What do you use for physical decon?

0

04lss

Active member
Joined
Sep 25, 2016
Messages
387
Reaction score
207
I have been using the Griots synthetic clay for years, but need something for my next set of coatings. I am wondering if I should get a clay towel or just get some old school clay from the local walmart. What is everyone using these days?
 
IME nothing beats the old school clay. And the best claybar I’ve ever used by far is the Meguiars Mirror Glaze Professional Claybars.

Especially dealing with the heavy air pollution we see here in Los Angeles where the bonded contaminants can be extreme on alot of vehicles I simply can’t be without the Aggressive Claybar. It’s a lifesaver and amazingly doesn’t even marr paint. [I use plenty of lube]
I like it so much that the can on the top hasn’t even been opened yet, but I make sure to have it because I know I’ll need it soon.

And the Mild Claybar is equally good in its own different way because it’s so smooth to work with and on lightly contaminated vehicles the user experience is 10/10.

8effc15f8b4b91373e0ae940e58d5318.jpg



I’ve tried many claybars over the years, everything from the OTC Megs & Mothers to the cheap Chinese blue bars that are stiff as heck and bearly work at all, synthetic towels & mitts that work to a point and sometimes marr the heck out of paint and I’ll never go back to anything less than the best.
It’s like once you buy the best wash mitt you never want to go back to the cheap basic mitt again.
 
Eldorado2k said:
IME nothing beats the old school clay. And the best claybar I’ve ever used by far is the Meguiars Mirror Glaze Professional Claybars.

Especially dealing with the heavy air pollution we see here in Los Angeles where the bonded contaminants can be extreme on alot of vehicles I simply can’t be without the Aggressive Claybar. It’s a lifesaver and amazingly doesn’t even marr paint. [I use plenty of lube]
I like it so much that the can on the top hasn’t even been opened yet, but I make sure to have it because I know I’ll need it soon.

And the Mild Claybar is equally good in its own different way because it’s so smooth to work with and on lightly contaminated vehicles the user experience is 10/10.

8effc15f8b4b91373e0ae940e58d5318.jpg



I’ve tried many claybars over the years, everything from the OTC Megs & Mothers to the cheap Chinese blue bars that are stiff as heck and bearly work at all, synthetic towels & mitts that work to a point and sometimes marr the heck out of paint and I’ll never go back to anything less than the best.
It’s like once you buy the best wash mitt you never want to go back to the cheap basic mitt again.
Click to expand...
What are you usually using as your lube solution?
 
Eldorado2k said:
IME nothing beats the old school clay. And the best claybar I’ve ever used by far is the Meguiars Mirror Glaze Professional Claybars.

Especially dealing with the heavy air pollution we see here in Los Angeles where the bonded contaminants can be extreme on alot of vehicles I simply can’t be without the Aggressive Claybar. It’s a lifesaver and amazingly doesn’t even marr paint. [I use plenty of lube]
I like it so much that the can on the top hasn’t even been opened yet, but I make sure to have it because I know I’ll need it soon.

And the Mild Claybar is equally good in its own different way because it’s so smooth to work with and on lightly contaminated vehicles the user experience is 10/10.

8effc15f8b4b91373e0ae940e58d5318.jpg



I’ve tried many claybars over the years, everything from the OTC Megs & Mothers to the cheap Chinese blue bars that are stiff as heck and bearly work at all, synthetic towels & mitts that work to a point and sometimes marr the heck out of paint and I’ll never go back to anything less than the best.
It’s like once you buy the best wash mitt you never want to go back to the cheap basic mitt again.
Click to expand...
Eldo, i do thankyou for turning me onto the megs clay bars. They work great! Have not used anything but those since
 
Silly Rabbit said:
What are you usually using as your lube solution?
Click to expand...

McKee’s N914 @1:128. i mix it up by the gallon and use it like I stole it because it’s cheap & plentiful.

I can easily go through 3 maybe even 4 refills of the 1.5L Kwazar pump sprayer while I’m claying a vehicle. I wouldn’t be surprised if I refill 5 times. I’ve never actually counted but I know for sure I typically refill it several times.

Brrr said:
Liberal tears.
Click to expand...

That made me laugh. I’ve actually never thought twice when using that term in regards to detailing, but now that it’s been brought to light I’ll probably use a different word to describe because “liberal tears” are weak and would probably lead to terrible marring… It’s officially been jinxed!Lol.

What the hell was I even thinking? Lol.

opie said:
Eldo, i do thankyou for turning me onto the megs clay bars. They work great! Have not used anything but those since
Click to expand...

That’s what’s up, brother.
 
Eldo, how do you feel about the claybars you can buy in the non pro meguiars kit? those are available locally.
 
04lss said:
Eldo, how do you feel about the claybars you can buy in the non pro meguiars kit? those are available locally.
Click to expand...

They’re “ok” but they used to be better. They used to be more pliable but they changed them a bit and now they’re sort of stiff and not as easy to knead + they’re smaller now, which for the consumer I guess might be ideal but they’re sort of small. They give you 3 or 4 so they still give you enough, but they’re individually wrapped so unless you open up 2 packs you’re dealing with this small sized bar and it has its little differences with being stiff and it’s really mild in comparison so if you were to run into a vehicle that’s really caked with contaminants you’re going to battle for a Long time.

