Claybar on a new C7?
 

I know this is a topic that seems like it would be best suited for the car care discussion forum but it's specific to the C7 so I'm hoping the mods will allow it here :)

I'm curious if those of you that bought your C7 new as a factory order found it necessary to use a clay bar on the paint when you got it? Because my C7 will arrive at the dealer all nice and wrapped up, and because it won't sit outside on the lot at all (my dealer keeps all their Vettes indoors), shouldn't that mean the paint should be pretty much free of contamination when I get it? I have never used a clay bar before so I'm hoping mine won't need it but I will quickly learn how to do it if I need to! (I have a DA buffer so I'm good at paint correction, I've just never taken that clay bar plunge yet)

Detailers will tell you it is an absolutely essential first step. Well, I dutifully did it with a Zaino clay bar and lube just like the directions said--and picked up nothing at all. Clean as a whistle. Of course, the big issue is YMMV.

Simple test is to place your hand in a sandwich bag and run it gently over the paint surface. If it is nice and smooth you are good, if not clay bar time.

Absolutely, Clay the car. Claying is a very easy process and a cheap way to make the paint clean from contaminants. Don't buy clay lube just use a couple drops of soap in a spray bottle filled with water. way cheaper. Keep folding the clay when you see dirt. Just did my 18 GS and yes it was clean but I did get some contaminants off. If you drop the clay toss it in the trash. Keep the panel wet with the lube and as soon as you feel the clay sliding easy its clean. Simple as that. Best part is when you are done, you know its a clean contaminant free car. Remember wash prior and after. :rock:

Certainly no harm in clay baring. I've also used Nanoskin with great results. :thumbs:

I gave Mothers Speed Clay a try when I got my GS earlier in the summer and found it much easier and quicker than dealing with traditional clay. Might want to give that a look for at least a quick pass on your vehicle.

Thanks for your input guys! I just watched a video from Mothers showing how to use a clay bar and it looks much easier than I thought it would, so I'm no longer afraid to give it a try! It sounds like I might possibly have a relatively clean finish to start with but that'll just make the job go that quicker. Canadian Tire sells clay bar kits from Mother's, Simoniz, Meguiar's and Auto Glym, so I'll probably go with one of those ones.

I didn’t. I sealed it with Zaino and it’s great.

:iagree:
If you drop a clay bar, it's trash. If you use it again, and it picked up dirt, which it will, it could do some serious damage to your finish.
If you drop a mitt, you wash it off, and your good to go.
I use both, and they both have their strong points, but for a general once-over on a reasonabley clean new finish, the clay mitt will be much quicker, and easier. Jmo

It's not necessary cuz the paint hasn't been exposed to the elements but it wouldn't hurt to clay anyway

No bar. Mitt or nano skin towel work just as well and are far more efficient. It took me about 1/4 the time using a towel as it used to take me with a bar. No comparison..

Our 2017 (Long Beach Red, extra cost color) was built in Sept of 2016, shipped to the dealership and sat in a warehouse until we bought it in May 2017.

After purchase, I had the front end wrapped in XPel. When I picked up the car, the wrap guy said he had to clay the areas he was going to wrap, and said I should do the rest of the car myself or have someone do it. He had me run my hand along the paint just below the side windows, it looks good but felt like sandpaper. Really.

I was very concerned about damaging the paint, but everyone said it was easy to clay so I bought two Meguir's (sp?) kits and did it myself. Worked great.
Use plenty of detail spray, it's cheap.
If you drop the clay, throw it away. Even if you dropped it on a sanitized surface, it's trash. Or you paint will be.

Hopefully, your car will be better.

Go for the claybar and then use some Iron-X to insure you got all the grudge off your C7. :thumbs:

This! I used to use a claybar and now use the mit. I use the Chemical Guys mit and clay lube. Works just as good as the bar and takes a fraction of the time.

I like the idea of the mitt even better! I just looked up a video of the Chemical Guys mitt and it looks like a real time saver! I'm guessing the light version of it would be the one to get, not the medium?

I would go with the mitt as well. You were previously considering going with ceramic coating with paint correction that the dealer was offering, has that changed?

:cheers:

Did mi e as soon as i got it home. Was sell worth my time and energy.

I have decided not to do it, as even though they told me it's ceramic coating, I have been having my doubts, as the price really is too low for what they claim it includes. They say $699 for paint correction and ceramic coating, with a 10 year warranty and they will reapply the coating at the 5 year mark. I tried searching for more info about the product (Diamond Kote) and there really isn't much out there about it, and I think it's just a regular sealant that probably won't even last 3 months. They call it Nano Crystal paint protection, but I really don't think that's another word for ceramic. I should have known better not to trust the finance guy at the dealership (who's job it is to upsell so he's going to do whatever he can to convince me that the stuff they sell is the best)

I got some prices for local places doing ceramic coating and one wants $600 for a 2 year product and the other offers 5 years for $600. Both of them said it would be more for the paint correction (which I could actually do myself beforehand) I'm still a little bit leery about doing ceramic coating. I know it offers amazing protection from bird droppings, acid rain, etc. I know that it offers a super slick surface that dirt barely sticks to. But I just don't know how long it will offer that protection, and I don't want to have to spend $600 every couple of years to keep it up. Some places here offer lifetime packages where they will reapply it every few years but they want something like $4000 for that. I know that there are do it yourself ceramic products out there but I'm very leery of using them as they all sound very finicky in the way you apply them and it sounds too easy to make a mistake and screw up your finish.

So I'm going to test out a couple of different sealants on my C6 for the next few months to see if they can prevent etching from bird bombs (which is really my biggest concern as I get bird bombs almost every day at work) If successful, I'll simply continue using one or both of those products a couple of times a year and not have to spend megabucks to protect my finish. Right now I just finished polishing and then applying Auto Glym Extra Gloss Protection and if that doesn't perform as hoped I will try Rejex next. I have been mostly using Zaino since the 90s but it's time to try something different. Does anyone else have a sealant they like to use that they've found protects the finish very well and is the "next best" thing to a ceramic coating?

I had my car ceramic coated locally we got a bit of a deal on it there was five or six of us went in and it was seven hundred bucks they did the paint correction they didn't have to claybar cuz I'd already done it it did the paint correction and removed any mark's light scratches whatever out of the paint and coated it it's guaranteed for 3 years so that is like 5 or 6 years with a Corvette because it sits for four or five months or whatever don't daily drive it so the 3-year warranty I'm going to get 5 minimum out of it I think. it's a good investment for me anyways. It is a one-man operation sometimes he has a helper got a shop in town here but he works down on The Queensway at the high-end dealership where they sell Mercedes and Lambos and whatever I forget what it's called down there

I have had excellent results from both Rejex and Four Star UPP. Both leave the car with a very slick surface that keeps things from sticking. My recently purchased C7 was hit by sprinklers while parked overnight at a hotel and the spots were baked in by the sun all day while I drove home. Based on previous experience with water spots I was expecting the worst, however the next day the spots easily washed right off; the UPP had done it's job.