clay vs other options

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CowboyTruckn

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I'm new here. Pretty avid car guy. Have my own side gig detailing cars. I have always used mild clay. Interested in some of the other options such as the towels, sponges etc that are rubbery and can be dropped and cleaned. How long do they last in comparison? Cheaper in the long run? Better cleaning? Safer? Any answers are great. Write me a book, how to manual, etc I will read them all
 
I use the medium grade prep towels for 90% of my work and the fine grade sponges for soft paints.

The towels are cheaper, faster, and remove contamination better. I just replaced my first towel and it did almost 100 vehicles for me, some of which felt like sand paper when I started decontaminating. It was still working well but I just felt like it was time for a new one.

I will never use clay again if I have the choice.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using AG Online
 
I use a medium grade nano skin block or sponge and it is much faster to prep for polishing and it has already lasted much longer than a block of clay at a fraction of the cost. I don't use it if I'm not going to be polishing though because I figure the contaminates it pulls off doesn't really have anywhere to escape like it can be absorbed by clay. So I use it way more than clay, but I still have clay on hand for when I need it.
 
I love the speedy prep clay towels/ nanoskin autoscrubbers. However I still like to use a brand new clay bar on higher end vehicles, maybe just habit.

I've used the nanoskin medium grade pad on a pc to remove heavy industrial overspray, I had to replace it after 3 vehicles however this was an extreme case of use. Otherwise they seem to last forever for light usage.
 
I have always clayed my truck as well as other peoples vehicles. Just ordered some speedy prep sponges! Hopefully cut down on my time
 
I'm wanting to try something different. What item (blocks, towels, mitts, da) and what band do you use?
 
I use the Nanoskin fine mitt won't use anything else really. Once in a while I still have to use clay on a really bad car. What every you pick it will save you lots of time and product.
 
So where do the particles that have been pulled out of the paint go? Are they safely absorbed into the nano skin ? With clay they are kind of absorbed into the clay. I ordered a nano skin sponge but have not tried it yet.
 
spence said:
So where do the particles that have been pulled out of the paint go? Are they safely absorbed into the nano skin ? With clay they are kind of absorbed into the clay. I ordered a nano skin sponge but have not tried it yet.
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greatwhitenorth said:
I use a medium grade nano skin block or sponge and it is much faster to prep for polishing and it has already lasted much longer than a block of clay at a fraction of the cost. I don't use it if I'm not going to be polishing though because I figure the contaminates it pulls off doesn't really have anywhere to escape like it can be absorbed by clay. So I use it way more than clay, but I still have clay on hand for when I need it.
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I still use both
 
While the Nanoskin Med Mitt has worked well for rapid decontamination, it does not work well (or at all) for those stubborn orange specks that are commonly found on white cars. On the other hand, any clay bar seems to take those specks out with no problems.
 
My mitt Takes the orange specks off my white truck. But furthermore you should be using a pre decam product like iron x before the mitt. The iron deposits( orange specks) should melt away w/ iron x.
 
I just used the nanoskin fine grit on my new camaro. You could tell this car sat outside for a while. So I fiquired I would clean-up the outside first. I dawned it then used the towel with alot of spray detail and you could feel and hear the towel taking off the grit and stuff. Took me only a couple of passes to make the surface clean and smooth.

Of course this is IMHO....

:props:
 
Love the clayed surface feeling, but don't like the claying process that much (hard work and time consuming), although we all know it worth any effort... For some time I've looked for alternatives.

First one I've tried was nanoskin 6' medium pad to use on DA, and I must admit I was amazed. At least 4x times faster, effortless (the machine do the work), and pretty much same results than claying*. Great product!

However, I've found that the 6' pad has some limitations (it's obvious because there are at least 25-30% of the car (if not more) you can't hit with such large pad, also it's not the best in corners), so I've ordered the towel to get more feel/control and accessibility.

Unfortunately, the dealer (local one) sent me the Car Pro block (sponge) instead of the clay towel...

I do like the block, but for me it's huge limitation is it's small to medium size. It do works, but 'hitting' the whole car with the block maybe almost the same work of claying without the 'kneading and beading' process*. Ah, for sure you have a better grip, maybe more durability (as related), also, it's easier to use (if you let if fall, just rinse)...

Finally, and based on my experience with those clay alternative, I've ordered nanoskin fine grade Mitt this weekend (25%!!).

I have never used the clay mitt before, but from what I've used of those clay alternatives I believe it will be better than both 6' pad and clay block in the sense of easiness to use / method of application / size.

I've choose the Fine Mitt because the others I have are medium grade. If I had the '$$', I would order both, fine and medium mitt.

* = What one must keep in mind when using those clay alternatives is that they work wonders, however they do mar the paint. At first I was really worried (what a messed and crap look), but after one pass of any polish like M205 the marring goes away, so it's not an issue.

However, I do recommend that the first time you use a product like this (do the break in on glass as recommended first), do a test spot. If you get marring, go for the polishing step on your test spot. Does it removes the marring as easy as I related? If yes, go on and mar the whole vehicle! After polishing you'll be amazed.

I don't mind this marring issue because 100% times I clay I go for at least one polishing step...

Also, as I've not used the Fine Grade yet, I have a question for those who used it: Is it effective enough?

What I do think is the medium grade will do the work, with more surface marring (maybe just faster), but as related it's not an issue.

By the way, ordered the fine grade to follow our maximum: 'try the least aggressive approach first'.

Also, for those clay alternatives, I didn't find differences between using clay lube or car wash soap. Although I prefer the lube with 6' clay Pad (less mess), I tend to go for soap with the sponge, as I pretend doing with the mitt.

I also don't recommend for those using the Mitt to use it to wash the vehicle, and clay with the same mitt after. Imagine if you get contaminants from wash and 'scrub' then back while claying, this can ruin your vehicle.

What I do see is the best practice is to use the 'mitt' side to spread soap as lubricant (start from a very clean wash bucket), and use the 'clay' side to actually clay the car. Working really clean.

Another tip I've found useful is to make 'passes' front to back, side to side (even by hand with the block), to get the most of your clay alternative.

Indeed, always have a piece of 'ordinary (hehe)' clay for the smallest and tricky areas.

Here we go, nice topic indeed!

Kind Regards.
 
I use a fine grade towel. I soak the panel and go up and down, side to side then rotate the towel so the grooves the other way and repeat.

Sent from my LG-E970 using Tapatalk 2
 
I have the Nanoskin medium and fine pads. I've only tried the fine pad on a black Chevy Avalanche, and it did mar the paint. Polish did remove the marring, but you'll be quite surprised the first time you use this product.
 
The Critic said:
While the Nanoskin Med Mitt has worked well for rapid decontamination, it does not work well (or at all) for those stubborn orange specks that are commonly found on white cars.
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Do you have a photo of this you could post? I've had various white vehicles over the past 15 years and have never seen that. Maybe it has something to do with living in the desert. Is this something you mainly see in wet/humid climates?
 
SR99 said:
Do you have a photo of this you could post? I've had various white vehicles over the past 15 years and have never seen that. Maybe it has something to do with living in the desert. Is this something you mainly see in wet/humid climates?
Click to expand...

I am not sure, but I will get a picture of the next one I see.
 
orange specs only occur if you live in climates that go below freezing and use salt on the roads. brake dust actually freezes releasing iron particulates along the bottom portion of the paint. Also if your vehicle was transported by train, rail dust will cause the same effect. Every car has those 'orange specs' but you tend to notice them more on white paintwork.
 
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