I did a search and came up empty. What is the exact purpose of using a claybar?

 

A clay bar removes the impurities that get "stuck" in your paint.

1. Rail dust - Tiny, sharp bare metal shavings that can adhere and imbed into the paint finish and cause serious damage when left untreated. Over 70% of new vehicles are transported from the factory using the rail system. In many cases, new cars are stored near a railroad and becomes infected with rail dust.
2. Brake Dust - Similar to rail dust, brake dust is also in the form of tiny, sharp metal shavings. In recent years, asbestos brake pads were replaced with metallic brake pads, which are actually brake pads made from tiny metal or metallic shavings. Anytime a vehicle is braking; brake dust is disbursed into the air and onto the paint finish. Since the brake dust is now actually tiny particles of bare metal, this form of brake dust can seriously damage the paint finish when left untreated.
3. Industrial Fallout - A general term used for pollution and can be found in many forms. Eventually, pollution settles onto the paint finish of all vehicles and can cause serious damage when left untreated.
4. Tree Sap, Road Tar, Bug Residue, Paint Overspray, and Acid Rain Deposits -- These contaminants adhere to or imbed into the paint finish. Left untreated, they will cause permanent damage to your car's paint work by staining and weakening the protective properties. This info is from Zaino's Website

 

Read here http://autogeek.net/clbaandlu.html

All you ever want to know about clay bar

 

That's a great link!

The visual image I have for claybar is a bunch of microscopic razor blades imbedded in clay. When you press against a surface, the blades align properly to 'shave' the surface of the paintwork. It is abrasive, but not abrasive in the classic sense of a polish or rubbing compound... It's more of a 'scrape the surface clean' effect than 'grind the surface down'. The graphic in that link is perfect!

On a grand scale, a claybar is all about surface preparation. Claying removes all of the crap that has adhered to the surface. It doesn't grind down the surface to flatten it or to round over the edges of a scratch. If I'm reworking a fairly good finish, I wash to get the bulk of the crap off, clay the surface to strip off the rest of the adhered contaminants, polish to grind the surface flat (or flatter) and then think about sealing or waxing.

 

Claybar is kinda like a entry drug - Kinda like how us parents tell our kids that cigarettes are a entry to other addictions.

Well, I started with a clay bar, move onto Mr. Clean spray gun, then move onto Zaino Z2, Z5, Z7, then started using 303 protecterant on the side. AND NOW I CAN"T STOP

Had to clean out my garage to make room for this


Damm that clay bar (and agranger's sticky thread too )

 

And when it's all dirty, you can mold cool animals out of it.

 

Clay has been around for many years. It was developed for body shop use to remove over spray from painted surfaces. Body shops wanted an alternative to using hot solvents or aggressive compounds to remove paint over spray. Clay has unmatched ability to completely smooth the surface of your paint with relatively no damage (scratches)to the clear coat. This is why it has become so popular among detailers.

There are basically 2 types of clay and both are very similar. The most basic explanation I can give is that clay is a malleable plastic with embedded abrasives. The common misconception is that clay is non abrasive. This both true and untrue. The clay itself does contain abrasives, the more abrasive it contains the more aggressive it is. Lubricant is used to provide a barrier between your paint and the abrasives. Contaminants that attached to the surface of your paint sit slightly higher than the surrounding paint and are literally ground off by the abrasives. If the clay bar is used with the proper amount of lubricant then your paint is barely touched by the abrasives.

AutoMagic is the primary patent holder for all plasticine matrix clay products. There is one additional company I know of in Japan that is allowed to import their clay also. There may be one or two more companies but if they manufacture or import it here is it done with permission from ClayMagic/AutoMagic.

I hope this info helps. If anyone has more questions please feel free to ask.

