Clay Is Clay...right ???

[hugh]

Shopping clay bars, I found Clay Magic @ $11.99, Mother's @ $16.99 and Meguiar's @$19.99. All supply about 100 grams and include a lubricant. Zaino is also avail @ $16.95 for 4 ounces.

Lubricant aside, has anyone found any difference between Clay Magic and the more expensive brands of clay?

[pottermom]

DO NOT tease a potter with posts about clay....

[MLPearson79]

Honestly, I don't know about any of those brands, but I do know people have tried some that are NOT good (Sonus comes to mind). So I don't know that "clay is just clay" in those terms. The only one that I can speak to that I've used is Griot's, and it was excellent.

[ScottRiqui]

Originally Posted by hugh

Shopping clay bars, I found Clay Magic @ $11.99, Mother's @ $16.99 and Meguiar's @$19.99. All supply about 100 grams and include a lubricant. Zaino is also avail @ $16.95 for 4 ounces.

Lubricant aside, has anyone found any difference between Clay Magic and the more expensive brands of clay?

I've currently got Griot's, Meguiar's, and Zaino out in the garage right now, and they all seem about the same to me.

I had a brief chance to use Clay Magic when I was having the clear bra put on my wife's car. It seems a little more abrasive than the other three. It was a little better at removing stains, and didn't shred quite as much as the Griot's or Zaino.

I'm interested enough that I'm going to order some of the Clay Magic and try it on the entire car.

Scott

[alpinamike]

Clay magic is good 100grams. Mothers only gives you 60 or 80 grams. The more bar for the money and the Clay Magic lube is good. Meguires gives you about the same. They give you more stuff in the package when all you need is the clay and lube. Save your money, go with clay magic.

[kenchan]

ive never tried claymagic, but i know all clay is not same. some are soft,
some are hard, some are almost brittle. it's best to warm them up in
your hand a little before applying onto the paint to make sure it is not
too hard. Griot's clay is too soft and sticky for me, Mother's so far
has been very good.

i can't wait to try out the PrimaClay.

[ryanthemartini]

no clay is not clay. for example meguiars sells different levels of abrasive clay. for a regular clay, pick up meguiars in the box or claymagic at your local auto store.

[MiniChik]

Mother's clay is firm, somewhat stiff. Meguiar's is very soft, almost too soft. Zaino is more in the middle. I think they all work about the same as far as pulling gunk out of your paint. It's probably best to try them and see which you prefer.

[Motor On]

I assumed CLay was clay and picked up Clay magic perfect finish


I hated it until I had the wax on and saw what an amazing effect it had compared to my previous wax job sans clay. It did expose every single flaw in the clear coat.

[umberto]

I use Clay Magic...works fine and does not shred...but it is a lit hard to form into a wafer unless you heat it up for 30 secs in a microwave then it is pretty pliable

[El_Jefe]

griot's clay removed every single contaminant and left a perfect finish with little to no effort using their speedshine as a base lubricant. You need very little of it. next time a much smaller piece I will tear off. I clay often as I live next to NYCity and have a 4 seasons climate. griot's gives you a huge lump. 226 grams is 8 ounces google says. cant say its bad as it does its job. shrug?

also, I dont do small areas of anything small areas are for wimps. i do like 1/4 the car before i wipe it off. doesnt really matter. like waxing. carnauba wax the whole car by hand. when i feel like wiping it off I do, same effect as sooner it seems.

[Detailers Paradise]

All clay is manufacturered in this country by a single manufacturer, due to a patent "war" over the past few years which was won by this single manufacturer. This manufacturer sells all the nation's clay to numerous private labelers and retailers, which is why you see it out there in so many different forms and under many different names. They also retail clay directly to the consumer under their own retail name of ClayMagic.

They offer various abrasive levels of clay, as well as size/color variations, to private labelers and retailers. They also will customize clay, by request, for things like stickiness/softness/non-stock colors/etc. These custom variations appease user preference variations. In other words, some like clay sticky feeling so they can hold on to it more easily and not drop it, while others like clay not sticky. (by the way, softer clay tends to shred more easily and vice versa) Some private labelers and retailers like to offer their clay in a unique color to stand out from others. They can opt for these non-stock variations (at a cost, of course!).

