I am going to use clay bar this weekend on my 76 , and the paint is still nice and shiny to begin with but I am just trying to get that little bit extra is there any chance that this will hurt my polish?

 

A clay bar work great! Just follow the directions and you will be fine. There is a video on U-tube on how to use the clay bar. It’s well worth the effort.

 

I've never used one, but have always heard if you drop it on the ground, you need to throw it away, don't use it again. It will scratch the crap out of the paint.

 

Yep, it's trash if you drop it. If you haven’t used one you should try it. I was stunned the first time I used one. It makes your paint much smoother to the touch.

 

I was told that it is great to do but if you use one you should wax afterwards since it will remove the wax. Any opinions on this since I have never done it myself?

 

true-- it strips the car nice and smooth. how the heck it works i have no clue but all the little picky things on the finish are gone!!

 

The manufacture does recommend waxing afterwards. Is it really necessary?….I’m not sure, I just always wax after I do it. You really only need to clay bar once a year, so just do it when you are going to wax the car anyway. It only takes a few minuets.

 

I've always wondered about those things, I'm glad someone finally asked. Great info.

Brian

 

Yes, it's absolutely necessary to wax afterwards, otherwise you will have no form of protection for your paint. The way I have always used the claybar is to first wash the entire vehicle in a Dawn/water bath, to remove all the old wax and any other products on the paint. I rinse off all the Dawn, and then get either a bottle of spray detailer or just mix up some more Dawn and water in a spray bottle, and use that to lubricate the paint surface as you clay. Work in small sections, and you'll be able to tell when each section is done, because it will go from feeling rough to smooth as a baby's a$$. Go over the entire car, then wash it again to get all the residue off. After you dry, immediately go back and wax, and you'll be good to go. Takes some time, but you'll get great results and your paint will be in much better shape than when you started.

One other thing...as you use the claybar, it will flatten out like a pancake. Just fold it over and go back to work. Depending on how bad your paint is, a claybar will last a good while if you just keep folding it over when it flattens out. If you start seeing a lot of junk in your claybar after folding, then its time for a new one.

 

I used one for the first time last year. Coincidentally, mine is a 76 and I thought the paint was pretty good. It did make a noticeable difference.

Don't worry too much about dropping it and having to throw it away. I found that it kind of sticks to your fingers so it isn't that easy to drop it except right after you fold it over to get a clean spot. Once the detail spray dries off a little it sticks to your fingers again.

And I did wax it afterwards. I did my Vette and my wife's Eagle Talon in one day.

 

Autopia has some good info on using clay bars. My preference is to claybar once a year (all the cars are driven very little and only in the summer) followed by some Rejex. I never wax my car.

I have a great article on using a claybar on your car but I can't attach documents.

http://www.rejex.com/rejex.html

http://www.autopia-carcare.com/inf-clay.html

 

Last year I used a claybar for the 1st time on my '76. Mine still has all original paint in great shape, and I thought it was clean. But the crap the came off was amazing. I used Griots clay and their Speed Shine for the lube. I took this pic when I was done...........

 

with above. The clay bar will remove dirt, tar, rail dust, etc. Just make sure you keep the panel wet with product and work in small to medium areas. Wax your car when finished.

If you have rail dust clay baring will remove it but it will come back and you have to repeat the process. Once rail dust is in the paint your can't get it out. The claying will just knock it down, you'll see rail dust easily in a white car. I would think most C3's don't have original paint so rail dust does not exist.

Very nice paint sevnt6

 

I tried the Mothers one on my C-5 and was not immpressed at all.

 

My '75 was repainted with clear about 15 years ago but when I bought it pine tree sap and road tar was on it. I used a hair dryer to get the tar off, and a store brand cleaner to get the tree sap off. Then, as noted above, washed with Dawn to get lots of dirt and wax off the car. Used the clay bar, then used polish, then wax and it was beautiful. Showed the previous owner and he thought I repainted the car. Did that about 5 years ago and it still looks great.

 

Well I tried the claybar and didn't notice any difference.I used Mothers if anybody is interested. Now my paint is highly reflective already so maybe I was just wasting time.