Glad to see all the detail junkies and read about their madness. I am old school (very) and have never used clay. I just use a polish or glaze before I wax. My cars have always been dark in color and I use high quality products. I also wax on wax off by hand. The paint always looks and feels great. Does clay make that much of a difference? Just asking, not judging! Thanks.
Detailers Unite - 2
- Thread starter Rich 65
- Start date
Transconductor
Member
- :
- Mazda CX-5 Touring FWD
I began using clay on my cars a few years ago. If you run your hand across the surface before and after using the clay, you should notice a difference. I guess it depends if you have a garage and actually use it to park in. If your CX-5 sits outside the paint will collect more microcontaminates the clay will remove.
IronMan0737
Member
- :
- 14.5 CX-5 GT AWD w/ Tech
A few times a year, I'll take an afternoon and use a whole roll of those blue soft shop towels and use (clean sides only!) them with instant detail spray (e.g. Meguiars) using *light strokes* to remove contaminants and even scrub off tar and bugs. A *truly clean* detail wipe feels just like a clay pass after all the contaminants are gone. After, and only after the strokes become sluggish, I'll wax. Any other time after the car is loaded with dust, dirt, pollen, or road salt, it's a 10 minute trip to spend $5 at a self-wash where everything's already loaded and I'll blast the car with high-pressure detergent for 5 mins and rinse for 5.
And after a quick blast-off I AIR dry. If there are water spots, the first rain will remove them naturally. Water under the bridge. One thing I NEVER do is use towels to dry. All they do is micro-scratch clear coat. I only use clean retired cotton shirts to WAX with. And I don't buff the wax in or buff after. Just wax on and off.
Not saying everyone should do what I do, but these methods are super easy, especially if you're not a detail enthusiast (I'm not) and you're on a budget and have time constraints. They'll leave a coat that's scuff, grime, and wipe mark free. And no erosion of clear coat by force.
And after a quick blast-off I AIR dry. If there are water spots, the first rain will remove them naturally. Water under the bridge. One thing I NEVER do is use towels to dry. All they do is micro-scratch clear coat. I only use clean retired cotton shirts to WAX with. And I don't buff the wax in or buff after. Just wax on and off.
Not saying everyone should do what I do, but these methods are super easy, especially if you're not a detail enthusiast (I'm not) and you're on a budget and have time constraints. They'll leave a coat that's scuff, grime, and wipe mark free. And no erosion of clear coat by force.
But how is a clay any different than a polish or glaze? After I polish or glaze the car's paint is smooth (I like to toss a flannel rag across the hood and see if it slides nicely). After all is good I apply a wax. It just sounds like using that little clay bar seems to be a pain. Again, just asking. Thanks.
Think of the clay bar as a tweezer and polish as a razor....With clay you're pulling the invisible stuck in grime from the clear coat with polish your basically cutting it away....This would all be at a microscopic level. Hopefully u kinda get it....If you want to go the extra level of shine, depth and clarity you would suck the grime out the paint, then wash it then polish it...it's not an absolute step for everyone but in the long run can only help your paint job
Autogeek.net is full of info. Pics, comparisons etc.
Autogeek.net is full of info. Pics, comparisons etc.
I often use different clay-bars and clay it with Poorboys Wipe an Spray or Meguiars Last Touch (1:1) It`s recommended to do before you go on polishing with rotary or excenter........the surface of the color is very smooth, smoother than you don`t clay !!!!
So it`very important to clay the car !!!!! If not.....you`ll polish every contamination such as bird-drops or scratches and tree-grime into the lack !!! It`s not done !!
So it`very important to clay the car !!!!! If not.....you`ll polish every contamination such as bird-drops or scratches and tree-grime into the lack !!! It`s not done !!
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You're welcome.....I started this addiction(laugh) a couple years ago, I do my friends cars for the heck of it ( actually to perfect my technique)
If you do clay DO NOT give it ANY time to dry.....it will streak and show up on your dark paint ( ask me how I know )
Thats called "marring" !!
(cool)
To be clear - when I refer to "polish" I am not talking about the verb. I define polish as: "a nonabrasive product based on a nutrient oil matrix that contains a chemical cleaner. Most polishes use a heavy molecular weight oil that "feeds" the paint and may help hide extremely minor swirl marks." A glaze as: " a superfine friction type of pre-wax cleaning agent, usually with essential emollients and lubricating oils and may even contain some mild chemical cleaners. Glazes will usually remove mild swirl marks and minor scratches, refresh the paint with emollient oils and smooth out the finish." One of these is used prior to adding a final wax coat. I prefer carnubra over polymers (especially on dark cars) but have switched to liguid polymer waxes in my old age. Because the "polish" and "glaze" seem to do what clay does I asked the question.
I just picked up my CX-5 last week. Several years ago, I attended a "free" detailing class. I left the class with about $300 worth of products including a Porter Cable random orbital polisher. Anyway, the instructor taught us a trick and that is to rub your hand across the surface of your freshly washed car by first placing your hand in a plastic sandwich Baggie. The surface of my CX-5 felt like a fine grade of sandpaper as there was so much crud on it. The clay bar process removes the crud.
