I bought a clay bar today, do detailing experts think it's too soon to bar my car? It's a 2014, I picked it up Dec 20, 2013, daily driver, never garaged, driven all year 'round and washed probably at least twice a week, 21500 kms about 12600 miles.

 

No, it is way past due for a clay bar.

 

I'm not an expert but, don't some new cars need a clay bar because of over spray?

 

Monk.....

I'm not a detailing expert....but I've always done my own detailing on my Corvettes.

It is never to early to Clay Bar. On all my new Corvettes, I've washed (Dawn soap) and did the Clay Bar as soon as possible after getting my car home. Every 12-18 months I'll clay bar again....just to keep the surfaces clear of contaminates.

I'll be getting my C7 in a few weeks. I've already told my Courtesy Dealer to do his PDI and that's it. Don't wash it....nothing. I'll do all my own detailing. As soon as I get her home it will be a Dawn soap wash....then clay bar.....then a rinse. Then Zaino the heck out of her...

 

ok thanks, well I guess I will be doing that tomorrow.

I got the Mothers California Gold Kit, 7 bucks less expensive than the Meguiars kit for the same stuff. I will also break out the Makita and do a good polish afterwards.

 

 

I've found that you don't scrimp on detailing products. I'm sure Mother's is good stuff, but the Megs was probably worth the extra $7.00.

 

This will be my first attempt at clay barring, I did not know, oh well, the package is opened, I'll see how it goes, not that I'd be able to tell the diff between a 22 dollar bar kit and a 29 dollar one. Live and learn I guess.

 

$70,000 car and hours of elbow grease, I'd do the research to find out which detailing kit is better, and buy that one.

 

Used the mothers clay bar dozens of times....very good product. Just make sure to use plenty of spray with it....

 

research for sure.....

some more research.....

 

What's everyone think of Adams clay bar?

 

Wash>clay bar> light wash or Rinse to remove clay bar residue> polish if necessary With random orbital buffer(porter cable 7345) to remove any swirls> wax > random orbital buffer(Porter cable 7345) to remove wax.

I've been using The Chemical Guys products for years. They have great starter kits for detailing and their micro fiber towels and detailing products are so much better than anything at Wally World, auto zone, etc. for not much more money.

Be sure to use micro fibre wash cloth and micro fiber towel to dry, regular cotton towels will create swirls in the clear coat.

The porter cable requires a Velcro attachment kit for the polishing and waxing pads. Once you use the porter cable you will never go back. It is dummy proof and there are many youtubes on using it to polish and wax.

Clay bars- be conscious that clay bars remove all contaminants including wax off of your cars exterior and also could introduce swirls\micro scratches into the clear coat. So if you are going clay bar read up on the process.

 

I have a Makita with variable buffing speeds as well as a few different pads. I have the 3M 3 step polish/buff/wax system too (3 different bottles). I have some scratches in the paint that are noticeable when dirt gets in them, that's why I want to bar and polish them out. I've used the Makita before obviously but I'm far from an expert, oh well, it's white so mistakes wouldn't be too noticeable.

 

I used Clay Bars many times with great success to clean the contaminents from the surface. It makes the surface as smooth as glass.

Both Mothers Clay Bar kit and the Meguiars Clay Bar kit are essentially the same and either kit will work fine.

The clay bars inside these 2 kits are rated as "fine". If you don't want to buy the kit, anyone can find clay bars for sale on eBay or Amazon. They are available in a "fine grade" and "medium grade" bars. They are usually 80 gram to 100gram weighted bars, and can be found in either white clay or blue clay. Color makes no difference as you are buying the "grade",

Clay bars are very low priced usually under $4.00 each, and keep in mind once dropped on a floor, they should not be used on the paint surface.

If you run out of the clay bar lubricant that both the Mothers and Meguiars kits include, a simple solution of water in a few drops of Dawn or Joy dish washing soap in a quart spray bottle will work fine to create the slickness to run the clay bar over the surface of the paint.

I clay barred my C7 with just 50 miles on the car. As other have stated it is never too early to clay bar a car.

An alternative and new technology to using a clay bar is the Nanoskin "fine grade" sponge found at Amazon for about $12.00. It is re-useable and will achieve excellent results also. A lubricant is also used with the Nanoskin sponge.


Hope this info helps other C7 owners.

 

ok, 2 80 gram bars, Showtime instant detailer and a micro fibre cloth is included in the kit so the solution that you mention, should I just put a couple drops of liquid dish soap and water in a spray bottle?

 

themonk:

The Showtime detailer (Red bottle), microfiber towel and the 2 clay bars are found in the Mother's brand kit. You did not mention the brand, but it is a Mother's product.

I suggest buying better quality microfiber towels.



As for the lubricant, yes, water in a quart size spray bottle with a few drops of liquid dish detergent Dawn of Joy will work fine. The solution creates a "slickness" that is needed to move the clay bar over the surface of the paint. Without a detail spray like the Showtime or water/detergent solution the clay bar sticks to the paint surface and will not move.

 

There are different types of polishes that have different types of "grit" (think sandpaper). You need to make sure you are using a polish that is designed for the rpm's and heat that a random orbital buffer can produce or designed for the results you are looking to achieve. Some polishes will do more damage to a new cars clear coat than good. For most new cars a very, very, very light polishing compound is all that is necessary. Each time you polish you are removing a little bit of the clear coat so it should be done very sparingly.

 

Done, thanks. The towel was always going to be relegated to cleaning/drying the rims as well as exhaust tips, it's one step up from a high school girl's terry cloth gym shorts. I have yellow diaper cloths for the body and windows.

 

Meguiars M205 is my suggestion.