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What Is an Automotive Clay Bar? … Clay bars used by professionals will be more “aggressive” in their ability to cut contaminants from auto finishes, but they can also cause damage to paint in the wrong hands.Mar 23, 2017
Clay bars are purely for removing bonded particles to prevent future damage, like paint swirls. They cannot fix existing damage.
The fact is, you should never clay bar your car and stop there. Clay bars are abrasive and will mar your paint while they remove the contaminants. You need to polish the paint afterward in order to maintain a perfect finish.
Claying should always come after a good wash. You want to get as much of the dirt out as possible, by scrubbing and brushing and scrubbing some more. … Unfortunately, regular washing procedures can only do so much to remove the harsh surface contaminants on your car. For heavy-duty clean up, nothing beats the clay bar.
Clay bar detailing is an effective means of removing the embedded particles from the clear coat. The clay encases and adheres to the tiny bits of debris and literally yanks them from the clear coat. If performed correctly, you can remove particles without leaving any traces on the clear coat.
Claying is sunlight isn’t a problem. Just rinse more frequently. Better to remove contaminants before polishing. This is where an ez-up can help.
If it’s your first time, you should expect the process to take an hour or so. Once you’ve done it a few times (and your car is already pretty clean), you should be able to eventually bring the total amount of time down to about 30 minutes or less.
A clay bar does NOT remove any scratches from the surface of the paint because it contains no abrasives. A clay bar is useful for when a car’s paint feels rough and is no longer smooth to the touch as it can help restore that nice smooth feeling you once knew and loved.
To answer your question, yes you can reuse a clay bar. If you drop it on the ground it is done, throw it away. You will also want to throw it away if it starts to take on a grit to it. The key is to fold over your clay and knead it.
One can either use a quick detailer product or a water/automotive wash solution as a lubricant during the clay bar process. Here at AQS we fill a clean wash bucket with fresh water and automotive wash solution and use a fresh wash mitt to lubricate our surface and clay.
The detailer’s rule of thumb is to always decontaminate the surface with a clay bar before putting on a new coat of wax, or polishing any exterior paintwork.
Before using a clay bar, your car should be washed and dried to remove a majority of contamination on your vehicle. The more contaminated the paint is the more likely imperfections can be added during the clay bar process.
The good news is that you can easily determine for yourself when you need to clay. Simply feel your paint after each wash. If it feels rough or bumpy, it is time to clay! As a general guideline, claying 3-4 times a year will keep your car’s paint clean and smooth.
When you clay your vehicle, you remove the contaminants, making the coat easier to wax. … The detail clay also removes tar, sap, bug remains, wax, and sealants from the coat of the car. With these substances removed, waxes and sealants will adhere to the surface better.
Not Really. The fact of the matter is that water on its own isn’t enough to act as a lubricant for clay. As water is not “slick”, it will not allow the clay to glide over the paint with ease.
Glass does not need a special clay bar, and most clay bars are safe for glass. … They may leave marring on the glass and need to be polished afterwards. With any clay bar, make sure to use the proper clay lubricant. Soaps and water-less washes can often breakdown the clay bars, causing them to crumble and fall apart.
You shouldn’t use a clay bar, mitt, or cloth on a ceramic coated car because it will break down the coating, or cause swirl marks. You can use an iron fallout and tar remover instead to safely remove contamination without using clay.
If you clay your car correctly, the clay bar won’t damage the clear coat. Clay bar is made to mechanically remove contaminants without damaging the car’s paint. So, with that said, the clay bar does not damage your car’s clear coat.
After you wash the car, mix the same proportions of car shampoo and water in a clean bucket or spray bottle and apply generously to the surface. … The agents that break down these contaminants also wet and lubricate the surface, making soapy water a good medium for using detailing clay.
Apply a light paint cleaner or polish and that should remove the smudges. You could also use a cleaner/wax. If you use a paint cleaner or polish be sure to apply some wax afterwards because you’ll have removed any wax previously there.
Opt for Turtle Wax instead to remove hazing and obtain a shiny finish. Wash your car thoroughly and dry it completely. To remove haze or old grime, you’ll get better results if you use the paste wax. Although it requires more work, the pressure you apply to remove the wax will also remove the haze.
Light-to-moderate oxidation can be removed with polishing compounds, while heavy oxidation requires a rubbing compound. Apply the compound gently to a small area, work it into the paint and remove it quickly, repeating until all signs of oxidation are gone.
That said, there’s no absolute number of times you clay bar your vehicle. Your car is just a simple process to remove bonded contaminants particles and dust from the paint to the clay bar. Particles that would otherwise not come off in a standard cleaning. Most other forms of dust can easily wash off.
Once the clay begins to break apart or change colour entirely throw it away. If you drop your clay onto the ground, throw it away. Due to its stickiness, it will pick up dirrt and gravel which will scratch the surface entirely.
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