Don't pay rip-off prices for Clay Bar paint cleaning systems!
Learn how you can save over 50% - 70% on Clay Bars for cleaning your car's paint!
Here is the secret Meguier's, Mother's, Zaino, Zymol, California Gold, Turtlewax and all the others are keeping from you.
Why use a clay bar?
You have probably read about how contaminants can become embedded in your car's paint. They do not mention the other source of surface defects which is the nature of the paint itself. Even 2-part "curing" paints cure with invisible pinholes which allow gasses to be discharged. The gasses are from the paint application process (spraying) and as a result of the curing process (exothermic out-gassing.)
When you run your hand across a clean, waxed car body and you feel little snags that you can't see with your eyes, what exactly are you feeling?
When you see very tiny rust-colored spots on your white car, what are you seeing?
Mostly rust, as it turns out. Microscopic spikes of rust that have worked their way past the multiple coats of paint applied to preserve the sheet metal of your car.
All layers of paint on your car have microscopic pores where the solvents and carriers gas out during the paint curing process. Hundreds of pores per square centimeter. Even catalyzed and water-born paints leave some small pinhole pores. Because the distribution of the pinholes is sparse relative to their size, subsequent coats of paint tend to cover up underlying pinholes while introducing new pinholes of their own. Every so often — maybe once every square centimeter — the pores will line up across all layers of paint and this is where corrosion can get its foot in the door.
Normal waxing and even most polishes and rubbing compounds can't properly deal with these spikes because they are being applied with cloths or pads that conform to the surface. They ride up over the spikes just as if the spikes were features of the sheet metal styling.
What your paint needs is "fairing" — bringing the high spots down to the mean surface height.
What is a clay bar?
The clay bar is exactly what it says it is — a bar of putty-like modeling clay composed primarily of calcium salts, petroleum jelly and aliphatic acids. The clay can be easily shaped by hand, yet is stiff enough to maintain its shape.
This is the exact same formula that started the whole clay bar phenomenon. The major players in car care products have modified the original formula in an attempt to separate themselves from the crowd but the fact remains that this is the real deal, the formula that started it all, the car detailers' secret weapon in delivering that glass smooth, concourse-winning finish. The so-called improvements in the brand-name clay bar systems mostly add color and aroma to the clay; they do nothing to improve the efficiency of the product or the ease of use. This clay formula is what they start with before their useless improvements are added.
Take some time to read about some Myths and Facts about caring for your car's paint, clay bars, polishing and waxing.
How does a clay bar work?
The clay bar has just the right combination of physical properties to make it ideal for fairing off these metallic spikes from your paint, leaving your car with a glass-smooth surface.
- It is stiff so it tends to maintain its shape as it glides across the surface of the paint, providing the proper fairing properties required for the job.
- It is sticky so it catches the spikes and grips them as it snaps them off.
- It is non abrasive so you are not wearing down your paint or clear-coat or causing additional marks which would need to be polished out.
As the clay bar glides over the surface of your paint, suspended on a thin layer of lubricating spray, the sticky clay grabs hold of the rough, fragile rust spikes that are sticking above the paint surface and snaps them off at the base. These little particles of rust become trapped in the clay and are carried away. Subsequent passes over the same area will catch any spikes or stubs of spikes that the first pass missed. As you work along the surface of your car you will feel the clay glide more smoothly and easily as the spikes are removed from your car's finish.
How do I use a clay bar?
IMPORTANT: Please read instructions before using Car Clay.
WARNING: Keep the clay clean. Store in the original plastic envelope. Do not drop Car Clay on the ground. It will pick up particles which will scratch your paint. Discard any contaminated clay. Dirty clay can ruin your paint.
REQUIRED: Clay lubricant. You can use Meguires Quick Detailer, Mothers Instant Detailer or you can make your own. See the next section.
Finally, USE AT YOUR OWN RISK.
I have seen many instances of people misusing clay bars, mostly because they do not have a full understanding of the way it works. It is essential to let the natural characteristics of the clay — stiff, sticky, non abrasive — do their job and not try to use pressure or abrasive techniques. Remember: the clay bar is neither a polish or a protectant.
If you apply pressure as you pass the clay bar across your paint, it will stick to the paint and leave a greasy smear that will need to be removed with polish. No matter how little pressure you apply, it is the nature of the clay to want to stick to the paint. In fact, it is essential that the clay want to stick, because this is what makes the clay bar work.
On colder days you can warm the clay bar to make it easier to cut into smaller pieces by placing it in your pocket (still in the plastic bag, of course!) Your body heat at approx. 98° Fahrenheit is enough to soften the clay a bit. Whatever you do, do not warm it in an oven or microwave; you could damage the appliance and there is a fire danger.