I almost wouldn’t even attempt to clay a heavily contaminated vehicle with 1 of these white bars [maybe if I opened up all 3 packs] but even then it would take at least twice as long maybe longer and it can be alot of work.

But on a normal vehicle with light contamination they do work and 1 great thing about the white OTC bar is that you get to see the contaminants come onto the white bar and turns it brown, whereas the Red Aggressive bar you bearly see them unless it’s Super contaminated and even then you sort of see it but it almost disappears into the bar quickly.

You do see it on the Blue Mild bar too, but it’s blue so the White bar is where you see them the most, but in the end it’s just a visual thing and getting the paint smooth & clean is what’s most important.

You can see the difference in size. Also, when working with the Professional claybar I don’t mess around and break it up into pieces, just use the entire thing it just works perfect. It’s large and in charge and gets the job done.

a1b98f5e84903971539e51ab39d43459.jpg

6b4cb64dd1b7d700678e0c2ae70f1b8e.jpg
 
Ha, they did change the shape on that white one. Must have been a post-patent change. Funny how things didn't really change much when the patent ran out.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Ha, they did change the shape on that white one. Must have been a post-patent change. Funny how things didn't really change much when the patent ran out.
Click to expand...

Apparently the best claybars are made in Japan… The Mirror Glaze bars are made in Japan. I wonder where the new OTC claybars are made.
 
For me, the physical decon method I use depends on the situation. If it's a car that's never been detailed before, or isn't well maintained, I use a claybar. For my own cars or those I know are well maintained, I'll go with a claymitt.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DFB
Eldorado2k said:
Apparently the best claybars are made in Japan… The Mirror Glaze bars are made in Japan. I wonder where the new OTC claybars are made.
Click to expand...
You made me dig out an old Clay Magic box, which also says made in Japan. The inventor and patent-holder was in Japan, I can't remember anymore whether Auto Magic (parent of Clay Magic) had an exclusive license to the patent, or only here in the US, but at any rate they controlled the sale of clay here in the US until the patents ran out.

When I first joined Autopia in 2004, there was a whole thing going on with a competitor, Erazer, which the owner felt skirted the patents because it was an elastic clay, vs. the plastic of the Clay Magic et al. The courts didn't agree, and enjoined him from making the clay (for the US, anyway, it was Auto Magic that sued him). However, he violated the injunction and was fined so much it put him out of business.

There were a lot of people that liked the Erazer better than the Clay Magic, so much that...I can't remember the company, up in Canada, was selling an Erazer-like clay as "Ricardo Clay" and shipping it down here to the US, not sure how he was getting away with that, but he stopped around the time the patents ran out. The other clay way back that was like the Erazer was the Opti-Clay, but after Erazer went out Optimum switched to the Clay Magic type.

David Fermani, who was/is a member here and at Autopia, would only use Clay Magic and he claimed that even though Auto Magic was responsible for all the other clay sold at that time in the US, the Clay Magic formula was exclusive to them and none of the other clays were exactly the same.

I was very surprised when the patents expired that there wasn't an explosion of cheap clay and the return of elastic clays, but maybe the market had been so reduced by Iron X type products and clay substitute products that no one really cared.

Here's a thread and amazingly a picture that survived since 2008:

www.autopia.org

Erazer Elisti-clay claybar

I just found a cache of Erazer Elasti-clays, the holy grail of clays. Ever since the Auto Magic fiasco, i have not found a retailer that sells these in the US. It is arguably one of the best clays because it does not marr the paint, and it does not crumble due to its insane elasticity...
www.autopia.org www.autopia.org

clay2.JPG
 
I'm with Eldo, however I will use some clay alternatives/mitts/etc. I do like their aggressive clay, it is great for heavily contaminated vehicles.
 
I started with the Mother's yellow clay bars in the mid-2000's, from memory they were very user friendly and appeared to be effective.



Has anyone tried the Bilt Hamber clay bars? I was sent all three but only briefly used the "regular" version, which I found too grabby and hard to knead for my liking. Strangely, the come laced with what appears talcum powder, wrapped in paper and sealed in a plastic container.

Regular –
If the vehicle is heavily contaminated, has never been clay-barred before, or it’s hot summertime then use Regular. All clay bars become firmer when cold and softer when warm.

Medium –
For paintwork that is in a reasonable condition, Medium will be preferred. The easier folding of the clay to expose a fresh working surface will be very beneficial.

Soft –
If paint is in good condition, if you like to clay your vehicle frequently or indeed if the weather is cold, then use Soft.
Click to expand...

Our clay bars are designed to effortlessly restore the factory smooth finish to paint finishes. They have received critical acclaim in the detailing industry for being the most durable, cost effective and well-designed clay-bars available today.

Auto Express magazine, a giant in the car magazine world, has awarded Auto-Clay with their Best Clay Bar Award every year for the last five! Also, they compared the clay-cloths to clay-bars in one recent test, where they concluded that bars were better, and that Auto-Clay was the pick of the bunch once again!
Click to expand...

They are generously sized, 2.5in x 2.5in x 1.0in and made in England.





 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top