Brett @ OCD

 

I agree. A pic is worth a thousand words and says it all without a thousand words of mumbo jumbo

 

This is a good explanation of claybar, however it should be clarified that the use of abrasive particles in the clay are microscopic in nature. You can't feel the clays abrasiveness on your skin. Much in the same was as taking a product that uses diminishing abrasives to remove swirls. Squirt some in your hand and it feels like skin lotion, not a gritty lotion like an exfoliating skin scrub that uses ground peach pits

People who aren't accustomed to using paint cleaners/polishes or even claybar on their cars will read this statement and think--oh my gosh--I might scratch my paint if I use claybar. I read all kinds of funny statements on the forums like this one that is paraphrased --I just used claybar and it went straight through my clearcoat, but a little bit of polish restored it just like new.....

y point is that if the user drops the clay on the floor, picks up stones and grit, and puts that back on his paint to claybar--those new contaminants are going to be many many many times more abrasive than the paticles in the clay.

Richard

 

I love claybar! I parked under a deciduous tree, got a fine "spray" of tree sap all over my cabrio. Thank goodness the top was up. I claybar'd my whole MINI in under 40 minutes. Followed with a wash and a quick detail spray. Smooth as a baby's bottom again.

Question, though. What is the lubricant that I got with Zaino (sp?). I was thinking it would be much easier to spray a purified water on the car than dipping the clay into the tub and finding a safe place to put the tub down between dips.

Thoughts and suggestions?
Thanks, Leeta

 

Where do you get Clay?

 

You can find it at AutoZone or similar car parts store, or online at many places such as Autopia, OCD Garage, etc. Every detailing place has it.

Common brands are Mothers, Claymagic, Meguiars and many others.

 

What is a "detailing spray" ??

How often should one claybar? I know it isnt that abrassive but after say, 15 years of doing it, would it reduce the clearcoat?

trying to learn all about these things. The comment that the rail dust on the cars gets imbedded in my car is disturbing!

When I get my car, it will be already detailed by the dealership correct?

hm. confusing things.

 

Everytime you touch or rub your paint, you affect the clearcoat. Polishing, waxing, drying the car with a towel. You put a microscopic layer of wax on the clearcoat to give it some protection. Will claybar affect your clearcoat? Sure, but I doubt you will see any effects directly attributable to claybar in 15 years or 30 for that matter.

The thing to understand is this. Use claybar to remove bonded above surface contaminants. You can feel this by lightly dragging your fingers across the surface. If it feels bumpy, and sounds like sandpaper, then it's time to claybar. But if you maintain your car with a spray detailer and keep it garaged or covered, there won't be time for these contaminants to bond to your paint, so no need to claybar. It's been well over a year since I last clayed my MINI, yet the finish is smooth as new glass.

Yesterday I worked on 22 year old paint and the owner kept the car in pretty decent condition. There were light swirls and the finish was rough like sandpaper. Claybar restored it, and 3 coats of wax, and it was "soft as butter" as the customer said.

A detailing spray is simply a quick detailer. Meguiar's has several that include Quik Detailer, NXT Speed Detailer, Last Touch, and Final Inspection. Use these sprays in between washings on a waxed car to keep your car looking just waxed all the time.

re: dealership details
Sure, they will put wax on it, but if it's anything like this 2 day old MINI, you'll want to do it yourself.

The person from this post was complaining about the scratch down the door, but I saw the holograms which are the result of bad buffing, likely by the dealer--highlighted by my red arrows. These are visible from certain angles as you look at the car in the sunlight.

 

I am going to request then that the dealer doesnt touch the car and just hands it to me unwashed/waxed/etc.

I think that is the best idea for someone like me who is willing to give it a first time claybar/wash/wax

I want to keep it kinda simple but I will be keeping the car outdoors. It is pretty harsh in NY weather wise. It never swings though in temperature, but we do have all 4 seasons and also an ocean nearby.

Undercarriage cleaning is a concern for me as well, we have a lot of moronic levels of road salt. I wonder what I do in the wintertime to clean off that. Summer I wont even know to be honest. mini's are really low to the ground!