A good useable size for doing your car is 1 ounce (28 grams) or ¼ of our 4-ounce bar. Just cut it in half, then in half again. Work it in your hands until it is soft enough to squish into a pad about the size of a business card and ¼″ thick. As you clay your car, keep folding it to expose fresh clean clay. The 1-ounce pad should do one full-size car. Don't use the clay if you can feel grit in it otherwise it will scratch your paint. It's cheap; use a fresh piece if it becomes contaminated.
DIRECTIONS:
- Car needs to be FRESHLY WASHED.
A dirty car will load up the clay with dirt which shortens the useful life of the product and can damage your paint. - Work only a small area at a time (2' x 2'). Wet the paint thoroughly with clay lubricant.
- Rub the Car Clay lightly back and forth across the paint. You should be able to feel it work; the bar gets easier to glide as the surface gets smoother. The clay needs to be floated across the surface of the paint on a thin film of lubricant. Keep the area flooded with lubricant. Do not press hard. The clay should float across the paint on a layer of lubricant.
- Every so often, fold the clay to expose a fresh surface. One bar should last for 2 or 3 cars.
- Clay smudges (from rubbing too hard) can be removed with normal car polishes and cleaner/waxes.
- Wax car for lasting protection. A quality wax is your car's primary defense against further spikes as well as the dulling effects of sun, road grit and every-day wear and tear. Wax fills up the pores helping to prevent moisture from getting through to the sheet metal.
Fold the clay frequently to expose fresh clay. The clay is easy to form into any shape. A handy size is about the size of a business card.
If you can see any contaminants in the clay, you can simply pinch them out and throw away that small amount of clay that comes with the contaminant.
We suggest you divide the bar into smaller pieces so you start off with fresh clay for each car. About 1 ounce / 28 grams / ¼ of a bar is a good size.
Remember: don't press down — let the clay glide on a layer of lubricant. Use plenty of spray lubricant.
Remember: keep your clay clean.
Clay bar application lubricant
The clay needs to be floated across the surface of the paint on a thin film of lubricant. You can use Meguires Quick Detailer, Mothers Instant Detailer or any number of other manufacturers' version of detailer spray, but you can easily make your own lube spray for pennies per quart. Here is the recipe the pros use — people who do hundreds of cars per month:
- Add 4 oz. of common rubbing alcohol to a clean 1-quart spray bottle. You can get rubbing alcohol at any drug store or super-market and even most convenience stores. It may be labeled as "isopropyl alcohol" or "isopropanol". The cheaper 70% solution is preferred.
- Fill up the rest of the way with distilled water.
- Add three to five drops of liquid dishwashing detergent. No more.
Clay Bar Instructions Only page • Printable PDF version of the instructions • Car page • acme novelties
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| qty | description | cost | buy now |
| 1 | 4 ounce (114 gram) clay bar — enough for two or three cars: | $8.00 |
Car Car Myths and Facts: What clay bar is and isn't:
Using a clay bar on your paint is a remedial measure. It is a way to repair paint problems caused by infrequent waxing and exposure to the elements. If you wax your car regularly and keep it in a garage, out of the elements, you should only need to clay bar it once. Every time you wax you can feel for spikes and maybe after two years you need to clay bar again. But in general, the clay bar treatment is for paint that has been neglected or is outside a lot.
I often hear people brag about how they clay bar their paint before every wax job. This is simply not necessary and does nothing to enhance a properly cared-for car. Once again, it is a remedial measure, taken to remedy sub-optimal car care.
Clay bar does not protect your paint in any way whatsoever. All the normal polishing and waxing products and techniques as sold and described by the major quality manufacturers of car care products still apply.
Many people are confused by the words "polish" and "wax". A lot of that confusion is perpetrated by manufacturers — usually not of car care products; they're usually helpful in their explanations — but by other household products like furniture "polish." Here is a very simple way to remember the difference between polish and wax:
- Polishing removes material. In the case of your car, it is removing small amounts of paint and oxidation. Car polish is the finest and final abrasive in removing scratches, swirl marks and haze and making your paint as smooth and reflective as possible. Some polishes may contain material to help restore gloss but this is secondary to the real purpose of polish: to be the finest, final abrasive.
- Waxing adds material. In the case of your car, a thin layer of hardened wax is left on the paint to repel water and protect the paint from air and contaminants.
The proper order for bringing a tired finish to showroom shine is:
- Wash thoroughly.
- Use a compound on dull paint.
- Clay bar off the spikes.
- Polish to remove compound swirls and fine scratches.
- Wax to protect.