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Clay Detailing


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for the first time yesterday i clayed my car my word what a differnece it has made even though i regulary polish my car it has never looked so good

when you hear of claying it sounds like a messy / hard job to do but it is the easiest job just a quick mist of the detailing fluid then using the clay bar

gently rub the bar on the paintwork when the panel is done wipe off the detailing fluid so its ready to polish.

here is a picture of my car today i have taken a picture looking down the side so you can see the reflection.

2014-11-25153144_zpsfb60663a.jpg

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Looks good!

But..... you do realize that clay bars do absolutely nothing to make the car shiny right? They're used to remove impurities from the paint so polishing is easier and so wax can bond with the surface better.

I have a sneaky feeling the quick detailer is adding some glossing agents to the paint if it looks visibly different.

There's only 1 thing that adds true shine and that's a good polish. Wax, sealants, coatings all look the same in a blind test.

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it was a cool day when i done the work ,i polished it afterwards using auto glym resin ,the paintwork has never felt so smooth it feels like glass and the reflection has never been so clear.

i used the Meguiars clay smooth kit i borrowed off a friend to see what the results where like and i will be buying some this week.

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Looks great! B) Cant beat using a clay bar! I was sceptical before I ever used one but now its an essential part of the process and do it a couple of times a year if possible.

I recently bought a new Bilt Hamber one based on great reviews but haven't used it yet.

A clay bar will actually improve the shine on the car even if not used with quick detailer (my detailer run out years ago and I use my clay bar with plenty of soapy water which works just as well cos it just needs some kind of lubricant on the paint surface), as by the act of removing the impurities and making the paint surface smoother it will reflect much better.

I did the Altezza at the weekend and used my old Meguiars clay bar as the paint surface was almost like sand paper and I didnt want to use my new clay bar until I had given it a once over (well kinda three times over!) and got the worst off first. It is much better now and the colour of the car has actually dropped a shade slightly from removing some of the impurities! Need to do it again with the new clay bar and then it will hopefully be as smooth as glass and ready for some polish and wax.

Which method do you guys use for claying?
I tend to wash the car, then use plenty of soapy water and clay it, then wash again to remove the residue before leathering off the car as I found this more effective and easier than washing, leathering and then "dry claying" with detailer and finally buffing it off :)

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My son's method is snow foam (apparently fairy liq is a no no) clay with lubricant , snow foam again , rinse, dry first with a silicon blade then cloth, then (and I don't know which order) wax and polish

Sent from my Iphone using Lexus OC

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Cool. That's basically same as my method with snow foam instead of using car shampoo in very foamy mixture. Usually polish first then wax to protect and make longer lasting.

The second method is like this:

Both work fine but just easier and gets better results to do it the first way from my experience.

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I've used clay bars in the past-great until they fall on the floor.

Going to try the Farecia G3 Body Prep clay Mitt (eg £12.99 at Halfrauds) which gets pretty good reviews and will do at least 5 passes over your car (depending on size).

Have a read of reviews you may want to try this out rather than fiddling with a clay bar.

Anyway each to their own.

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Sounds like a decent idea tbh. I dont find the clay bars too fiddly if you take your time with it but like you say theres options out there for everyone and each to their own :)

The main point I would make is that using any kind of clay bar, in any method is well worth the effort and however silly it seems to anyone who hasnt ever used one (like I thought), once you do you will be surprised at just how much dirt it lifts off and is still on there. Always shocks me when I do my windscreen too and how much oil/fumes come off as a "rainbow" and then how much better it is using the wipers after claying it and then using window cleaner!

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clay bars dont improve the shine one bit. Its a placebo effect to justify the hard work. The impurities are minuscule and therefore it wont make squat all difference to the shine.

The main purpose of the clay bar is to remove the impurities and that's it. A clay bar is the equivalent of iron x, Autosmart Tardis and TFR built into a block. None of those enhance the shine even though they improve impurities, itd be foolish to think that the clay bar does.

The reflections are not caused by the smoothness of the paint, they're caused by light reflecting off the paint and not being deflected by swirls and scratches. In actual fact, a clay bar adds to the swirls and scratches and therefore needs a polish on top to make it shine.

clay mitts have made bars obsolete considering you can do a car in less than 10 minutes with one.

I can happily bet £10k that a clayed car without a machine polish will look no different next to a car washed with wash & wax.

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Claying and wax and polish certainly makes a big difference - my son's hard work earlier this year brought this post.

attachicon.gifImageUploadedByLexus OC1416947462.024507.jpg

Sent from my iPhone using Lexus OC

That's a result of polish. not wax or clay. Wax = protection. polish = shine enhancement and clay = removal of impurities

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All interesting but I wouldn't want to machine polish a car that had not been clayed. The removal of impurities by clay ensures there's no abrasive particles to be polished into the paint. The lexus paint seems quite soft - it's supposedly self repairing - and whatever care steps are taken will contribute to long term good looks.

Sent from my Iphone using Lexus OC

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All interesting but I wouldn't want to machine polish a car that had not been clayed. The removal of impurities by clay ensures there's no abrasive particles to be polished into the paint. The lexus paint seems quite soft - it's supposedly self repairing - and whatever care steps are taken will contribute to long term good looks.

Sent from my iPhone using Lexus OC

Its the self repairing bit that concerns me regards using abrasive polish, which is usually required after claying regardless of how careful you are as some marring is highly likely. The manual states abrasive polish should be avoided so i have been using non abrasive Polish or paint cleaner as they are known. Dont think 2013 cars have self repairing paint so may only be a concern for 2014 onwards.

Just to clarify the process after washing: Tar remover - wash - Iron X - pressure wash off - clay bar (if required). I have found that the first two steps mean far less effort with the clay bar and as a result less likelyhood of marring. For sure a clay bar in its own will smooth the paint but TAR on a clay bar will likely cause marring as can the bits of iron contaminates the bar shears off. Iron remover is a vital step as it helps dissolve the stuff out the paint whereas clay sometimes pulls it out but often just shears the top off. clay mitts are all the rage these days my only issue is most have dark grey surfaces so its hard to see whats coming off but at least when you drop one its not game over.

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