I'll post pics this weekend of my wifes car. I should be able to do it unless she changes plans. It's a 5 year old used car that I don't believe has ever seen wax. It's been washed but not cleaned that I can tell. The color is Topaz blue and swirls real bad with a few not through the paint scratches. I'm wanting to see what Zaino will do for it so I thought this will be a good test to show in this thread.

One thing, I will not be using the clay bar. People say it is simple and I agree, for some it is. I've seen instructions for using the clay bar but I've scratched my car once with it so I'm afraid to do the whole car. I wish someone would do a Clay Bar for Dummies thread. Such things as how much pressure to use, how much lubricant(car wash?) to use, etc....

 

Claybar is really simple to use. Just make sure you realize you don't use it dry or on paint that's hot---that is has been sitting in the sun.

Work in the shade on paint that's cool, spray lots of quick detailer (drench the area), knead the new claybar into a little silver dollar sized pancake, and glide it over the surface like a hockey puck over ice. You will feel resistance at first, and after a few passes it will just glide, so then you can move on to another section.

Always work in a small area--say 1 foot x 1 foot at a time. Don't drop the claybar on the ground--if you do, you gotta toss it. Frequently knead the clay to expose new clay. If that doesn't work it's time to get a new piece of clay. Don't work with the whole chunk of clay at once either!

The only way I can see that you scratched your finish is you got some dirt on the claybar and rubbed that over your paint. So make sure you are is washed or atleast completely quick detailed before you claybar it. Then feel the paint--if it's not smooth as glass, then you need to use claybar!

Work a little bit at a time, then check the paint and see if it's smooth! Wipe the area dry with a good micro fiber towel before moving on to the next area.

While this MINI was being clayed in the sun, it was cool to the touch since it was in the shade a few moments earlier.





Look at all that gunk removed!!

Btw, it doesn't really matter what brand of clay bar you use. I've used both Zaino and Meguiars. Each varies a bit, and just start with one and see how you like it.

 

http://www.adamspolishes.com/videos/clay_bar.cfm

 

Oooohhh - and yet MORE options tossed into this already volatile mix. I LOVE it.

 

I'd be careful about using the whole bar of clay as is done in the video. Unless you can afford to buy an entire bar of clay everytime you or someone else drops it.

I think my Zaino bar was around $17 and comes with 2 bars while the Meguiars one includes only 1 bar and a bottle of Quik Detailer for like $10. IMO, the Meguiars one is too small (meaning I wish they included like 3 bars)

 

I have never dropped a bar, I'm careful enough, and it's very easy and fast to use as shown. The Zaino bars are great! The only issue I've had (this goes for any bar), and this was my mistake - I gave one of my bars to my GF, showed her what to do and let her go to town on her Beetle while I was working on the Mini in the next bay...well I forgot to tell her about folding...and when she was done the bar was absolutely SHREDED! lol Oh well, they are cheap and I still have one that will last me forever

 

Since Kaelaria posted this great link for video clips, anyone wondering about using a machine tool on their MINI should watch this clip. He shows you and tells you why this detailer loves his PC.

About half way into the clip is where it starts.

http://www.adamspolishes.com/videos/car_polish.cfm

 

One more point to add is that it probably is safer to form the clay into a small pancake the size of a silver dollar, then use one side and once that is a little dirty looking you flip to the other side and then toss it when that side is dirty.

If you knead it and form a new pancake to expose fresh clay, you might still be exposing some abrasive contaminants as well....at least that was what was explained to me....does this make sense or do most people knead the clay and re-use it again and again?

Note..the Meguiar's help line I think is where I got that info from...you certainly use more clay bars that way but seems safer.

 

Contaminates caught in the clay do not scratch the finish, that's the whole point of the process. They go up into the clay and stay there, away from the paint surface. Kneading is simply to spread the contaminates evenly throughout the bar and dissipate the lubricant so it does not become saturated and shred - hense the problem my GF had. There is no danger in kneading a bar - using a surface once and throwing it away makes no sense - it's over-cautious without reason. Take that to one more extreme and you could say you need a fresh surface with every stroke - see what I mean?

 

I certainly agree that large vehicles need a power polisher to save your back and time! One quote from him says it all about the Mini though "If you have a small vechicle, you can probably get away with doing it by hand". I think our wonderful cars certainly fit the criteria ~ I have never enjoyed detailing a car more!

 

Thanks, Kaelaria and Octane. I see what my problem was now. I was rubbing too hard when it seems like all it takes is go over it lightly.

 

As soon as someone sees a video or sees someone doing it - clay bars are no longer a 'big deal' You can type till the cows come home but 5 seconds of seeing it lets you go 'oooohhhhh I get it!'

 

And I did - I actually said "oooohhhh I get it!"

