Clay Bar tool

Has anybody seen or have a tool for their orbital buffer that allows them to attach their clay bar to speed up the process?

 

Sounds dangerous as hell.

 

There are pads for this. They look like a normal foam buffing pad but they have a circular cut out on the face of the pad where you insert your clay.

But they also make the artificial clay pads that will be easier to use on the buffer.

 

Do you have any of the artificial pads you recommend? I’m assuming it’s the same process as with real clay?

 

I've had good luck with his one (not for the DA).
https://www.eagleone.com/mitt

But Griots makes a good one too.
As does Nanoskin.

 

Dude just use a nanoskin or a clay bar, an orbital with clay and improper lubrication is a disaster waiting to happen

 

Agreed. Even WITH proper lube, sounds like nothing but a giant hassle.

The nanoskin type clay towels work awesome for 98% of the claying most people will do. Once in awhile I get out the real clay for something really stubborn. But the towels are more than sufficient most of the time.

 

Check out Detailers Domain. They sell one on there. I looked into it but be prepared to do a full paint correction when done. I ended up getting a wash mitt from Nanoskin. Works much faster than clay.

 

The thing you're going to miss if (or when) you stick a clay bar in a DA is feel. To use a clay bar correctly, one really needs to be able to feel what it's doing. One of the biggest no-no's is not having enough clay lube and dragging a pretty much dry bar over a surface. This will mar the hell out of it. If you slap a clay bar into a DA though, you'll never feel it. Worse yet, you'll be moving the clay bar at a much greater speed which will create more marring. Just get a Nanoskin Mitt.

 

I talked to Phil @detailersdomain through email. He mentioned the Nanoskin clay pad was really meant for slow speeds with a porter cable.

So not necessarily slapping a clay bar on a DA. However unless you detailing for a living, then it’s probably overkill.

 

I’m not sure how attaching clay to a buffer #1 sounds like a good idea and #2 would speed up the process.

You don’t clay by rubbing it around as fast as you can. Just glide it over the surface of the truck until it’s smooth as glass.

I think claying my truck is the fastest and easiest process in my entire detail.
Not sure why the process would need “speeding up”.

 

You are not attaching clay. You are attaching this. https://www.detailersdomain.com/col...ducts/nanoskin-autoscrub-fine-foam-pad-6-inch Also, you are not cranking up the DA to 5 or 6. "Polish the surface with dual action orbital polisher using light pressure (Low Speed - we have found speed 1-2 on the Porter Cable to work well and speed 1 on a Griots Orbital Polisher works well.)"

Phil specifically said not to use it with a Flex 3401. I would also suspect Rupes is a no go as well. Again this is more for professional detailing, where time is money.

Not everyone has same speed results for claying. Mine was a 30 minute or more process before switching to synthetic. Main reason is the pollen and sap from trees plus whatever crap the road department uses. Unfortunately my vehicles live outside and collect a lot of contaminants in western KY.

 

I agree with him. Use your hand and keep it well lubed. If your right hand gets tired, I would switch hands.

 

But there are some pads where you ARE "attaching" clay. Different than the nanoskin-type pads/towels. The pad is cut out on the front and you lay a piece of clay in it. Pretty gimmicky imo.

 

Just imagine if you got a piece of grit in the clay while doing the hood with clay/DA.

 

This is the kind of gift you give to someone you hate... especially if they drive a black car.

 

I still use the traditional clay bar when ever I’m doing just a wash and wax or sealant. If I know I’m polishing the paint I will just use the 6” nanoskin on my Meguiars MT-300 which is much faster. On speed 3-4 is good with very little pressure. I will feel the condition of the paint as I wipe off the residue so I know how if I’m completely removing the contaminants. No matter what I’ll always see some sort of hazing with the nanoskin which is why I polish after. The nice thing about the nanoskin is that if you drop it for some reason you can just rinse it off. Dropping the clay bar will require throwing it away.

 

If you do decide to go with a nanoskin, make you use it on the glass first before you use it on paint. You must do this to breakin the pad first

 

This is what I do. If i'm not correcting or polishing I stick with traditional clay. I too notice minor marring when using nanoskin pads. I've used them by hand as well on a DA on speed 3 or 4 and the results are similar. As it was mentioned above by another user, time is money when it comes to a professional detailing business so the nanskin pads can certainly help when it comes to time but you have to also budget time for the polishing that will be needed. Another factor to consider is how soft or hard the paint is. The first Tesla's to hit the market had extremely soft paint that even with traditional clay would cause marring for example. I was lucky enough to do one of the first Model S cars to come to Texas and it was a pain in the ass to fix all the issues that happened during transport.

Very good advice. Some brands even mention this on the package now.