Regarding abrasive levels, we have found that all of the "consumer levels" of clay work fairly similarly. The main advantage of the corser clay is that it seems to work faster but not necessarily better. In other words, fine grade and medium grade both have the ability to achieve the same end result, but the medium grade is likely to get you there faster. At the same time, the medium grade can more easily scuff the paint (especially the paint is super soft, like BMW, Ferrari, or body shop/resprayed paint, for example). I use the term "consumer levels" of clay because the manufacturer prohibits the retail sale of the heavy grade (read: most abrasive) clay to the consumer/general public. This clay can only be sold to body shops and the like. Bottom line: a vast majority of clay you will see out there is fine grade. Typically, those who sell medium grade clay will proactively note it.

IMO, the application/use preferences of the user determine what the user will like the best. There really is not a quality difference as much as there is a application preference difference between different clays. They should all give you the same end result.

So, my advice is don't worry about which one will work best, but whether or not you like the clay sticky or not sticky, light colored or dark colored (light colors allow you to see if the clay is getting to dirty to use anymore), etc, etc. It's all made by the same manufacturer using the same patented formula with several slight variations.

Hope this helps!

-Heather

[OctaneGuy]

Let me illustrate what an aggressive clay will do to the finish.

Here's what the finish looked like before claying


And here's what it looked like after claying


The clay I used was the Meguiar's Professional Red Aggressive Clay


Why did I choose to use this clay???
To remove these embedded shards of metal particles that the body shop that repainted this old 1950something truck--left behind!


Now obviously nobody should be using Aggressive clay unless you know what you're doing.

Using this clay, it took me about 6 hours to clay the truck. When I tested using normal mild clay, it would have taken me days. One section took over 50 passes of mild clay while with aggressive clay it only took maybe 10 passes.

And here's what the finish looked like under the sun after I was finished polishing--though before adding wax--the white spots are divots in the paint.




Used to look like this


Before


After


Richard

Originally Posted by Detailers Paradise

Regarding abrasive levels, we have found that all of the "consumer levels" of clay work fairly similarly. The main advantage of the corser clay is that it seems to work faster but not necessarily better. In other words, fine grade and medium grade both have the ability to achieve the same end result, but the medium grade is likely to get you there faster. At the same time, the medium grade can more easily scuff the paint (especially the paint is super soft, like BMW, Ferrari, or body shop/resprayed paint, for example). I use the term "consumer levels" of clay because the manufacturer prohibits the retail sale of the heavy grade (read: most abrasive) clay to the consumer/general public. This clay can only be sold to body shops and the like. Bottom line: a vast majority of clay you will see out there is fine grade. Typically, those who sell medium grade clay will proactively note it.
-Heather

[Detailers Paradise]

Originally Posted by El_Jefe

next time a much smaller piece I will tear off.

Are you related to Yoda??

-Heather

[MiniChik]

Originally Posted by Detailers Paradise

Are you related to Yoda??

Oh man, that wasn't funny until you said that, now I can't stop laughing!! And yes I did say it to myself in the Yoda voice!

[MiniMaybee]

So Heather - if all clay is equal then why does some flatout get yukky when you use them? Yukky is a technical term I know but here I mean it as in get all grainy and fall-aparty. I used the Zaino clay once and it got yukky (see definition above) after about half the car. Sonus on the other had never did get yukky and I even used again the next time. I use the same Dawn soap that I used to strip the wax for each application.
Now the $64,000 question (or in your case $12.99): Does your clay get all yukky or does it hold up?

PS. I will need the white pad and the 3" backing plate as well.

[Detailers Paradise]

Originally Posted by MiniMaybee

So Heather - if all clay is equal then why does some flatout get yukky when you use them? Yukky is a technical term I know but here I mean it as in get all grainy and fall-aparty. I used the Zaino clay once and it got yukky (see definition above) after about half the car. Sonus on the other had never did get yukky and I even used again the next time. I use the same Dawn soap that I used to strip the wax for each application.
Now the $64,000 question (or in your case $12.99): Does your clay get all yukky or does it hold up?

