Are "Clay Bars" worth the effort?

[billabongcr 5,000+ posts]

i was a detailor, i love it. does good for my truck, especially after a few months after hittin the trails alot.

it makes my truck look a hell of alot better. deeper kindof look to the finish.

a little trick (if you smoke cigs) take your plastic wrapper off the cig box, put your fingers in it and run it over the surface of your car, feel all the bumps, clay bar it (lubricate it with soap and water, or the "special" lubricant they give you) then use the other side of the plastic to run your fingers over it. or throw a towel across your hood before, then after. towel flies right off. kinda fun.

i ALWAYS follow up a claybar with a GOOD wax job with GOOD wax.

make sure you dont get shit in your clay bar, cuz itll scratch the phuck out of your paint. fold over the clay every now and then. to prevent alot of shit in your clay, work from roof down.

clay magic from automagic is what i used to use. just an //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

 

[Wonger 10+ year member]

put your hand in a ziplock bag. Then wipe your hand on the paint, if your hand dosen't slide smoothly you need to clay.

 

[dkmesa 10+ year member]

clay bar is only necessary if there are contaminants in the paint

put your hand in a ziplock bag. Then wipe your hand on the paint, if your hand dosen't slide smoothly you need to clay.

+1, that's a good test

 

[bdawson72 5,000+ posts]

wax aint all that good for the paint either..

eh?

 

[Beat_Dominator 5,000+ posts]

Gah, my arms hurt just thinking about this topic //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif

 

[denim 5,000+ posts]

I think it is worth the effort

 

[2kchevy06civic 5,000+ posts]

Yeah it took my about an hour to clay my truck......I eventually got a chair with wheels after a while. It's true the surface is a lot smoother and you'll see the stuff that you pick up. Just remember to keep needing the clay bar instead of using the same side. If you drop a clay bar, I wouldn't re-use it b/c you just picked up a bunch of stuff on the ground. I haven't givin my truck a good cleanin in a while. should probably do that.

 

[quakerroatmeal 10+ year member]

Clay bar is definitely worth it, if you love your car. The outcome you get is definitely amazing. How smooth the surface is actually as after a full detail is nice.

 

[mobeious 10+ year member]

just picked up the mothers clay bar kit.. includes some spray to spray on the car as u bar it and then a finishin wax for after u clay it... took me about 2hrs to claybar and wax the truck..(ford explorer 4door)... man let me tell u its night and day my truck looks brand new i finished it off with some back to black from mothers for the black trim and door handles... truck looks awsome now.. id really recomend it.... BTW the kit is about 8 dollars keeper at walmart vs Autozone and Advance auto parts..

 

[camry_tuner 10+ year member]

Clay bars aren't necessarily used to "improve the finish" but really before you do anything, you should rub it down with one to remove all the particles / oxidization on your car before polishing / waxing.
But yes, you can almost always notice a difference after claying. (Much smoother)

there's some oxidation in my paint, claybar will effectively remove it? i've never really been into detailing cars before, so this is new to me.

 

[Tonyguy 10+ year member]

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/naughty.gif.94359f346c0f1259df8038d60b41863e.gif Wow, i may just have to get this for the Buick. She needs a cleanin.

 

[chucku 10+ year member]

I used to do autobody, and we use 3m compound on a buffer, then 3m foam pad glaze with a foam pad, then 3m hand glaze by hand, then you can wax it if you want protection. This clay thing sounds like a easy way out, does it remove scratches? If you only want to take out dirt, a good cleaner wax should do that, no?