Any help finding a how to ???

 

This company has quite a informative site and almost ANY car care product you can think of.

http://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog.jsp?L1=L1_1000

John

 

I would suggest to checkout:

www.adamspolishes.com/videos/

it shows actual videos on how to use the claybar

plus Adam (the owner) is a very helpful guy
you can even call his cell phone and ask him personally
a big plus in my book

hope this helps
regards,

Charles J. Rivera
Founder
www.minijunkies.com
"The Official Mini Cooper Webpage of Puerto Rico"

 

Thanks for the info
Just wanted to be sure I did it correctly

 

This may also be of interest to you as it covers claybar in depth as well as full restoration of a show car.

http://www.showcargarage.com/index.p...e=1960Corvette

 

Process for Claying the Car

1. Wash with auto shampoo. Don’t bother drying.
2. Get out your clay. I use the Zaino clay-bar because I like the feel, but I have only used one other brand – Mothers. It wasn’t bad, but I liked the Zaino better.
3. If you drop your clay on the ground, throw it away. Contamination sticks to the clay and will scratch your paint.
4. BradB’s directions were much better than mine, so here they are: I recommend that you cut your claybar into several pieces and knead into silver dollar size wafers about 3/16” thick. Use one side until visibly dirty. Flip over and use second side. Then throw away. Do not be tempted to use a large piece of clay and knead the dirty debris into the clay. This contamination will eventually come back to the surface and cause a scratch. You will get better results and avoid scratching from the clay itself if you use an auto shampoo as a lubricant. This is important. You get best results when you rub in back and forth motions only. (In fact, everything….washing mitt, drying towel, claying strokes, should be front-aft motions on car. This consistency will help optics regarding micro-marring and scratches/swirls) (Note from agranger: I keep my ‘spent’ clay in a sealed container… It’s great for polishing glass.
5. When you finish one body panel, wash and rinse it well. Clay everything with a smooth finish: chrome, paint and glass

 

i usually use Mother's claybar. i heard from my buddy that bought the
griot's clay that it was too soft and was kind of a sticky mess. can
anyone confirm this?

 

I've used the Griot's clay, and though mildly sticky I wouldn't call it a mess. Used with their Speed Shine as lubricant I've been very happy with it.

A_Sr.

 

Yes, I agree. It's softer and tends to stick and gum up a bit while using. This can leave residue on the surface. I find Meguiars clay this way as well. If you use plenty of lube it works ok.

I prefer Mothers, ClayMagic and Zaino clays.

 

If you use the Meguiar's clay properly, it doesn't stick or gum up while using it. As far as lubricants go, water on the surface of your car after washing it works fine. As does a bucket full of water. Sure it's not as slippery as using it with soap or a QD, but if you want to save some money, even water as a lubricant will work.

Btw, what's the proper way of using it?
Well, wet the surface liberally before you put the clay on it.
Make sure the surface is cool to the touch--claying hot paint will cause it to stick.
Wetting your fingers and the clay before applying it to the paint can be helpful too, but not always necessary.
Always work with small managable pieces not whole bars of clay.

Richard

 

thanks, i think i will stick with my Mother's clay and QuikDetailer as my lube
as usual.

octaneguy, im not a pro at this like you, but won't you not want water
remaining on your car after your rinse due to possible water stains?

I usually wipe down the car and then start claying (half dollar size clay,
if that) and use my detailer spray...and do a section at a time.

 

Hey Kenchan,
Good question, and like most answers when it comes to detailing cars, it comes down to proper evaluation.

If you are working in the shade under cool ambient conditions, water spotting probably won't be an issue. It does depend on how hard your water is, are you using deionized water, and also what steps you plan to do with your cleaning process. If you are claying, then you must follow it with wax. If you're going to clay and wax, well you might want to do some paint cleaning too, and if you do, any water spots will be removed at that stage too.

With a dry car, I definitely recommend using a quick detailer as a lube and dry as you go. But if you offer free detailing clinics to large groups of people, supplies can get really expensive, and sometimes, the most economical solution is the best one.

But that doesn't mean the average joe couldn't benefit by that advice as well. =)

There is certainly no harm to the clay or your paint by using water as a lubricant, it just may not provide the type of feedback that something more slippery might provide.

Richard

 

thanks, richard!

 

 

wat now?

 

Try this site: http://store.yahoo.com/autopia/inf-clay.html it's probably one of the best and detailed step by step procedure I have found.