefore it may be beneficial to you to focus on that single panel for correction before spending time on another.

- now that your panel is free of contaminants, use a detailing spray or IPA solution to clean the panel of the hazy remains of the claying process. you're now ready to move to the next phase- either polishing the panel to level out any scratches you may have, or using a sealant or wax to glaze and protect your paint.


Quick notes:

- The clay removes contaminants- this isn't only limited to tiny embedded objects in the paint. It can be used to pull off paint transfer from a minor fender bender. It can be used to pull flecks of paint/primer from a scratch or chip so that you can fill it in with touch-up paint. It can remove stubborn stuck-on bug-guts and hard water spots.

The clay bar should be your go-to should soap and water not break something down enough for you to break it down enough to the point that it slides off your paint.

If you've clayed and you still aren't getting results, you may need to look into polishing, which will physically "sand down" (very minimally) your car's clear coat to make it more uniform.

Hope this helps someone. Let me know if you have any questions!
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      09-21-2013, 01:23 AM   #2
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      09-21-2013, 09:45 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ian///M View Post
Most cars that spend time undercover would only require claying every 5 years or so.
I'd have to disagree: My car is garaged, but it's parked outside for 9-10 hours when I'm at work and after only one year, it needed to be clayed.

Granted, the car is probably subjected to quite a bit of fallout because I live in the city, but who doesn't nowadays?
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      09-21-2013, 10:21 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bmw1racer View Post
I'd have to disagree: My car is garaged, but it's parked outside for 9-10 hours when I'm at work and after only one year, it needed to be clayed.

Granted, the car is probably subjected to quite a bit of fallout because I live in the city, but who doesn't nowadays?
Agreed most cars should probably be inspected and clayed at least once a year. Especially the front and rear bumpers where contaminants really embed themselves.
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      09-21-2013, 10:36 AM   #5
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I clay bar my car many times per year, but for most of times, I use a really fine clay bar that does not remove detailing products. In the spring (after 4 months of winter, salt, tar from potholes, etc), I use a medium duty clay followed by a full detailing job.

So, once a year, full blown detailing job, and for the rest of the year, light duty clay to keep the finish as shiny as day 1.

Has worked great for my last two cars.
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      09-21-2013, 03:30 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ian///M View Post
IMO claying is an extreme action. It requires a stage 1 polish afterwards. Only required on a car that is contaminated from years of outdoor life. Most cars that spend time undercover would only require claying every 5 years or so. After 18 years, my car's paint is very smooth when I run my hand over it, whereas my wife's car of the same age, kept outdoors is very rough.... just my 2c worth
Some cars will benefit from clay after a week. Others, a year or more.

It all depends on what the finish is subjected to- both in terms of the owner taking care of it and the conditions the vehicle sees on the road.
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      09-21-2013, 07:26 PM   #7
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My car needs to be clayed several times a year. I park in an underground garage in my condo complex at night but it stays outside for 10-12 hours a day while I'm at work - lots of sun, tree sap, pollen, bird droppings etc. I've noticed that the paint gets contaminated faster when dew forms on the paint surface in the early morning (I get to work at 6 am and it's still dark and cold), dries in the morning sun, and gets "baked" into the surface.
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      09-21-2013, 10:05 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ian///M View Post
In those conditions the car has a hard life. I see that being necessary... More lucky here Downunder with good weather conditions. Salt factor just makes me cringe as how do work around that
The only thing you can really do in these extreme cases is make sure that your paint has a good layer of sealant and wax. Think of the sealant more as a harder, thinner, high-tech barrier that provides a super-clear surface. This is why you get beautiful reflection and gloss.

Wax, on the other hand, is thicker and less transparent. This is why many carnauba waxes give the car a kind of warm "glow" instead of a slick, wet look.

Both protect the car well. The sealant lasts a long time and actually will bond to the paint, giving a thin, hard surface for contaminants to "slide" off of when they impact the paint (however that may happen).

The wax, on the other hand, isn't as hard or slick, but it *is* thicker, which does well when you're combating things like tree sap, bug guts, or the like- these contaminants are less likely to cut through a good carnauba wax than a thin sealant layer, which, while hard, may be more susceptible to chemical processes brought on by these types of materials.

Keep your paint covered with a protective layer and you'll see less contaminants come into contact with your clear coat. It's a little more work to keep that layer on the paint, but it pays off in the long run (plus it makes your car look great in the meantime).
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      09-22-2013, 12:17 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ian///M View Post
Agree, especially if in flight paths. I don't have this issue. A good sealant should prevent this though
A sealant can do only so much, I think... I've been using Powerlock quite judiciously, maybe every couple of months even if the car is still beading, yet the finish lost its glass-like smoothness.
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      09-22-2013, 04:58 AM   #10
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Detailers clay is an abrasive product; it doesn't pull containments from the paint surface

It's essentially a malleable applicator that contains suspended abrasive particles, used with a surface lubricant it aquaplanes across the paint surface and removes surface contaminants by abrasion and then encapsulation by the malleable polymer and was originally formulated to remove paint over-spray; it is also useful for removing surface contaminants that have bonded to the paint.

See also a recent forum post - http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=882214


An extract from a TOGWT® Autopia Detailing Wiki Article - “Nanoskin Surface Prep Towel” - http://www.autopia.org/forum/autopia...rep-towel.html
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      09-27-2013, 01:12 PM   #11
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I wax the car with a good carnauba wax over the sealant (I use Wolfang products)
Best of both worlds.
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      09-27-2013, 01:28 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JB007 View Post
I wax the car with a good carnauba wax over the sealant (I use Wolfang products)
Best of both worlds.
As do I. Wolfgang DGPS followed by Meguiar's. Waiting for the meg's to run out so I can move to a different vendor and see how it goes.
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