Looks like I have a weekend project coming up. . .

 

This video makes my stomach turn. Sure, this is "basically" how clay works but he is doing it like a "detailer" who churns out 10 cars a day. I would FREAK if he touched my car like that. And I never teach that in my seminars. One piece of debis breaks loose and gets stuck in the clay the way he is working that hood and you will be polishing out a scratch for the next two hours. Circular motions? Puleeze!

Work your bar lightly, work it back and forth only. And much of the debris breaks loose and floats IN the QD or soapy water. Wipe that off and replace frequently, don't just wipe and constantly re-wipe in dirty lubricant. You will be rubbing around debris.

And the "theory" that debris that gets turned up inside the clay won't come back to haunt you.... is just playing the odds. I know..I have seen it happen! And don't think all debris sucks up into the clay bar safely away from the paint. It doesn't. Turn the bar over sometime and wipe your finger across it. You will get dirt on your finger. This is debris that has not yet "pushed" up inside the bar. It either takes more time or pressure until it does. Until then you are abrading this against your paint surface. You want to flush this out with fresh QD and you do not want this in your bar...why would you? It doesn't make sense. Folding it inside will just disperse it around the bar elswhere and slowly, gradually contaminate the whole bar. Not good.

It's cheap, cheap insurance to cut your bar up into smaller pieces, make thin pancakes and use one side until it's visibly dirty then flip it over and use the other side. When both sides are filthy toss the piece. I can still get several cars worth of use out of a bar.

If you drop it, throw it away! It's dead. Don't even try to clean it. Another reason to use smaller pieces.

There are a lot of ways to skin a cat, but I was the first to promote this method several years ago and it's the safest way to avoid contamination scratches.

 

in that video, his clay bar was real pliable and stretchy....the Clay Magic bar I bought was fairly hard and was difficult to knead into a little pancake unless I ran inside and microwaved it for 30 secs...are some brands more pliable than others or was my bar maybe a little old and dried out I wonder?

 

I am 95% sure that Adams clay bar is made by the same company that makes ClayMagic, and Mothers and Zaino as well as others. Each can have slight tweaks in the composition but they all are basically the same poly clay. Meguiars, one clay I truly dislike, is made by another company.

It takes a LONG time for clay to "age". Years. As you guessed, heat is the biggest factor and warming it up is a great trick.

 

Well, I can certainly respect differing opinons, but the facts are a lot of pros recommend a full bar, folding and that contaminates get safely trapped. I have also never had an issue (knock on wo..er, plastic).


Adams in the above vid shows it, the detailing bible shows it: http://www.thedetailingbible.com/331625.html , Zaino describes it: http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/...C&Store_Code=Z , Mothers shows it: http://www.mothers.com/reelworld/reels/Clay_Bar.html , and there are countless other sites with essentially the same text instructions.

It certainly doesn't hurt to use a 'smaller chunk' methods, but clearly the pro concensus agrees with me, full bar & fold is great!

 

Ask ANY of them which they think is safer. Keep knocking on plastic.

 

I know you'd pick up on that quote--but if you considered the whole quote, he says that you "probably could" but he prefers using the machine because it makes it a whole lot easier!!!

Richard

 

KaelariaIt's funny you mention that the "Pros recommend a full bar" and mention various manufacturers, not detailers. Have you ever thought about what they have to lose if you drop a whole bar??? Nothing, they gain a new sale!! As BradB has said, it's common sense to use smaller pieces, plus it's very easy to see when that piece is contaminated and shouldn't be used any more.

Brad
I've got a question for you. You mention you hate the Meguiars clay bar. It suddenly dawned on me---when was the last time you used their clay?? They changed their formulation about a year ago, but much of the old stock still remains on many shelves throughout the country.

The old stuff is hard on the outside and brittle and kinda yellowish. It doesn't knead well at all, and definitely sucks really bad. The new stuff is soft and sticky and light grey in color.

Richard

 

agree with brad on this one. Much safer to use small pieces than the whole bar. To find out what the detailers think you should go to:

www.autopia.org
www.detailcity.com

 

I just ordered my Zaino today!
But does anyone know where their warehouse is? Or how long approximately does it take to get to the great lakes region?

Thanks!
Mike

 

New Jersey. (at least everything I order comes from there...and I am in the Midwest) You should get it mid to late week. You'll be ready for the weekend.

 

I got one last year but it wasn't as you describe. I will definitely check it out. Thanks for the heads up! Mike Phillips was holding out on me!

 

I use Meguiar's Detailer Clay, which is 200g bar, its blue in color and softer than Meguiar's white clay.
I saw the adamspolish clay video, but I would be very careful about wristwatch he had. I would remove watch, rings before start to clay.