1Willy1

Ive been using clay bars for the past 4-5 years or so , it does a fantastic job of cleaning up a previously uncared for finish and preparing it for a good polishing but BEWAREEE, clay itself does have a grit, and can leave marks on your clear coat.

Clays come in different grit ratings, usually defined by "light , medium, heavy" some of them actually give a grit rating, like 3500 grit, 4000 grit etc..... So becareful of what you are using.

On my black 2000 C5 the same brand clay id used for years left all sorts of marring and sanding marks on it, its no problem cause I was going to polish anyways but its worth mentioning.


LOL, not sure why putting a plastic bag on your fingers would help you feel anything either

People who work on cars, body shop guys particularly, see with their hands and fingers, and none of them would do it with a layer of plastic between them and the car, its not gonna work.

Evil-Twin

Clay is never to be used dry... its never to be used under any pressure.. clay floats on a layer of lubricant, if you feel the least amount of resistance, your not lubing enough or you are using too much pressure.. You can make lube with a few drops of Dawn liquid in a quart spray bottle of water. It leaves a slightly cloudy surface, but can be wiped off in the next process.. Detailer is a better lube because it doesn't leave a soapy residue.

when you turn the clay over it should be a total surprise to see how much contaminants you removed. Clay is not meant to touch the clear surface. that's why it is so good compared to cleaners that require chemical to attack the contaminants and also the clear. Clay should float on a micron of lubricant above the clear and draw anything by pulling it away from the clear.
Bill aka ET

calguy

Just before I got my Vette, I was researching clay bars to fine out what is in them.
Oddly enough, they are very similar to plumber's putty that you can buy in any hardware store.
The one difference I could see was, the putty has linseed oil in it, which actually is more beneficial than the clay bar.

I clayed my pickup with the putty, and it came out so clean and smooth, that when I did the Vette, soon after I got it, the result was fantastic.
Smooth as a baby's ***.
Once the wax went on, the results speak for themselves.
Good ole turtle wax is what I use, and I see no need for any of those crazy expensive wax products.
My pickup is black, and with the same process the shine is even "deeper" than the one on my Vette.
You folks can keep your zaino, and chadwicks, I will stick with what I have.

It's all in the preparation.
If that is done correctly, any wax will give great results, regardless what the price of the wax is.

Why spend a bunch of money if you don't have to?

Bob.

Evil-Twin

Bob, Like Trump, its always good to defend your alternate facts" as long as you are happy, that's ok with me. linseed oil is an acid anhydride. it has harsh chemicals to strip surface contaminants and attack the water based clear coat on a C5. linseed oil is used to etch wood by digging into the surface.. Auto motive clay is made with titanium oxide and talc. No harsh chemicals no disulfides nor acid anhydrides, in fact clay was designed to do the job without using these harsh chemicals.

strand rider

You guys left out perhaps the most important clay bar instruction, for those of us who are not giants among car polishers.

The first thing is to divide the clay into two pieces. That way when you drop the first piece, you can still finish the job. That's all I have to add, straight rookie advice , the stuff can get slippery.

Mike98SilVert

Your wife is a saint.

Evil-Twin

Yes she is...50 years of wedded bliss.. Once ( this is a true story ) my wife was in the living room watching TV. I was in the shower. , and had some serious flatulence...after getting out of the shower and drying off, I loaded my tidy whites with baby powder, and went to the kitchen and as I was passing her in the living room, I suddenly poofed some serious back pressure, but in this case.. the poof emitted a cloud of white powder from my shorts... she laughed so hard I thought I was going to have to take her to the hospital.. That was 40 years ago. She still remembers that. You may want to try it sometime when your marriage is in serious trouble..it will push it over the edge or forever cement the commitment.

Mike98SilVert

Bill you have some great stories.

Evil-Twin

I have to try and keep it fun.. lots of good memories...
Bill aka ET

sloopdawg

Please be patience and forgive my ignorance.
I ordered the clay bar kit and understand how to use it.
I also ordered a bottle of Zaino.
Now do I wash the car after I clay bar the car, then wax it?
Do I wax then use the Zaino? Or is the Zaino the wax/polish.
My car has never been clay bared or Zainoed.
So I'm excited to try it, I just hope I get the results you guys rave about.

captaineddie

Life is Good

Evil-Twin

There is no need for forgiveness but I have to ask a few questions..
1. what clay bar kit did your get?

2. what Zaino product or products did you order?

