I see a lot of these "clay bar kits" beinging offered in various stores. I have a good supply of quality wax and don't want a kit.

Where can I find just the clay itself without having to buy the wax and cloths, etc?

 

Yes you are so right there are many different kits out there, but they are not necessary if you have all the other stuff.

I would personally recommend the Auto Magic clay, it is very user friendly and it leaves minimal scratches. Choose the "Blue" fine grade clay item # 2200 and it is available thru Amazon by itself, not a kit. Be sure to use a premium clay spray or QD for the medium (lubrication) for best results.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...C9DWBDQPQK8SV3

 

So the clay has different grades or grits like sand paper?

 

My uncle uses this company's products on his vet. Looks absolutly steller. How do you know that claybar is what you need? If your asking about grades, it makes me think that you have never used claybar, therefore you may not actually need it. Just a thought.
http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/...duct_Code=Z-18

 

Yes you are correct, clay comes in a variety of abrasiveness. I always recommend using the least aggresive product to start, then work up.
Clay depending on who's brand is usually avalable in either 2 or 3 grades....

99.9 % of the time I use only the "Blue" fine grade of clay

But like any good mechanic, you always need a variety of tools in different sizes...since clay is one of my specialty tools, I always carry a bar of the "Red" medium grade as well in my rig....

I try to avoid the "Red" clay at all means because it will induce more scratches into the paint, that will then need to be Rotary polished to burnish or jewel out the scratches and then D/A for final finish. I hope this has been helpful for you, let me know if you have any further questions.....

 

I bought the Auto Magic Red and used it once. My Meguiars bar was long in the tooth. On the Meguiars, I used Final detailing spray to lub the clay. With the Magic bar, water works better.

What is your take with lub's for clay?

 

The fact that there are different grits or grades came as a surprise. Do you know what color the LEAST gritty clay bar is? Is it 'blue'?

BTW, does anyone know where you can buy just the clay bar with the rest of the kit?

Thanks

 

I use Diamond Professionals "Blue Mist" as my clay spray. I mix it 1:1 and its works fabulous.........Its a product that I distribute and it is awesome! The experience I had with the Blue Clay Magic bar and water was that it induced more fine hairline scratches.....water is not enough of a lubricant as a medium between clay and paintwork.

Fine grade "Blue" clay is the finer of the two.....I purchase my clay at case pricing due to the volume that I purchase.....let me know what price you come up with...

 

I got the Autoglym clay detailing kit and I am still waiting for decent weather to try it out.

I am planning on giving the car a good wash first, then going over it with the clay bar and then giving it the annual big polish.

I find jobs like that very theraputic!

 

Finall got to use the clay bar treatment. What a difference! I thought my car was clean till I used the bar. Polishing it afterwards made for such a smooth finish. The kit was about £18 and there is enough for me to use it once more, so £9 per use. But it is so worth it.

I have washed the car once since I used the kit and the dirt just ran off. The sills in particular benefitted from the clean and they look much better.

What a brilliant product. You can see just how much dirt it takes off from an apparently clean car......

 

Bought my first claybar kit today and tried it out as follows....

Thoroughly washed the car, I decided not to dry it off on the basis that the water residue would help aid the lube process. As I only had a short time I managed to clay the bonnet ( hood ) and the windscreen ( windshield ) initially.
After finishing I again washed the clayed areas and then dried her off.

I have to say that for a 3 year old vehicle with 68k miles on her she was relatively clean, although there were some tar sposs here n there on the clay along with a little dirt, but, nowhere near as much as I had imagined
The finish was certainly a little smoother, not that it was terrible to start with.

I hope to get around to the rest of the car in the next few days or so. Then its off with the wheels for them to be clayed on the inners too, probably a cutting compound for the outers, which although in pretty good condition could do with a little help....and then repainting the calipers n hubs as well as a thorough cleaning session on the wheel wells.

Probably all a little overkill as I hope to get the car detailed in the near future, primarily for paint correction as I have quite a few swirl marks etc etc, some dealer inflicted I'd say and some from my washing technique which needs improving, certainly as I can wash her sometimes 2-3 times a week

 

I was introduced to clay a couple of years ago and I have been very happy with the results. I too use the Clay Magic Blue fine grade. I would not think of beginning a polishing job without first claying the area.

The way I was instructed, and how I have used it, is to take a new bar, which is about the size of a bar of soap, and break off a third or quarter of it. Then flatten that section in the palm of your hand, and after lubing the area, begin working and area of say 20 X 20 inches. As you see dirt collecting on the clay just fold it over on itself and stretch out the material revealing clean clay. Just keep repeating this process; it will take a long time before you need to throw out the section. At least a few cars in my experience. If you drop it on the ground throw it out since it is almost impossible to be sure all dirt has been removed. A good reason not to use the whole bar at once.

I don't use the commercial lubes, just some good car wash concentrate well diluted in a spray bottle, but that is just personal choice.

John

 

Oh man! Good question. I can't find it in stores. I have to go through my dealership-only supplier to get the clay bar alone.

 

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I just use a generic detail spray and an aggressive purple clay bar.

 

Pinnacle Ultra Poly Clay Bar, can be purchased off AutoGeek (where I get most of my high end products for my detailing biz). Last time I ordered it was roughly $20 for a 2 pack (just the clay bars it's not a kit). I was using the basic meguiars clay bars and switched to Pinnacle about a year ago. Ultra Poly Clay Bar is the best on the market today. Believe me, you'll feel and notice the superior quality difference when using it.

 

Also, great combination for lubrication is to use meguairs Final Inspection spray, which can be ordered off their website or AutoGeek. I've never seen it sold in traditional retail stores. Work a 2' x 2' section at a time and you're good to go.

 

I would say the level of clay you should use depends on how bad the car is and how often you detail.

The XJR I'm working on was really bad and the surface was really rough, even after a thourough wash, but the clay bar cleaned it up very nicely before I started to cut and polish.

See here: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=47511

Good luck!

 

My recommendation is as follows.......

1) Always take the least aggressive approach first.

2) Stick to a fine clay such as Auto Magic's Blue Clay.

3) Use a quality product for your clay lube, soap and water will not lube as well as a Blue Mist or a Quick Detailer....

Anything more course than this will require either D/A polishing or more extensive rotary polishing due to the scratches that will be induced.

 

David,

How many times can you use a clay bar, before it should be disposed of ?