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Going to clay bar next week.

Discussion in 'Detailing' started by whitetaco02, May 30, 2012.

  1. Jun 24, 2012 at 11:23 AM
    #61
    whitetaco02

    whitetaco02 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    It is unreal how smooth my truck is! It wasn' that smooth from the factory! :p
     
  2. Jun 24, 2012 at 12:20 PM
    #62
    Gooch

    Gooch Well-Known Member

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    #1: I usualy don't, but I use detailer to clay with so when I wipe things up I use a little more and the surface gets clean in the process.
    #2: Pretty subjective based on the condition. Surfaces that need claying BADLY might take an hour or more just for the clay part. Surfaces that don't need it badly take much less. How hot it is and how dry the air is can impact your time based on how fast it makes your lubricant evaporate. Waxing time varies on how picky you are, what color the paint is (silver and white and very forgiving) and what wax you use. I can wax my truck in about 30 minutes. Polishing is also extremely subjective based on the paint condition, your pickiness, hand versus buffer polishing, paint color, products used, etc. It could take anywhere from 1 hour to 10 hours depending on all these factors.
    #3: Again very subjective, based on the elements your vehicle is exposed to and how often you wash it. It also depends on what level of grittiness makes you decide you want to clay again, how much beading is not enough and makes it time for a rewax, and what level of scratches/swirls makes you want to polish again. I'll throw 3-6 months out there for the wax, 6 months to 2 years out there for the clay and 6 months to 5 years out there for polishing. Lately, I have been adhering to the '10-foot rule' for polishing. In other words, if it looks good from 10 feet, I'm not going to worry about polishing it.
     
  3. Jun 24, 2012 at 5:42 PM
    #63
    Dirty Jersey

    Dirty Jersey Rich

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    the thought of claying my truck made me real nervous, but like everyone else said, "Keep it Lubed", and there wont be a problem. I've used different waxes, and in my opinion the Tech Wax 2.0 is the best for lighter cars. My Taco is White and it seemed to give it the most depth. My truck was brand new when I clayed it, and there was minimal dirt on the clay bar but I didn't want to take a chance on scratching the paint giving it its first coat of wax. Just my thoughts
     
  4. Jun 24, 2012 at 6:15 PM
    #64
    ADCarter1

    ADCarter1 Well-Known Member

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    Before:
    DSCN0236.jpg
    DSCN0237.jpg

    After:
    DSCN0240.jpg
    DSCN0241.jpg
    DSCN0242.jpg

    All told it took 7 hours. The polishing alone took 3. It will be a long, long time before I polish my truck again. It just about killed me. If you spread it too thin or work on an area too large, the stuff dries and then you practically break your wrist getting the polish off the truck.

    The claying was super easy, I would definitely do it again. It took about an hour and a half. You could immediately feel the difference, even on a brand new truck. My truck is so soft. One word of advice: don't be stingy with the detailing spray and don't let it dry. The clay will snag on the truck and if you let the detailing spray dry, it looks awful.

    Basically, I learned to work in small areas so the detailing spray and polish didn't dry. I mentally portioned each panel into three or four sections and then worked each section.

    I figure I'll wash and wax it a few times a year and clay once a year. If you're thinking about doing it- do it! It's not hard just time consuming.

    PolishandWax: Thanks for the time frames and the advice, especially about the polish. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy knowing that I don't have to polish the truck again for a very long time.
     
  5. Jun 24, 2012 at 7:41 PM
    #65
    Gooch

    Gooch Well-Known Member

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    Hats off to a job well done.
     
  6. Jun 25, 2012 at 3:13 AM
    #66
    khx73

    khx73 Well-Known Member

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    :eek:
    Looks amazing! Great job.. reminds me how badly I need to wash mine again.
     
  7. Jun 25, 2012 at 6:36 AM
    #67
    Dirty Jersey

    Dirty Jersey Rich

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    Props on the mirror like shine. Isn't it a good feeling when you drive around in a perfectly polished truck?
     
  8. Jul 14, 2012 at 4:04 PM
    #68
    92shawman

    92shawman Person

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    Lots...see build
    Clay bars are only for the actual truck paint, right? Not armor or chrome or anything?
    Oh, and how about stripes (like in my pic)?
     
  9. Jul 14, 2012 at 7:11 PM
    #69
    khx73

    khx73 Well-Known Member

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    People use them on the glass and alloy rims too. Be careful not to contaminate the bar with anything that can cause scratching. Very thorough wash and dry first of any surfaces to be clayed.
     
  10. Jul 14, 2012 at 10:58 PM
    #70
    92shawman

    92shawman Person

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    Cool. Thanks!
     
  11. Jul 15, 2012 at 1:28 AM
    #71
    khx73

    khx73 Well-Known Member

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    It probably would be a good idea to use a separate clay bar for doing the other things beside your paint. Risk would be too high of contaminating the bar doing things like the wheels and chrome to use the same one on your paint. Just a suggestion.. Most kits come with two... and you can always pull some off one bar to make a separate one.
     
  12. Aug 2, 2012 at 3:13 PM
    #72
    vicali

    vicali Touch my camera through the fence

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    Another suggestion when using the clay bar is to dilute the QD spray with h20, I find 50:50 works good and goes twice as far.

    The other posters nailed it down pretty good, start with clean car, keep it wet, split the clay and use a new piece if it gets dropped. You can feel when you are done a section, the clay glides without sticking (you can do the plastic bag test too). You really don't need much pressure, just enough to keep it on the surface.

    I usually run the PC after so I don't wash it after..
     

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