I just posted this " IN this Thread "... but because of your ignorance and need for forgiveness, Ill repost it again " Just for you" and Understand
asking questions is a smart thing to do, ignorance is when you don't ask questions.

let me hold your hand on this. YOU ARE in good hands
.
Let me explain the thought process

First don't look at the whole car as a clay project
Just look at the left front fender.

First thing , take a hose low pressure and run it over the fender. ( no not the hose ) the water within the hose. This will flush off any sand or silica. Then I use a leaf blower to blow dry that fender

Then I use, gloss enhancer, or any quick detailer as a lubricant. It's important to use lube. ( just ask any prison inmate. )

Take your fresh, out of the box, clay and kneed it a little like you were making pizza dough....I have a tutorial for that..( Pizza dough )

Now ever so lightly, run the clay in circular motions to draw contaminants from the surface. You Need to do over lapping circles about 6 inches in diameter. You should feel no resistance, use no pressure, the clay does all the work
It should feel as slippery as the first time you took a shower with a girl. Or spent time in a prison shower

It should feel like gliding on air. If you feel any resistance at all, you need another sprits of detailer. or reduce the pressure
It usually takes about 3 or 4 minutes to do that front fender. You will note a slight discoloration of the clay. Usually it's black.. once you clayed that fender , take a few micro fiber towels , put them in the dryer to soften them and remove any moisture or humidity. The way you tell the presence of moisture or humidity is to put it up to your cheek, if it feels cold, ( colder then the air temp. it has moisture in it. You want a moisture free warm, soft micro fiber towel.. it only takes a minute or two in the dryer.

Spray some detailer or gloss enhancer on the freshly clayed fender and wipe it with the warm micro fiber towel.

Re kneed the clay to a fresh surface for the next panel

Now, that fender is ready for some Zaino or polish of your choice.. I use a Zaino pad and I spray the application side with some gloss enhancer.

I put two or three drops of Zaino on the fender and massage it in. ( thin is much better than thick ) if you use more than 6 drops, you are using too much.
This whole process takes 5 or 6.minutes once you get the flow. You let it flash off.

While the front fender is curing. Move to the left door. Hose it off. Blow dry it, apply detailer, clay it detailer, Zaino. Let it cure. This takes another 5 or 6 minutes and, enough time for the front fender to flash off. Now buff it off( front fender ) with a clean warm microfiber towel. Time needed? About 2 minutes

Now go to the rear quarter panel and repeat the process.Once Complete move to the door and buff that off.

Move around the car doing one panel at a time

That's it.. shouldn't take no more then an hour. I can do this whole process in 45.minutes
.a warm dry microfiber towel makes very quick work of removal. Compared to using an ambient temp towel that contains some humidity.

The End
Good luck.. it's how I do it

Bill aka Et

Evil-Twin

You don't really know just how good it is until someone tells you its going away.

Bill aka ET

Choreo

Great wisdom... bookmarked for future referral. If marriage is ever on the rocks, fill underwear with powder and fart in wife's face... got it!

Evil-Twin

I don't think I've washed my car more then 4 times in the last 18 years.

Washed= ( PH neutral soap and water )

Evil-Twin

NOooooooooo. Not in her face....( No wonder your marriage is on the rocks LOL ) just in front of her so she can see the effort and the effect... if she laughs, you are in good shape and picked a good one.. like I did.

Bill aka ET

.

Evil-Twin

Its suppose to be a visual effect, not an Olfactory receptor .

captaineddie

So often, we humans, don't realize what we have until we see it slipping away. God bless.

sloopdawg

This is the Zaino I got... here
Z-2 PRO Show Car Polish for Clear Coated Car Finishes
Clay Bar is... here
CHEMICAL GUYS CLY_KIT_2 - CLAY BAR & LUBER SYNTHETIC LUBRICANT KIT, MEDIUM DUTY

Did I get the wrong stuff?
If so please inform me of what to get.
I've got a black car and it looks good, but it just dosen't pop like it should.
I watched the clay bar videos, guess I need to watch the Zaino ones too.

Evil-Twin

OK you bought the right Zaino, but you should have bought the clay bar from Zaino and you would have received a free applicator pad ( they are very nice, ) ( pure 100 % American virgin cotton.)
But what you have is good.

just few tips, read over my above instructions. use the right take off cloths, put them in the dry, make sure they are warm when you remove the polish.. also just use a few drops of Zaino a panel, ( thin is much better than thick.) should not use more than 6 to 8 drops a panel.., except the hood.. that takes about 8 drops a side.