Ceramic Clay Bar
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Melting Slicks
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From: Port St Lucie Florida
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Ceramic Clay Bar
Thinking my car would benefit from a “clay bar” treatment. Seriously considering switching to a ceramic wax (Meguiar’s Hybrid Liquid Wax) when done. My question is this. Do I need to use a “ceramic” clay bar? Is there a difference between a “regular” bar and ceramic, or is it just a marketing ploy.
Appreciate the guidance!
Appreciate the guidance!
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St. Jude Donor '18 thru '25
A clay bar is basically a clay bar.. different hardness's, but it's used to clean cars finish, Removing contaminants, so it does and will mot impart any ceramic properties to the surface it's used on.
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Melting Slicks
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Thanks - figured it just might be a way to market the same product with a different spin. Follow up question if I may. Is it necessary to polish after using a clay bar? Some say yes and others say no.
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If you are here in South Florida, we don't get the crazy winter traffic film and contaminants like they do in the NE. So a medium clay would be a good all around choice. Use it on glass to. My C7 is ceramic coated so I NEVER clay it, just the glass. My other car is not ceramic coated, so I'll be more likely to use on the clear on that car, but typically polishing is needed after claying to get rid of the micro marring it leaves behind. So, please make sure the car legitimately needs to be clayed, and only clay those sections.
That being said, this is the one that I use, it can be harsh if used incorrectly, but if used correctly and with a good amount of lube,one pass is all it takes:
https://www.autogeek.net/cleaner-clay.html
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Melting Slicks
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From: Port St Lucie Florida
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Thank you both!
Yes, I am in South Florida. Vette is a “southern” car and has spent most of its life in Florida. 2011 with 9,800 mi (8,000 when purchased in February). While I can’t speak for the two previous owners, I can say it is now garaged and not exposed to the elements. I will say that overall condition makes me believe it has always been a “garage queen”.
I have read about the “sandwich bag” test and will try it tomorrow. That said, I assumed (and we know what happens when you “assume”) all cars would benefit by a “clay job”. Last thing I would want to do is cause an issue with the finish. As we used to say in the coffee business, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”!
Yes, I am in South Florida. Vette is a “southern” car and has spent most of its life in Florida. 2011 with 9,800 mi (8,000 when purchased in February). While I can’t speak for the two previous owners, I can say it is now garaged and not exposed to the elements. I will say that overall condition makes me believe it has always been a “garage queen”.
I have read about the “sandwich bag” test and will try it tomorrow. That said, I assumed (and we know what happens when you “assume”) all cars would benefit by a “clay job”. Last thing I would want to do is cause an issue with the finish. As we used to say in the coffee business, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”!
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Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2009
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From: Port St Lucie Florida
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Nothing is necessary. However, clay is an abrasive. Abrasives mar the paint surface. If you can live with marring or small scratches in your paint, then you do not polish. If you want defect-free paint that is very glossy, then you do polish. Personally, I always polish after using clay.
Just did the “ziploc bag” test. Paint is very smooth with almost no grittiness. Thinking that before using clay, I might try Maquiar’s White Wax. Never used it but from what I’ve read, the product does have very mild abrasives that clean and polish.
Would welcome thoughts on this product.
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Wrong choice of a word on my part. You’re absolutely right is saying it’s not “necessary”. To your point though, why bother using clay if you’re not going to take the extra step of polishing to achieve what your goal was in the first place! That is, to improve the finish!
Just did the “ziploc bag” test. Paint is very smooth with almost no grittiness. Thinking that before using clay, I might try Maquiar’s White Wax. Never used it but from what I’ve read, the product does have very mild abrasives that clean and polish.
Would welcome thoughts on this product.
Just did the “ziploc bag” test. Paint is very smooth with almost no grittiness. Thinking that before using clay, I might try Maquiar’s White Wax. Never used it but from what I’ve read, the product does have very mild abrasives that clean and polish.
Would welcome thoughts on this product.
