Thread: Pizza's Newb ClayBar Thread
View Single Post
  #1 (permalink)  
Old 09-25-2010, 03:05 PM
pizzaguy's Avatar
pizzaguy
pizzaguy is offline
Administrator
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
Age: 64
Posts: 13,469
Received 888 Likes on 692 Posts
Default Pizza's Newb ClayBar Thread
Ok, the last time I waxed a car, we didn't have the term "Detail" in use as a verb, and no one had heard of a "Clay Bar" other than the kind the rototiller would hit in the garden (oh, wait - no one knows what a garden is anymore, either - should I go into that?) Anyway, it was 1979 and my Yellow CJ5 sure looked nice when I got done with it.

Then came marriage, kids, divorce (the first one) and life in general.

So, I bought the Roadster in July of 2009. By the fall, it was time to think about detailing it... but *something* or *someone* else came into my life and .... well, divorce (the second one) came here recently. So...... for various reasons, this weekend was my first detail job on the Roadster.

I started off with Mequiar's Gold Car Shampoo - which is all I use anyway. I use the "Two bucket - two mitt" method. But this time, I also went over all the surfaces down low (in the path of the debris the tires kick up) using extra effort and care to clean these areas very well in preparation for a wax job. In some places, I used Turtle Wax's Bug and Tar Remover. Not all that impressed with this stuff. It sure leaves behind a GREASY surface that is somewhat a challenge to clean up - but it DID remove some tar-oil crap from the rear bumper.

Then, I grabbed my Mequiar's ClayBar kit, wondering just WHAT I was about to do with IT.

THE CLAY BAR?

Ok, this whole idea of dragging something called "clay" in the form of a "bar" across my car's finish bugged me right from the start. Yea, I watched all the videos, read all the stuff I could and talked to many of you - but it still just didn't sound right to me.

But, so many of you just swear by it... so... after watching Mequiar's instructional video (which really only says what the box says - but who cares? I wanted to SEE someone use this thing) I tried this myself.

I was, of course, PARANOID about lubrication - so I ended up using 90% of the detail spray in the process of going over my car! I also was worried about contamination, I ended up using BOTH bars in the process as well.

I had some stains (best term I can come up with) in the finish - probably from spraying Mequiar's Ultimate Quick Detailer on the car after every wash. (I think the stains were residue from the Detail Spray. What else could they be? The car sits in the garage all the time!) These stains, blemishes, clouds or whatever were not noticeable unless you got right up to the car - but they had to go! The Clay Bar did remove about half of them, but I started to worry I was expecting too much from the Clay Bar and MAYBE coming close to working the bar too hard on the finish... so I continued to go over the car ignoring the stains. The ClayBar DID smooth the finish as advertised. My fingers would squeak as they were run over the finish until I got to a ClayBarred area - then silence!

WHAT TO DO ABOUT THE STAINS?

After talking to Mike-in-Orange and reading their website, I bought some Mequiar's Ultimate Compound. I tried applying it with a microfiber applicator from WalMart. What did I get for my dollars and effort?

I'll tell you - I got a clean finish with almost NO effort! What ever the stains were, (and I think I know as I wrote above) the Ultimate Compound was made to remove them! The car looked fine to me after going over it from end to end!


TIME FOR WAX

I skipped the polish step - right or wrong - and moved on to wax. Bases on posts in this forum, I ended up with Mequiar's NXT Tech Wax 2.0. (I used the applicator that came with the wax.)

CONCLUSION?

I just finished the first coat, that is, just wiped it off. AGAIN, I cannot believe the finish. I remember dragging my finger over the finish of a Black Coupe at the 09 Fall Dragon and feeling how smooth the owner had made it - she told me of "the Clay Bar". I'd never heard the term before.

Well, my car feels as good as I remember her's feeling! I am now a firm believer in the ClayBar, no matter how many people look at me funny when I tell them about it. IF I can find a model to sit on the car for a photo shoot, she'll probably just slide right off before I get my camera ready!

 
Reply Like