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Clay bar

Discussion in 'Detailing' started by pinktaco808, Nov 24, 2012.

  1. Nov 24, 2012 at 5:17 PM
    #1
    pinktaco808

    pinktaco808 [OP] Hot Steppa

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    How often do you guys clay bar your ride? I wash my ride every week and the guy at the store i was gonna buy it from said you dont need to clay your ride. Is he true or he doesnt know anything.

    Also what you guys do if you clay

    You use cleaner wax
    polish than wax again?
    or just wax after?
     
  2. Nov 24, 2012 at 5:31 PM
    #2
    03coma

    03coma Well-Known Member

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    I do my truck once a year and wax twice, followed by the spray wax every couple of car washes.
     
  3. Nov 25, 2012 at 12:40 PM
    #3
    Gooch

    Gooch Well-Known Member

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    Washing, claying, polishing and waxing frequency is really subjective, based on conditions and personal preference. I wax my truck at least once a month and I clay it about once a year. I polish it every few years.

    You can't wax it too much, but you can definitely polish it too much. Polishing takes off paint.

    You should wax after you clay, but you don't have to polish. Claying can leave minor scratches so if those bother you, polish afterwards. If they don't, just wax. Last time I clayed I didn't polish.
     
  4. Nov 25, 2012 at 3:58 PM
    #4
    Rsoxfan1

    Rsoxfan1 Well-Known Member

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    Ditto.....
     
  5. Nov 25, 2012 at 4:41 PM
    #5
    Rich91710

    Rich91710 Well-Known Member

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    +1

    When I had my Tundra, I used to clay every 6 months, go through the Klasse Twins with P21s or S500 topper every 3 months, P21s topper every month, and a quick detail once a week.

    Truck always looked great, but I got tired of putting that much work into what amounted to nothing more than a tool.

    Since then, I'll just clay a new vehicle to remove any rail dust from it's ride to the dealership, and give it fairly regular washings and a wax once every 3-6 months.
     
  6. Nov 25, 2012 at 8:17 PM
    #6
    pinktaco808

    pinktaco808 [OP] Hot Steppa

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    Well i was talking about about clay bar the ride once a year since i wash it every week.
     
  7. Nov 27, 2012 at 9:31 PM
    #7
    pinktaco808

    pinktaco808 [OP] Hot Steppa

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  8. Nov 27, 2012 at 9:35 PM
    #8
    BigD91

    BigD91 Well-Known Member

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    I used to use a clay bar and it worked well. I found that i got much better results using a random orbital sander and Meguiar's Ultimate compound followed by a nice coat of wax. Eliminated all swirl marks and imperfections in the paint and keeps her clean longer!
     
  9. Nov 28, 2012 at 5:56 AM
    #9
    pinktaco808

    pinktaco808 [OP] Hot Steppa

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    so polishing and waxing is better than clay bar?
     
  10. Nov 28, 2012 at 9:37 AM
    #10
    Chris(NJ)

    Chris(NJ) Well-Known Member

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    No. They're different functions that all need to be performed with some consistency. One is not better than another, rather, they all work together to achieve a desired result.
    Claying removes contaminents that bind to the surface.
    Polishing removes imperfections that penetrate below the surface.
    Waxing and sealing apply a layer of protection on top of the surface.
     
  11. Nov 28, 2012 at 9:39 AM
    #11
    Chris(NJ)

    Chris(NJ) Well-Known Member

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    To give you a more direct answer to your original question; Yes, you still need to clay the surface despite washing it every week. Furthermore, I would advise against washing every week b/c you'll increase the likelyhood of inducing swirls and spiderwebbing that will require polishing.
     
  12. Nov 28, 2012 at 9:56 AM
    #12
    alwaysat8k

    alwaysat8k My truck is slow

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    I clay, compound, polish, and apply sealant once a year.
    Clay, polish, and apply sealant twice a year.
    Apply wax after a wash every 3 months.

    Before compounding or polishing, ALWAYS Claybar. It clears the surface and allows the polish/compound to adhere to the surface. It also keeps a clean surface to work on. Think about painting, you need to sand the surface before painting it to remove all the crud, same deal with clay baring.

    Claybar will remove the majority of wax that was applied before, as well as the contaminants, so make sure to always apply polish or wax after to protect the surface.


    Other notes about claybaring -

    1. I wash with dawn soap first, then a nice gloss soap like Meguairs Gold Class - then when the vehicle is wet i then clay bar and keep spraying it with the hose to keep the surface clean. Some pros dont like this because they say it leaves water spots, I still have yet to have any appear. But, if you do, dry the vehicle then use the clay along with the detailer mist they provide with the kit (Meguairs Showtime for example). Make sure to keep the surface wet as you use it, if not, it will mar the @#$@ out of your paint and will only add more to your buffing/compounding stage.

    2. Different claybars are tougher in nature.

    I have found Blue Magic is pretty tough, Meguairs is in the middle, and Griots is pretty soft. It may help to get the right toughness depending on your situation, e.g. how much dirt contaminants, light surface rust, tar, etc.

    3. Knead like crazy; keep rolling the clay to keep the cleanest side among the surface of the vehicle.

    I really dont understand why this stuff is so expensive, it really used to piss me off on how much I would spend on it.

    Good luck with your endeavours.
     
  13. Nov 28, 2012 at 12:40 PM
    #13
    Gooch

    Gooch Well-Known Member

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    Well said.
     
  14. Nov 28, 2012 at 2:57 PM
    #14
    pinktaco808

    pinktaco808 [OP] Hot Steppa

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    what kind of spiderwebbing? i use the softest stuff for the paint when i wash it plus i dont want waterspots.
     
  15. Nov 28, 2012 at 5:23 PM
    #15
    Rsoxfan1

    Rsoxfan1 Well-Known Member

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    Hasn't been mentioned and I'm sure you already know but if you drop the clay bar "and you will" throw it out...
     
  16. Nov 29, 2012 at 9:09 AM
    #16
    Chris(NJ)

    Chris(NJ) Well-Known Member

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    Waterspots are not caused by wash frequency or product hardness though. Waterspots are mineral/calcium deposits left on (or below) the surface from not drying the surface or having very poor water quality that transcends drying techniques. You can cut down the chance of spotting by using a filter. That's probably the single most effective thing you can do to reduce the chance of spotting. Other, more obvious, things you can do would be to always wash in the shade and dry the surface immediately after washing. But I would go with an inline filter if you're really worried about it.

    As for spiderwebbing, heres a picture of what I'm basically referring to.
    9-2_2edf7e38eedd73c9c7e9ef06cc2862195ff1e2e7.jpg
     
  17. Nov 29, 2012 at 9:58 PM
    #17
    pinktaco808

    pinktaco808 [OP] Hot Steppa

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  18. Nov 29, 2012 at 10:30 PM
    #18
    pinktaco808

    pinktaco808 [OP] Hot Steppa

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  19. Nov 30, 2012 at 4:52 AM
    #19
    Chris(NJ)

    Chris(NJ) Well-Known Member

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    Any reason you want to stick w/ oreillys? Willing to order online?

    If you had to choose between those, I'd do the megs polish and either of the clay packages would be fine.
     
  20. Nov 30, 2012 at 5:48 AM
    #20
    pinktaco808

    pinktaco808 [OP] Hot Steppa

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    online gonna take forever and i no more credit card lol
     

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