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Claying - Why? How? And Which?

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Claying - Why? How? And Which?

Postby imolazed » Wed Nov 10, 2010 12:37 pm

Detailing Clay (often referred to as a Claybar) has been used for many years by trade individuals, however it has only quite recently made it's way into the end-user and enthusiast market.

Clay is designed to remove bonded contaminants from the paint surface, such as tree sap, brake dust and stubborn tar, leaving the paint as smooth as glass. The major benefits of removing these contaminants are easier application of the products which follow and ensuring those products can work to the best of their ability. They say the vast majority of a good finish is in the prep..well prep starts with a clean car.

Clay, just like Polish comes in various levels of aggressiveness. A mild clay is advised for beginners and is normally more than enough for typical road grime. The clay is wiped gently back and forth across the paint surface until no resistance can be felt. It must also be lubricated at all times to reduce the chance of marring the paint. This marring is nothing to worry about however and can be removed by polishing afterwards.

Above is the theory on how to clay, rub it back and forth etc, but that doesn't answer more of the specific questions, so this is how I personally do it.

- Take 2 or 3 pieces of clay about 50-75g each (you should be able to roughly work this out based on the size of the overall bar).
- Fill a cup or something similar with hot water, doesn't need to be boiling and drop your pieces of clay in.
- After 2 or 3mins take one piece out, make it into a ball and then flatten it into your palm.
- Take an area 1-2ft square, spray it with lube.
- Quick spray of lube on the clay itself then place it down and work it back and forth.
- The number of passes depends hugely on how bad the car is, but aim for at least 15-20.
- How do you know it's done? Well you should actually be able to hear and feel the clay stop grabbing at the surface.
- After each panel I swap my piece of clay, return the one you were using to the warm water and retrieve another piece. The old piece isn't done yet but a spell back in the water will soften it up enough to allow you to easily fold it to find a clean side. You may need to swap more often than every panel if the car is really contaminated or if it's very cold and the clay is going hard quickly.

When using the Clay it is important to fold it regularly, ensuring the side you are working with is clean. Hard or brittle clay can again lead to marring and the method above solves this problem making it as safe as possible.

Clay can be used on the paintwork, glass and even wheels on your car, but it is important not to reuse 'wheel' clay on the paint for example.

Lastly if you drop a piece of clay...bin it.

So that's the why and the how, now onto the which.

In my opinion all clays are pretty similar, I don't believe a big brand clay is any better than the unbranded stuff. So the options we offer are as follows -

Autoglym Surface Detailing Kit - €29.95

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As the name suggests this is a kit for the whole surface, it consists of a 100g claybar, lube, cloths and a small bottle of Super Resin Polish. This kit would suit the beginner who maybe doesn't already have the cloths or a polish to use afterwards. Good value for money but if you don't need the cloths and polish then it might not suit you.

Ultrafine Detailing Claybar 250g - €19.95

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This is our own 'unbranded' offering, it's 2.5x the size of the claybar found in the Autoglym kit but it doesn't come with any of the accessories. The instructions with this clay say you can use water as a lube but we would still recommend a lube of some sort to be on the safe side (consider [url="http://www.cleancar.ie/Chemical_Guys_-_Speed_Wipe_Spray___Instant_Streak_Free_Shine.html"]Chemical Guys Speedwipe[/url], you can dilute this 1:1 with water). The big benefit of this item is its size, it will cut up into 4 or 5 pieces and should be more than able to do a few cars. It also gives you room for error should you drop a piece. (it happens to the best of us!)

Chemical Guys Clayblock Kit - €30.95

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This is a bit of a wildcard, it's nothing like traditional detailing clay and in alot of cases that's a bonus! I've done a comparison in the past so won't go over it again, but if you want to read it here is the link - Clayblock Comparison

There we have it, another job marked off my todo list. Hopefully will come in useful to some of you and if you've any questions please ask.

Thanks for looking.
imolazed
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Postby Bawnee » Wed Nov 10, 2010 4:38 pm

Wow,lots of good stuff there.. Would like to give clay bar a go but nervous! Will never say never though. Thanks for that!
Bawnee
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