Clay Bar

[GPowner]

I keep hearing about this clay bar. I just bought a 2004 Pontiac. Is it necessary to clay the car before i wax, the exterior is in excellent shape. Here's a pic

[Mike Phillips]

The way you can tell if any car, new or old, needs to be clayed is to feel the surface with your clean hand after washing, if you feel little bumps on the surface, then yes, it needs to be clayed.

[Tim Lingor]

Hey,

Generally, I would encourage anyone to clay a brand new vehicle. Many times, the paint will have bonded contaminents such as rail dust etc on the surface. For the time it takes, it is definitely worth it, IMHO!

Tim

[Mark2]

I must agree with Mike and 2hotford.
I myself did it to my brand new Volvo(after asking the same question) and it (the claybar) looked clean afterwards, but it doesn't take much time claying and you want the car to be really clean before doing anything else to the paint.

Good luck, and nice car by the way

[GPowner]

Thanks, I picked up a mothers california clay bar kit.

[gb387]

You will find the clay bar will remove bonded contaminates very well, as others said even on a new car its a good idea to use a CB on it.

What other step are you going to take? What are you going to apply for your wax?

[snappylips]

Originally posted by GPowner
Thanks, I picked up a mothers california clay bar kit.

Perfect. Now can log in to Mothers website and tell them you'll be putting a coat or two of 21 on when you're done claying.

SL

[GPowner]

I just need a 12-pack of Killians Irish Red and i'll be ready to clean

[RamAirV1]

Originally posted by 2hotford
Hey,

Generally, I would encourage anyone to clay a brand new vehicle. Many times, the paint will have bonded contaminents such as rail dust etc on the surface. For the time it takes, it is definitely worth it, IMHO!

Tim

My last 4 cars had rail dust on them when I took delivery of them! I'm glad the dealers didn't try to remove it because they would have used an abrasive with a rotary and removed half of the clearcoat!

Yes, you definitely should clay. If you can't find Meguiars Clay locally, get some Clay Magic, it works very well too. Or you can go to a PBE and get some Overspray Clay.

RamAirV1

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by snappylips
Perfect. Now can log in to Mothers website and tell them you'll be putting a coat or two of 21 on when you're done claying.

SL

[Stepinfetch]

Originally posted by Mike Phillips

I dont get it. What is 21. :newb:

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by Stepinfetch
I dont get it. What is 21. :newb:

21 is a reference to M21, our new Synthetic Paint Sealant. Click the below link to read 2hotford's review...

Tim's Review of M21



Click the below link to locate M21 on our new E-store...

Meguiar's #21 Synthetic Sealant

[Stepinfetch]

I just clayed my whole car tonight with Mothers Clay Bar set and it was amazing, my paint is sooooooooooo smooth EVERYWHERE. I choose Mothers Over Meguiars this time (this is rare!) for 3 reasons.

1. Price, I think the clay bar for Meguiars is 22 dollars, and its just the bars. This included 2 bars however, but I dont need 2 bars. If I am going to clay my car I am going to only need one bar not two, I think having a set with one would be much better if its cheaper. Mothers had 1 clay bar plus a full quick spray and small bottle of wax for roughly 16 dollars.

2. Availibility, I saw Mothers looking me in the face every where but only found Meguairs at one place I think it was a local Auto Parts Store.

3. Ease of doing the whole process. As in, Mothers has for only around 16 dollars every thing you need such as the spray, wax (even though I did not use this, I used Meguirs 3 step), and 1 clay bar. I wish Meguiars had a complete set availible at stores with only one clay bar and one full detailing spray, with no wax. This would be perfect for my needs.

I cannot say anything about how good Meguiars clay bars work because I have never tried them. However when it comes to something like this I would have had to spend about 34+ bucks compared to 16. (22 dollars for clay bars, about 6-10 bucks for the detailing spray [depending on the quility], and maby 6 bucks for the wax.)

Any thoughts on why this is so much more money, the results on Mothers was extroddinary, I find it hard to believe it could have been much better with Meguiars as compared to price.
Just my 2 cents, wanted to let ya know. Thanks!

[Tim Lingor]

Hey,

Thanks for sharing your comments on Meguiar's Online!

Just so you are aware, Meguiar's does offer a set "with only one clay bar and one full detailing spray, with no wax" . It is called the Quik Clay System! Plus with Meguiar's suggested retail of $9.99, I believe this should meet your criteria!

Quik Clay System



The clay you may have be looking at is the Detailing Clay from the Professional Series of products which are more designed for Pro Detailers. It comes in 2 grades: C-2000 Mild and C-2100 Aggressive. Each contains a 200 gram bar of clay whereas the Mother's Kit contains a 80 gram bar.

Most detailers do not use one whole bar on a single detail job; but rather break into smaller pieces for future use. I, like many others, usually clay my vehicles 3 times a year as bonded contaminents occur from daily driving.

Thanks for visiting Meguiar's Online!

Tim

[Stepinfetch]

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I cant find that anywhere but online! O well. Thanks!