is this true (clay bar)

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Also a lot of auto manufactures tell you not to do anything to your cars paint.
And tire manufactures tell you not to use dressing.
I don't listen to them

Clay was a game changer, before clay we had to buff off the contaminates, no fun.

I agree with all of the above. Over the years I've read what manufactures recommend in the owners manual of their cars it's it's really the most plain, vanilla recommendations a person could come up with.

Their recommendations are purposefully made so that the least skilled person won't mess up their paint job. Nothing I've ever read by any company has any REAL, SPECIFIC good information.

In fact, my how-to book covers EVERYTHING a person would need to know and do to their car no matter what the make and model because it starts out explaining to the owner of a car first, a little bit about PAINT HISTORY, so a person that knows NOTHING about their car's finish now has a little background information.

Then I introduce and re-enforce how THIN the paint is on their brand new car.

Then I stress the importance of always using the least aggressive product to maintain and restore their car's finish and and on and on and on the book goes. Not bragging but my how-to book covers everything a person needs to know to take care of their car's paint. From brand new cars to neglected cars.

It includes multiple ways to decontaminate the exterior, including clay, Iron-X, Speedy Prep Towels, Nanoskin Autoscrub pad, and more.

And I'll stick to what I already posted and anyone can copy and paste this all over the Internet because it's true.

If your car's paint is contaminated with "something" sooner or later you're going to have to "touch it" with something to make the paint smooth again.

So pick your poise...

I love this article because it's true and the pictures are amazing. And we used CLAY to get the paint smooth again.

Gloss starts first with a smooth surface...

This is the definition of a high gloss finish!

And in the write-up for this extreme show truck makeover,

1954 Ford F-100 - Extreme Makeover - Process and products used



I explain very clearly that when we worked on this truck the paint job was less than one year old. Can you say... new paint job? Not only a new paint job but a custom paint job on a show truck.

Yet, when I clayed just one half of the roof, look at what the clay removed...

This truck was re-painted approximately one year ago but just from exposure to the outdoors has made the paint vulnerable to air-borne contaminants...

This shot was taken with my trusty, dusty Canon Rebel with the flash on after claying the roof...

Without the flash on here's what the clay looks like and this is what it looked like in person... The roof and the other horizontal panels pretty much felt like sandpaper before we started.

Ewww....

Besides restoring gloss, by removing the film of contaminants off the paint you'll make machine polishing easier, safer and more effective and enable your choice of wax or paint sealant to better be able to bond to the paint.

And keep in mind, I would not call this a LARGE roof and I only clayed one half of it and my buddy Adam clayed the other half. (see the write-up, all the pictures are there).

This is a small roof by anyone's standards...

Please feel free to copy and paste all of the above to any forum as the write-up for the above Ford truck is a really good how-to article on how to,

Decontaminate paint
Remove swirls
Create a true show car finish

Speaking of Clay and the like...

What is the absolute most gentle clay that Autogeek offers?

I believer the Pinnacle Ultra Poly Clay is an "Ultra Fine Grade Clay" and from my experience a very high quality clay perfectly suited for maintaining daily drivers.

We used it recently for the BMW Club that came to Autogeek for a detailing class...


Everglades BMW Club at Autogeek!



This last Saturday members from the Everglades BMW Club caravaned to Autogeek here in sunny Stuart, Florida for one of my Saturday Car Club Mini Clinics.

There were approximately 20 members who attended and had a chance to see how to safely remove swirls, scratches and water spots using Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover and Wolfgang Finishing Glaze with both the Porter Cable 7424XP DA Polisher and the Flex 3401 Forced Rotation Dual Action Polisher.



There were a few members that had never tried out detailing clay to remove contaminants off paint so after wiping the car clean using Detailer's Waterless Auto Wash we clayed the paint.

Note the color of the clay in the lady's hand, that's the green Pinnacle Ultra Poly Clay...

Here's the clay in question...

Pinnacle Ultra Poly Clay


Just to finish my contribution to this thread and then I have to move on...

After washing and drying your car, FEEL the paint with your clean hand. If you like, use the Baggie Test.


The Baggie Test - How to inspect for above surface bonded contaminants

If after you feel the paint you discover any type of little bumps or surface texture, AND if you want to restore a smooth surface for the reasons I outline here,

The 4 primary benefits of using detailing clay to clay paint


Then at some point you're going to have to "touch" the paint with something and detailing clay is just one of many options.

Do some research and then decide which option is best for you and your car. If you choose to using detailing clay, I recommend to plan on doing at least one machine polishing step afterwards to remove any accidental marring whether you can see it or not.

Also keep in mind it's a good idea to re-apply a coat of wax, sealant or a coating after claying to seal the paint.



3-Categories: Waxes, Paint Sealants and Coatings



We clayed this car too...


1970 Barracuda Extreme Makeover


Before

Completely filled with holograms from the mis-use of a rotary buffer!

After

And this one...



Video & Pictures - GTechniq Makeover - 2012 High Voltage Yellow Scion tC 7.0


Before

Swirls, water spots and scratches...

After

 

[SR99]

Yes, detailing clay contains abrasives.

It is mechanically abrading the contaminants, not chemically breaking them down.

During manufacturing, the abrasive grits are mixed in with the plastic resin base, along with some proprietary ingredients (some type of detergent according to the patents).

Detailing clay may contains grit sizes equivalent to 3000 grit. Quite likely, even coarser in some formulations, since 3000 grit is at the fine extreme of the grit size range noted in patents.

The presence of 3000 grit particles in detailing clay does not make it equivalent to 3000 grit sandpaper. Detailing clay doesn't work the same way as sandpaper and isn't constructed the same way as sandpaper.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Yes, detailing clay contains abrasives.

It is mechanically abrading the contaminants, not chemically breaking them down.

During manufacturing, the abrasive grits are mixed in with the plastic resin base, along with some proprietary ingredients (some type of detergent according to the patents).

Detailing clay may contains grit sizes equivalent to 3000 grit. Quite likely, even coarser in some formulations, since 3000 grit is at the fine extreme of the grit size range noted in patents.

The presence of 3000 grit particles in detailing clay does not make it equivalent to 3000 grit sandpaper. Detailing clay doesn't work the same way as sandpaper and isn't constructed the same way as sandpaper.

Good post... I cover some of the above in my how-to book, including the wording of the actual patent.

One thing for sure... clay has been successfully used for going on 3 decades here in America and longer in the home of it's origin, Japan plus I think it's pretty much used universally around the world.

At all my classes, ALL OF THEM over the last 25 years, I always ask this question,

Who here today has NEVER used detailing clay?

There are always people that raise their hands. Always.


Detailing clay is a good tool and knowing how to properly clay is a good skill to have under your belt. Every car I detail gets decontaminated using some forum of mechanical contamination removal tool and sometimes this tool is detailing clay. I like using the Pinnacle Ultra Poly Clay because it's an ultra fine grade and about as safe as you can get when it comes to the process of claying.

Here's an older video we made when I first came to Autogeek, in it I explain in detail how clay actually works, most videos don't share the why and how, just the what-to-to steps.

Show Car Garage Video: How detailing clay works and how to use detailing clay to remove above surface bonded contaminants

Part 1 - How To Use Detailing Clay
[video=youtube_share;gfxAesk4Po4"]YouTube- Part 1 - How to use detailing clay[/video]​

Part 2 - How To Use Detailing Clay
[video=youtube_share;opfK408uIxM"]YouTube- Part 2 - How to use detailing clay[/video]​

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