After washing your car before claying it, do you need to dry it (thoroughly at least)?

 

No need to dry because clay should be applied to a wet surface.

P.S. I like the Zaino clay but have not tried others.

 

I LOVE the zaino clay bar, but then again im biast since i have the whole system ..

 

The Mother's clay bar system you are supposed to dry the car completely. Then apply the spray they provide you to the target area, then clay it, polish it out.

 

Last spring a friend and I got together for a 'clay party'. I had a 2 bars of Zaino which were about a year old, one of which was used, and he had a year-old bar of Meguiar's. I went with my previously used bar without any problems whatsoever. No crumbling and easy to fold, etc. His Meguiar's left streaks and bits on his black roof. I gave him my unopened bar and it took the Meguiar's right off! He used it on the rest of his car with no problems. The temp that day was about 85 degrees in relatively dry climate, and we didn't have much shade to work under.

One note: I kept my clay bars in the jar they came in with the lid tightly closed; he kept his in the plastic it came in, unsealed, with air exposure.

 

They just want you to use their QD spray. :smile: Good marketing. I use QD spray for touch ups and localized areas but for whole car treatments always use shampoo.

 

I have some Zymol Lehm Klay coming in the mail. I have always liked their other products, so I thought I would try it.

Interesting note, Zymol strike, which is a citus-based engine cleaner, can be diluted and used sparingly on dirty paint. (According to the distributor who sold me the Lehm Clay) He recommended I try that first.

 

Be really careful with solvents on paint if you don't know what's in them. Scary things can happen!

 

Ok, so you wash and then clay bar? Once you drop the clay bar, it's no good because you get dirt in it, correct? So you can only use the clay bar once? You do the car, there's dirt in the clay bar.

 

I pretty much call my piece of clay "dead" if I drop it. Just like if I drop my microfiber on the ground, it automatically goes in the hamper to be washed.

This is what I do. I tear very small pieces of claybar off the large bar. I knead down and flatten them into a very thin wafer about the diameter of a silver dollar. I use the bar on one side until it gets visually dirty. Then I flip it over and use the opposite side. Then I throw it away.

I don't like to be tempted to use larger pieces and then knead the dirty sides into each other until a clean surface appears. This is dangerous because at some point that dirty debris is going to possibly come to the surface and cause a scratch. By using smaller disposible pieces it is MUCH safer.

And if a small piece falls on the ground and gets contaminated it is less of a waste.

 

Good thinking! Now I've gotta go out and buy a fresh clay bar!

I recently tried the Clay Magic clay bar on two fairly new cars (I tore it in half). On one, my Mini, I was surprised how much gunk it collected. On the other, I was surprised how little gunk it grabbed. btw, I used soapy water as a lubricant on the Mini and the Clay Magic spray lube on most of the other car (I ran out...), but I doubt this makes any difference.

Brad, I'm curious how many "silver dollars" you make out of a Clay Magic sized clay bar. Also, how many "dollars" do you typically use on your Mini?

 

As you might guess, different bars come in different sizes/weights. But on average I cut/tear my individual bars into about 8-10 pieces.

My cars are garaged and pampered so they are pretty clean. I can get away with one "dollar" usually for the top surfaces, one for the side above the beltline and one each (right and left) for below the beltline (rocker area). You use more here because it's usually dirtier here. Thats about 4 "dollars" a clean car, roughly. The dirtier the car, the more you will use.

It doesn't take much to do a good job and the job goes pretty fast.

 

I've noticed that...I'll grab some from work and try it out:smile:

 

Ouch. This could be scary.

 

Am I doing something wrong? I use plenty of water, but the bar is STIFF and it doesn't soften up and I feel like I'm damaging the paint. My bar is Mother's.

 

Do not use the whole bar. Cut it up and use small pieces. A Mothers bar can easily be cut into 10 pieces. I work it into thin wafers the size of silver dollars. Lay this flat against the paint between your flattened palm (fingers) and rub very lightly in back and forth motions. It takes only three or four strokes in any given area. Make sure to get even coverage. You can feel when it makes the surface slick. Be sure you are using NOT just PLAIN water but a mixture of a quality auto shampoo or use with a quality quick detailer. You want to lubricate the surface. Water alone is not enough.

Look at THIS.

 

Thanks! Claying makes more sense to me now. I will "clay" this weekend. I wish I wasn't so nutsy about cleaning my car, but I love it so and it's pretty when it's all shiney.

MC/2004/Chili/ 3 packages/CVT/

 

What do you think the lowest outside temperature can be to use the claybar? I used it today when it was around 55-60 degrees but the clay wasn't molding easily.

Also, is it necessary to re-wash my car since I used clay prior to using the Zaino polish?

I previously had 4 layers of Zaino on my car. Did claying remove it?

Thanks everyone for being so supportive.

 

There is no minimum temperature that clay won't "work" but at you discovered, it get's harder to fold and bend as the temperature drops. I tend to use very small, very thin (1/16") pieces so I have no difficulty even in sub 50 degree weather. But that is usually the general cutoff. HINT: Keep the bar in your pocket to keep it warm.

Yes, it's best to wash with Z7 to remove any residue.

Claying did not "remove" all the Zaino but it likely abraded into a layer.

 

I went with the wolfgang clay bar and lube. There whole line of car products are great. Check out autogeek.net

 

I love bringing old threads back to life! I like the Meguire's Professional Clay - the blue kind.

 

^^ i found that actually the blue meguiar's clay is pretty coarse. too coarse for my nissan paints. i recommend the Griot's yellow ikky mud for it's softness for newbs.

wear gloves prior to use so it doesn not appear that you had your hand where it wasn't suppose to be. the yellow dye will get under your nails. this is by far good stuff.



http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/...rrivals&page=1

 

^^ hmmmmm! I may have to try that, Ken!

 

I've used the Griots & the Mothers clay. For me I like Mom's clay better.

 

mom's clay is actually pretty good. the problem with their clay is that it's firm and difficult to kneed unless your hands are pretty warm. tough to do on a colder/cooler day.

the werd though, the mom's clay (although firm) is actually gentle on the paint.

WannaMini - another trick to using the Griot's mud is to use ample QD. otherwise it's so soft it will smear a light mark on the surface. you can remove the smear very easily with the clay but just a hassle at times.

once you get the hang of it, thing is fabulus. but make sure you wear gloves for sure. thing is gooey, ikky, messy.