clay bars

ltoman

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is there really a difference between them, and if so,why?

i used pinnacle (green) on the vette, no prob.

i have used clay magic on the other cars. differences?

and is cm responsible for the little white spots, like in grimmm's photo? why?
 
There are different degrees of course ness in the clay but I not sure there is much difference between the brands. I recently used Wolfgang Elastic Poly Clay on my van which had all kinds on junk on the paint. It's amazing how good clay works. Whoever the person was in Japan who thought of using clay to clean paint on a car deserves an award.
 
Pinnacle Ultra Poly Clay (green) is ultra fine grade, and can be used as aften as needed. It suppese not to remove any wax/sealant protection. Sealant - probably yes, as far as wax - I'd rather rewax quickly.
Other grades clay are usually medium grade, and will for sure remove any wax/sealant protection. Designed to be used 2-3 times a year on a lot of contaminents.
 
supercharged said:
Pinnacle Ultra Poly Clay (green) is ultra fine grade, and can be used as aften as needed. It suppese not to remove any wax/sealant protection. Sealant - probably yes, as far as wax - I'd rather rewax quickly.
Other grades clay are usually medium grade, and will for sure remove any wax/sealant protection. Designed to be used 2-3 times a year on a lot of contaminents.

so clay magic, vs mothers or meg's - no difference?
 
ltoman said:
so clay magic, vs mothers or meg's - no difference?
They all have their differences, i.e. fine, medium grade etc. Personally I happen to really like the bars from Meg's Smooth Surface kit, not sure what they are, think medium grade.
 
This is a great topic, since I just started using the Pinnacle clay bar.

Could you guys explain the difference in color? Does it represent anything? Does it mean anything?

I have a Meg's Quick Clay and the bar is white? Any one know what grade this is?
 
I'm not sure if color-coding is the same from manufacturer to manufacturer. I just stick with Sonus clays where I know that green is fine and gray is medium.
 
What happened to Pinnacle's Poly Clay?? I ordered a bar during the sale and now it isn't on the site anymore. I am planning on using Ultra Poly Clay once and month, but figure I'll use the regular poly clay for areas that need it.
 
No way!!!!!!!! Are you sure?????
 
Maybe Megan is going to send each one of us a clay bar for the New Year!





Hey I can dream can't I?
 
paradog said:
Maybe Megan is going to send each one of us a clay bar for the New Year!





Hey I can dream can't I?

totally cool!! hee hee
 
ltoman said:
is there really a difference between them, and if so,why?

i used pinnacle (green) on the vette, no prob.

i have used clay magic on the other cars. differences?

and is cm responsible for the little white spots, like in grimmm's photo? why?

There are different clay bars as far as abrasiveness, [megs red], and sizes. However most regular clay is the same as its manufactured at one plant, and distributed to sellers in the us. Now there are beter grades than others, but any reputable name should offer good clay :)
 
ltoman said:
so clay magic, vs mothers or meg's - no difference?
Never used clay magic. Byut speaking of Meguiar's (not their professional clay, that comes in 7 oz bars) and Mothers I personally prefer Mothers. It is softer clay and easier to work with. In addition I just love Showtime QD.
 
supercharged said:
Never used clay magic. Byut speaking of Meguiar's (not their professional clay, that comes in 7 oz bars) and Mothers I personally prefer Mothers. It is softer clay and easier to work with. In addition I just love Showtime QD.


yes you have ... Clay Majic outsources to all the large labels. Box might say one thing, but underneath it was the same.
 
killrwheels@autogeek said:
yes you have ... Clay Majic outsources to all the large labels. Box might say one thing, but underneath it was the same.

So are you saying that Pinnacle, DP & Wolfgang are really Clay Majic?
 
Reddwarf said:
So are you saying that Pinnacle, DP & Wolfgang are really Clay Majic?

see my post above. basically, tehnically, yes. But there are different grades and sizes.
 
When someone owns a patent, you either license it for your use, or well you go without. The color and abrasive level can be somewhat modified by unfortunately clay is still a conglomerate.
 
Most manufacturers colorize the plastic to identify differing abrasive strengths (i.e. Clay Magic Blue is a fine to medium abrasive, whereas the Red is a medium abrasive) It is also very effective on paint over-spray, if the over-spray is particularly heavy, you may want to seek the assistance of a professional. http://www.claymagic.net/

Note- Colouring varies by reseller

a)Ultra- Fine- (Green) clay that abrades or shears light surface or imbedded paint contamination and encapsulates it. This type of clay is mild enough for frequent use without overly abrading the paint surface.
b)Medium- (Blue) clay is used to remove heavier surface contaminants (bird excrement and bug reside) it is more abrasive than the ultra-fine grade and abrades the paint surface, while the clay encapsulates it
c) Medium to Heavy duty- (Red) clay is used to remove paint over-spray; it contains a slightly stronger abrasive that abrades the paint, while the clay encapsulates it

There are only a couple manufactures of clay and patents protect the technology, with some subtle difference
(Elastic and Poly) in consistency and firmness, a recent court hearing found components of the “elastic clay” to be a patent infringement and the judge ordered sale of the product to be halted. (In the United States, Auto Wax Co. (now owned by Illinois Tool Works Inc.) owns the US patent rights for detailing clay

Auto Wax owns six patents relating to clay products and provides private label clay to many of the detail industry’s leading companies - http://www.automagic.biz/specialt.htm

As a result, all of the Polybutene (Polyisobutylene) or plastic clay being manufactured now comes from the same factory in Japan, which as the only patent holder has a monopoly on the market. Meguiars, Mothers, Sonus, Zaino, et al get their clay either from Japan or from a US licensed manufacturer.
But the formulation can vary significantly, mainly;
  • Density or plasticity
  • Abrasive particulate size
  • Abrasive used (i.e. Kaolin, diatomaceous earth, etc)
  • Abrasive density ratio (abrasive content to clay)
Colour (to identify differing abrasive strengths)

 
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