Clay bar question

[ebc]

Greetings,
I tried using a clay bar for cleaning the finish on my car. Not sure I am doing it right since I found imbedded dirt and bug spots after the job. I used the quick detailer lubricant liberally. The clay seemed quite stiff even after kneeding for several minutes. Any suggestions appreciated. Is there a better product for clear coat cleaning?
Regards,
EBC

 

[bretfraz]

The clay should remove all surface contaminents, the stuff you can feel if you lightly rub your hand along the paint finish (better yet, wrap you hand in plastic saran wrap then rub the paint, the contaminents are more noticeable that way).

If you can still feel surface crud, re-clay a small spot to see if a little extra work will do the job.

Bug splats can be tricky to remove with clay. While they're a surface contaminent, they don't always come off with clay. Better to use a bug sponge and a diluted all purpose cleaner, then wash off with soap and water. The cleaner will break the bond of the bug acids and make them easier to remove with the sponge.

If the clay doesn't remove the embedded dirt, try a small amount of paint polish or cleaner wax, whatever you have on hand, and see if that does the trick. Sometimes what seems like dirt could actually be paint overspray, tree sap or something else.

Hope this helps. Let us know how things turn out.

 

[AzFireGuy79]

Did you wash your car with a dishwash soap like DAWN to remove the wax first? This will make the clay bar work as designed. Granted it probably won't make the bug removal more easy on you, but it will make everything else clean up much better. What brand clay bar did you use?

 

[Cup of Joe]

You said imbedded dirt and bugs. Anything down in the paint can only be removed by removing some of the paint, if its on the surface it can be removed with clay washing etc. Large bugs with big guts full of acid can and will eat into the paint, that cannot be removed with any clay no matter how long you try. Some kind of imbedded dirt or poluntant would be the same thing. If the paint had dirt when it was sprayed with clear it would be under the clear. As an example my bright white Rio has flecks of brown most likely primer that is under the clear.

If your dirt is imbedded you can stop trying to remove it unless you want to get into compounds but that would depend on how deep the flaw is. I've seen bug guts eat all the way to the primer. FYI a clay bar should never get soft. I've never tried the liquid clay bar they have now, but the Mothers bar is a smaller version of what I used to get back in the day. I have also seen the full size large blue bars sold at Carquest.

Bars are for fall out, pollutants etc. We had a contract to remove industrial fallout from a number of damaged cars when a backboard company had a faulty air handler. Every car felt just like sand paper. We used regular water is spray bottles, you could also use a drop of soap in the bottle.

 

[ebc]

Thanks for the suggestions. It sounds like clay is good if you clean and wax the car often. (I dont, I am 52 years old and do a lot more driving than detailing). Can you suggest a good clear coat cleaner? I am not sure the McGuires stuff is all it claims to be.
Thanks again.
ebc

 

[Cup of Joe]

Originally Posted By: ebc
Thanks for the suggestions. It sounds like clay is good if you clean and wax the car often. (I dont, I am 52 years old and do a lot more driving than detailing). Can you suggest a good clear coat cleaner? I am not sure the McGuires stuff is all it claims to be.
Thanks again.
ebc


I feel your pain, 15-16 years ago when I had access to the best equipment and free wax's and compounds I could make any of my cars shine and feel like glass. Now eehh I drive to much and spend as much time with my family as I can.

You haven't said how old the car is etc. I would suggest if you clayed the car, just give it a good washing occasionally and wax it with the product you like best that is sold OTC. I was paid to buff cars and did some paint work. I never had a problem with using turtle wax 2001 on my cars, went on easy and came off the same way in 1 step. If your car stays outside most of the time the paint is going to show sum signs of weathering, I just accept it. Can old paint still look good of course it can but it won't always be show room new. I have a 67 VW that was lasted painted in 85, still shows great but none the less it has some stone chips the and the occasional bug flaw

that's life.

 

[Lyondellic]

Originally Posted By: ebc
Greetings,
I tried using a clay bar for cleaning the finish on my car. Not sure I am doing it right since I found imbedded dirt and bug spots after the job. I used the quick detailer lubricant liberally. The clay seemed quite stiff even after kneeding for several minutes. Any suggestions appreciated. Is there a better product for clear coat cleaning?
Regards,
EBC


I am not sure which clay kit you used, but I use the Clay Magic Blue kit (~$12). Clay Magic is well liked by those who post on the Autopia site. Detailing clay is quite stiff from my experience, though this may not be the case for every brand. I usually cut each clay bar into 6 pieces and designate one piece for a section on my car. I then spray the pieces with lubricant and place them in Ziploc bags so that each piece will be ready when they are needed. I am no expert on the subject, but have done a lot of research on various sites about using detailing clay.

I recommend against using dish detergent to wash your car. Clay removes some wax, so just be sure to use it only if you plan to apply wax afterwards. Use a decent car soap, such as NXT or Gold Class wash from Meguiars. Eagle One makes a good wash soap as well. Use clay on small sections (typically 2' x 2') and be sure to use a liberal amount of lubricant. Meguiars Ultimate Quick Detailer is a good lubricant choice if you find you are running low. YouTube has a few videos that demonstrate how to use detailing clay. It sounds like you already know about using clay though.

One word of caution about using detailing clay. It can grab your paint and cause mar marks, even if you use enough lubricant. This seems to happen when there are a lot of contaminants on the paint. Some folks advise against using clay unless you plan to use a buffer, such as the Porter Cable 7424, to polish afterwards. Usually, however, the risk is minimal and clay works as intended.

 

[mikered30]

I found letting the clay sit in a soapy solution with hot water, after that it is really easy to knead the clay.