i just finished waxing my car with meguiers cleaner wax and wow...now the question is that I always hear about this clay bar and the great results it gives...what exactly is it and where can I buy it? thnxs

 

Any auto store or even Walmart. Meguiars has a kit that comes with a clay bar and detail spray

 

It is actually a high grade clay. You can get a kit at Walmart.

 

you won't regret it, mandatory for any corvette, but you'll have to wax again

 

As others have said, it is available at car care products stores everwhere. As for application, (and you professionals jump in anytime here) "clay barring" is essentially a maintenance item for your paint, kinda like changing you oil is to your engine (I suppose). It is not an "overhaul", but it will really clean out the micro particles and minor oxidation and UV damage and prep the paint for a good sealer. Then wax or use a polish (e.g., Zaino or the like) as you choose. It will make whatever you shine your finish with look much better - especially on black and darker colors!

Most high-end wax producers also provide clay bars, and they recommend using their detail spray as a lube for the clay bar. However, 6-10 drops of car their car wash product in 12 oz of water in a spray bottle will provide the same lube quality and is a LOT cheaper too! Although DAWN is "THEE" detergent to use to remove old wax and finish, I don't belive I would use it as a lube for clay barring. I'd stick with the car wash product, but maybe a pro would have some other suggestions and chime in here.

Steps:
Wash car w/ DAWN to strip off old wax, etc.
Follow the directions for use of the Clay bar, using the diluted car wash in a spray bottle as a lube.
Keep kneading the clay bar so as to keep as clean a clay surface as possible touching the paint**.
Rinse (or wash) the paint and dry it
Seal the paint, and wax or polish w/ your favorite "shine" product, according to their instructions for use.

**Note: When the surface is wet with the lube spray, and the paint is clean, the clay bar will glide smoothly and easily over the paint. When the clay bar drags, either the surface is dry or too dry, or the clay bar has "found" something to chew on. Usually it "breaks free" in a couple seconds of rubbing, and when it again glides freely, the crud has been removed!

Choose the right wax or polish for your situation and you won't have to do the clay bar bit very often. (That's why I choose to use a high-end polish product, as it does not soften in the sun and act on dust as flypaper to flies!).

You'll like the clay bar results. (These cars happen to have the Zaino polish on them)





P.

 

^^wow, those Vettes look like they just rolled off of the showroom floor! the clay bar will work magic and will remove impurities from the paint, leavinng the shine absolutely stunning. as mentioned above, the trick is keeping the clay bar wet.

 

Before you clay bar- you need to know why you are doing it, and how to keep from doing it ever again. You need to learn how to wash your car. May sound stupid, but if you love your paint- LISTEN UP! . Use the 2 bucket method, a tight sponge and a bucket strainer at the bottom of one of the buckets.

Grit is added to your paint every time you take that first dirty soapy sponge and dunk it into your new bucket of soapy water- all the dirt just got mixed into your bucket and you are picking it all back up and wiping your car with it. Just like micro sand paper.

To do it right and stop swirls and grit-dunk sponge in the clean soapy water, wipe car, then dunk sponge into 2nd bucket and squeeze out. This 2nd bucket has the strainer- and the dirt will fall below the strainer for future dunks. Then CLEAN sponge goes into CLEAN soapy bucket- and repeat.

Before you Clay Bar- do a test (and note- clay bar has NOTHING to do with those shines you see)- it's actually a micro stripper)

use a grocery bag- put it on your hand- and then slowly glide your finger tips along the paint; If the bag wants to grab and not slide- you need to clay bar. If it slides- do not clay bar- you're wasting time and energy.

If you have swirls in the paint, clay bar is only the first step. (use a halogen or bright flood light, angle it and look at your paint- see the swirls?) People think swirls are from buffers- but they are from CHEAP micro fiber towels and dirty sponges when washing. (good micro fiber towels are not from Walmart or Pepboys- if you pay about $1 for each micro towel, they are not good ones- if there's a tag on the micro towel- it's cheap.

Need to buff out swirls with a (I recommend) Porter Cable 9424 Oscillating Buffer and 3 drops of your favorite 'swirl remover'. Wet the pad with your favorite detailer, and buff 1' areas at a time. ALWAYS start and stop your buffer while on the car- NEVER start your buffer and then touch the car. Work the buffer top left of the 1' square, and snake it down the 1' area, from left to right, right to left, then bottom to top, top to bottom. Work it 3 times this way, always finishing from the front to back of the car. Re spray with Detailer and repeat 2 more times. Then wipe off excess detailer with micro towel.

After all this work- now you can wax. Just keep washing your car the correct way, and you'll find you won't need to clay bar or machine buff for years to come. Of course, you've got to wash your car regularly, and it won't hurt to keep it garaged or covered.

Here's my car- and it's FULL of swirls- before I buffed it- didn't need clay bar and the swirls are hard to see, but near the sun light bouncing, you can see them.

 

thanks guys for all the info...

 

That's a great explanation socalman. I use the same methods and have excellent results. The quality of products that you use will also determine the final result. I try washing the car during the late afternoon whenever possible and dry it with a California water blade and whatever drops are left, with a good micro fiber towel. I can't tell ya how many times I've walked up to my neighbors while they were washing and drying their cars and let them know the dangers to their paint as they were drying it with their cardboard stiff bath towels. Some don't believe me until I show them on my 92 Black nissan piece of c*&^ that I drive to work everyday. I guess I keep my local Autozone in busuness-haha.

 

Have a look at the "Claybar Marring" link on the left side of this page:

http://www.bugmanweb.com/c6/c6index.html

 

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Claybar shears off the contaminates in your paint. But, it'll also strip the protection from your paint. If your car isn't bad, you can get a light duty clay kit [Mothers or Meguiars from any auto-parts store or walmart.

 

Just my two cents, but I'd say it's more a corrective action. More like repairing something on the car that broke.

Waxing is more a maintenance item. You redo it anyway, even if the old wax is still around. Like changing oil. You change it even though the old oil still has life in it.

Clay removes contaminents on the paint. That's it. It doesn't protect the paint, fix swirls, remove oxidation, or anything like that. If you don't have anything bonded on the paint, there is no reason to clay. With a car like a Corvette that is generally garaged, well waxed, and washed often, it is possible you will never need to clay it again.

Since you can scratch the paint with a clay bar, I'd just say there is no reason to do it unless there is something you are trying to correct.