I know 22ple offers an ultra-fine clay they note as being 'OK for use on coated surfaces' but never heard of another 🤔
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Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
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From: Port St Lucie Florida
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Maguiar’s sells a ceramic clay bar kit. Looking at it again has me thinking that the lubricant and not the clay makes it “ceramic”.
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Wrong choice of a word on my part. You’re absolutely right is saying it’s not “necessary”. To your point though, why bother using clay if you’re not going to take the extra step of polishing to achieve what your goal was in the first place! That is, to improve the finish!
Just did the “ziploc bag” test. Paint is very smooth with almost no grittiness. Thinking that before using clay, I might try Maquiar’s White Wax. Never used it but from what I’ve read, the product does have very mild abrasives that clean and polish.
Would welcome thoughts on this product.
Just did the “ziploc bag” test. Paint is very smooth with almost no grittiness. Thinking that before using clay, I might try Maquiar’s White Wax. Never used it but from what I’ve read, the product does have very mild abrasives that clean and polish.
Would welcome thoughts on this product.
Good to know the car passed the baggie test. It appears to me, from your posting and your questions you are looking to get your car's finish to the next level; more than just a "wash and wax" scenario, since you are talking about claying and contemplating polishing or not.
Here's what I would consider doing if you wanted a nice project to make the car look great as we move into the not so brutal SoFla climates.I'd likely get as close to staring from scratch in terms of clear coat, and build off of that.
If I may weigh in here with a suggested course of action for you:
- Strip Wash - get any and all forms of wax and protectants off the car's clear coat. Short of a removing a proper ceramic coating, a good high alkaline soap like Purple Power vehicle and boat wash will do the trick. I'm not sure if you have a foam cannon, but when I do a strip wash I'll use 6 oz of it in the foam cannon and then for the contact wash, put another 10 oz in a 5 gallon bucket. I use the one bucket multi-mitt method to completely remove any possibility of adding "love marks" to the finish.
- Chemical Decontamination - to remove any iron fallout from break dust and the street and to remove any tar and natural contaminants like bug and sap and such, I would perform a chemical decon using something like CarPro Iron-X and Tar-X.
- Mechanical Decontamination - should you chose to clay, this would be the step in the process where it would come in, followed by a suggested polishing. Since you are not going to be doing that, we can move on.
- Paint Cleanser - You mentioned Meguiar's White Wax, which is a decent idea since from my understanding, it offers some form of paint cleaning as well as waxing (protection) all in one. While it sounds like a great time saver, I've always found that dedicated products, while adding additional steps, provide superior results when compared to AIOs (all in ones). Therefore, I like the cleansing idea to continue to decontaminate the paint and remove oxidation, but if your car is not coated, I'd likely go for something like PS21 Gloss Enhancing Paintwork Cleanser.
- Panel Wipe - A simple IPA solution to get all the residue of all prior chemicals off the car to get the clear coat as virgin as possible before you apply a sealant or similar. You can make one at home with Isopropyl Alcohol and Distilled Water, but I like using CarPro Eraser - ooohhh that smell!
- Sealant/Coating/etc... - you would apply some type of sealant or "coating lite" to the car. You would need to decide if you wanted something like a polymer or ceramic based product and go from there. Basic examples of polymer would be something like Jesscar Powerlock Plus, PolishAngel Master Sealant or Xtreme Solutions Poly Seal. Basic Examples of SiO2 (ceramic) sealants would be PolishAngel Glasscoat Cosmic V2.0, Gyeon Can Coat, TAC Systems 1 Step Master or Moonlight.
When you get all that done, you simply get a good maintenance product you like to keep it looking shiny and glossy. Again, depending on your taste for polymer or Si02 based, there are a ton of solid and fun to use products out there. So you can experiment, maybe even explore some of the newer graphene products too?
Anyway, I hope this gives you something to think about as we begin to get into what I like to call "car care season" here in SoFla. Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance.
Best to you Java,
Loki6
Last edited by Loki 6; Sep 13, 2020 at 02:52 PM.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
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From: Port St Lucie Florida
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Thanks Loki - really appreciate the detailed advice and guidance!! Looking forward to getting my “Garage Queen” to the next level!
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