Indeed, "yukky" is a technical clay term. It tends to be that clay which is stickier (and easier to hold on to) will get "all grainy and fall-aparty" more easily than others if you use a soap-based lubricant (especially Dawn, as opposed to car soap). I can only guess that whatever they add to the clay to make it more sticky (& thus easier to hold) also makes it get yukky when you use a soap lube. Like with many product attributes, there are tradeoffs. Unfortunately, the chemistry can dictate that the addition of one attribute automatically creates another... maybe a less appealing one.

Although the soap/water lube trick is a great one and very convenient, a dedicated clay lube spray or QD spray will prevent the fall-apartiness. The soap/water lube will accelerate the yukkiness. IMO, use the soap/water lube only under these conditions: 1) your paint really needs to be clayed and thus the clay will be "used up" before it falls apart anyway, and/or 2) you don't have any lube spray or QD on hand. (remember that with most QDs you can dilute them 50/50 with water so you don't use them up as quickly) Even the less-yukky prone (ie Sonus) will eventually break down with soap/water. If your paint isn't too bad, your clay should last a verrry long time using lube or QD spray.


Another tip: If you're not using the soap/water lube and are still having trouble with fall-apartiness/graininess, then make sure you aren't folding the lube/QD spray into the clay. To make sure, pat the clay with a clean cloth before you stretch and fold it.


Does Prima clay get yukky? It will not get yukky at all if you use a lube spray or QD with it. If you use a soap/water lube, it shouldn't break down right away but will probably do so eventually. We chose the one that attempts to appeal to everyone as much as possible!


Shopping comparison tip: In most cases, if clay is the same color and size (and grade), then it is quite likely the exact same formula. There are exceptions but they are very rare.

-Heather

[MiniChik]

Ah, you answered my question Heather. I've never had clay get yukky or fall apart but then again I've never used soapy water for my lubricant, only QD.

Great info on the clay BTW!

[Ords]

So in my best humorous online voice...

Will Playdoh work just as well?

Actually Heather, thank you for post, I learned something today.

[MiniChik]

Originally Posted by Ords

So in my best humorous online voice...

Will Playdoh work just as well?

Now I think Playdoh would scratch. How about Silly Putty? OR could we use the clay to make stretchy images from the newspaper??

[lotsie]

Heather, a big thanks on all the info you offer.

Although I knew about the one manufacture of clay bars, I had never heard about how soapy water tends to make the clay yukky.

I use QD when doing spot claying of baked on bird poop, or other stains. When doing a whole car claying before waxing, I use soapy water. I find it easier to use a wash mitt/microfibre towel to get lots of it on, then just hose of the area once it's done.

Mark

[davavd]

Heather, we are lucky to have you around. Thanks.

[jwardell]

I remember when I first decided to get a claybar I did some research and read various reviews. I didn't really read much difference in effectiveness. But there were differences in hardness, or maybe knead-ability. I remember some brands were surprisingly rated lower. But I settled on the clay magic which was maybe almost as good as the few above it, but for less money than those brands I also got two bottles of clay lube (I got [url=http://store.yahoo.com/cgi-bin/clink?autopia+awc-88256.html+]this kit). It is nice to have the overabundance of cheap lube so you don't feel like you are wasting it--I would be more reluctant to spray more expensive Zaino QD all over for example. That bar lasted me about two years and I was pretty happy with how it kneaded etc.

Heather thank you for the industry insight. Sounds like pretty much the same thing as polishing pads all being made by the same manufacturer. Also why I take many private label product recommendations with a grain of salt until I see side-by-side testing, chances are they are the same and the next place's product.

[jwardell]

What about that homemade play-doh that you can eat?

[dimini]

Hey Clay folks,

Not to hijack the thread, but I have a quick off-topic clay question: Is it ok to use clay on the windshield? My windshield appears to be cleaner where the wipers make contact and I'd like to "restore" the windshield so there's no difference between the areas that come in contact w/wipers versus outer edges.

And, after the claybar, if a claybar is the right product for cleansing the windshield, should this be followed with a product like Rain-X?

Thanks in advance !