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whats all this clay bar'ing I hear about

J

Jaks101

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Joined
Feb 23, 2012
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27
Car
C320 cdi
I thought i would buy some clay bar, specifically some Bilt-Hamber stuff as it was recommended by autoexpress and was only a tenner of eBay.

I wanted to make my car look spick and span as I’m having my wheels refurbed on Tuesday.

Am i right in thinking I just rub this bar across the paintwork when its wet?

Is it a hard graft like T-cutting your vehicle?
Afterwards can I just use Meguiars gold class wax that i have lying around in the garage?
Whats the difference between wax and polish, do i need to do both?

p.s I’m lazy so the easiest method without too much effort would be best J

 
I'm a fairly recent convert to claybarring........... I was highly sceptical. Rubbing my car with clay??!?!......... no!!!

It is just like a piece of blu-tac, or play dough!

Some bars need different lube, and lube is the key. Personally, I use the autoglym claybar and for lube I use the Demon-Shine detailing spray. Its about £10 for a gallon from Tescos!!!

You spray the surface. Flatten a piece of clay bar into a piece about the size of a small post it note, wet it with the lube and gently rub...... you will feel when the panel is clean.

Then wipe away the lube and run your fingers over it...... be prepared to be amazed! The first time you see and feel it...........!

When the whole car is done, you now need to apply a good polish to protect it.

It is that simple.

First time I did my A4 Avant, it was baaaaaaaaad, took about an hour to do. Now I do it every couple of months and it takes about 20 mins to whizz round.

Do it, you will not regret it.
 
As above you will need some detailing spray for lubrication. Only gentle finger tip pressure, dont scrub its very easy to use.

Once you have clayed, give it a good polish to produce shine and get rid of minor marks in the paint then protect with either wax or sealant..
 
Been using clay for a few years, used different ones.

The results are fantastic, it's very easy to do, and bilt hammer is my clay of choice. Water as the lube is so simple, you even clay if it's raining!

Use twice a year after thorough wash and cleanse (detar etc.) followed by a decent wax (currently using collinite liquid - not as durable as 476 but so easy to apply). Repeat every 6 months with a regular washing in between to keep things shiny.

I recently washed my car as follows: power rinse, power wash, power rinse, hand wash, power rinse, power wash, power rinse, hand wash, power rinse, detar, power rinse, hand wash, power rinse...

and then went over with the clay.

The amount of filth that still came off with the clay was unbelievable (although the car had been very dirty). It was so bad, I took a photo of it next to a nice new pack ready for next time (yes my wife caught me in the act and it was embarrasing).

I haven't uploaded from the camera, if I do I'll post it up and you see what the clay does.

The only thing to bear in mind is to use the clay carefully and use plenty of lubricant to prevent marking the paintwork, it's not a difficult process just respect what you're doing.

Regards, Neil
 
OP - if it's not raining when you use the BiltHamber....best advice is to use a spray bottle filled with water so you can lubricate each section before/while you clay it.
 
Jaks101 said:
I thought i would buy some clay bar, specifically some Bilt-Hamber stuff as it was recommended by autoexpress and was only a tenner of eBay.

I wanted to make my car look spick and span as I’m having my wheels refurbed on Tuesday.

Am i right in thinking I just rub this bar across the paintwork when its wet?

Is it a hard graft like T-cutting your vehicle?
Afterwards can I just use Meguiars gold class wax that i have lying around in the garage?
Whats the difference between wax and polish, do i need to do both?

p.s I’m lazy so the easiest method without too much effort would be best J
Click to expand...
Go on to Youtube and this explains everything.
 
a polish does what it is,it polishes a layer of paint away to give a clean shine,a wax is a wax that lies on the paint to protect from weather contaminates.if the paint is rough a wax seals the finish good or bad.if when it rains you see cars with water beades on the bonnet its been waxed,no beades no wax
 
Clay bar is the best thing since sliced bread in terms of detailing. It removed all the dirt within the pigments of the paint to get a deep reflection.

Be careful as to what strength to get! I'd advise Dodo Juice Mild to be used with Dodo Juice Born Slippy lube or Sonus Mild with Dodo Juice Born Slippy Lube.
 
Jaks101 said:
Is it a hard graft ...
Click to expand...

Yes!

The first time i did it was on my parents rarely washed 15 year old Astra on a Sunday in the middle of August.

I was sweating buckets and it took about 2 hours, my right arm was killing and I felt like I'd run a marathon!

(Now it takes me about 30-45 mins to do a car lol)
 
damian9128 said:
Yes!

The first time i did it was on my parents rarely washed 15 year old Astra on a Sunday in the middle of August.

I was sweating buckets and it took about 2 hours, my right arm was killing and I felt like I'd run a marathon!

(Now it takes me about 30-45 mins to do a car lol)
Click to expand...

Read this back, it sounds like you doing something other than claying your car! Lol. ;)
 
Different types and qualities of clay out there. I started out with Sonus Green the first time I discovered clay bars but it was too harsh. The Meguiars clay available from Hellfrauds does the job nicely...

Don't be afraid to work the clay... you don't even need the whole bar. Break it in half and mould it... don't be scared to go easy on it either. If you do use it with a lot more pressure the results are amazing but of course you need to be careful that it does not have some massive pieces of dirt wedged in it i.e. to avoid scratching the surface.

I clay about every 6 months. It used to take me less than 15 minutes to clay the whole car but I realized I was not doing it properly. Now if I clay... it can take me anything from 1 hour to 3 hours depending on the condition. Working panel by panel. Love clay barring!
 
A really good pre clean & wash process followed by de-tarring and a fallout remover should get rid of alot of the contamination and make claying easier.
 
Clay barring is FANTASTIC, I've been hooked for over a year now and regularly people come up to me and ask how I get such a mirror shine, a Mercedes garage once asked me the same question, WOW that was pleasing.
 
Just ordered some, Bilt hamber, medium (planning on testing it on my 10 year old filthy A3 first). So after I've given the car a good wash and use it, I'm still expecting the clay to get filthy, so how do I know when to chuck it and use another piece?
 
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