Clay Questions

[GeorgeH]

I read somewhere about clay coming in different levels of agressiveness.
If this is true, what are the different uses or why use one over the other.
I guess I'm looking for the basics on clay? Any help appreciated.


Thanks

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Clay Questions

More aggressive clays use more aggressive abrasives and will remove above surface bonded contaminants faster than less aggressive clays.

More aggressive clays can cause Clay Haze which is a term for scratches or hazing instilled by the clay.


Our most aggressive clay is in our Professional Line because supposedly Professionals are aware of the benefits, (speed), and the drawbacks, (Clay Haze), and if they use an aggressive clay bar and do in fact haze the finish then they know how to use a rotary buffer to remove the haze.

Keep in mind, detail shops and body shops, (The Professional side of the industry), are "production oriented", that is they want to do the job as fast as they can, thus more aggressive clays will remove bonded contaminants faster and in most cases a Pro is going to buff the paint out AFTER claying it so any hazing is of no worry.

Consumers/Enthusiasts on the other hand don't usually understand the difference and don't have the skills, experience or even the tools to recover from Clay Haze.

For most people, our Consumer product, Smooth Surface Clay Kit is more than enough to tackle most of what will come their way.




Does that help?

[GeorgeH]

Re: Clay Questions

Exactly what I was looking for.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Clay Questions

There's this too...

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24151

[gjohn28]

Re: Clay Questions

Mike - sorry if this question has already been answered in some other thread, but is the clay in the Smooth Surface Kit the same aggressiveness as the "mild" clay in the Professional line?

Thanks.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Clay Questions

Mike - sorry if this question has already been answered in some other thread, but is the clay in the Smooth Surface Kit the same aggressiveness as the "mild" clay in the Professional line?

Thanks.

I'll check...

[H.E.D]

Re: Clay Questions

tip dont use aggresive clay on a black car it will scratch as it happened to me once.

[akimel]

Re: Clay Questions

I for one would never ever ever use the aggressive clay--at least not until such time as I acquire the ability and tools to undo the damage, and since I do not anticipate ever learning how to use the rotary, I will religiously avoid the aggressive clay. Or as Dirty Harry wisely put it: "A man's got to know his limitations."

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Clay Questions

tip dont use aggresive clay on a black car it will scratch as it happened to me once.

Does your car have a clear coat or is it a single stage paint?

[gb387]

Re: Clay Questions

Mike - sorry if this question has already been answered in some other thread, but is the clay in the Smooth Surface Kit the same aggressiveness as the "mild" clay in the Professional line?

Thanks.

I asked that question before and it seems it was less agressive than the Mild in the Pro line.

I can tell you I have used both on over spray on the same vehicle, the consumer clay struggled to remove the over spray from house paint, I then went and purchased the mild clay and the difference was night and day the mild tackled to job no problem.

[GeorgeH]

Re: Clay Questions

This is great, more info than I expected and just what I needed too.

[gb387]

Re: Clay Questions

One more thing - look over this thread: Differences between Meguiar's Clay Bars? not totally sure if the smooth surface bar is the same as the old Quik Clay kit but its good reading either way.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Clay Questions

Mike - sorry if this question has already been answered in some other thread, but is the clay in the Smooth Surface Kit the same aggressiveness as the "mild" clay in the Professional line?

Thanks.

Checked with Mike Pennington, our Director of Training and verified that the clay in our Smooth Surface Clay Kit is a tick less aggressive than our Mild Clay in our Professional Line. Also just to note, the Aggressive Clay in our Professional Line is quite a bit more aggressive than our Mild Clay.

In most cases, the clay in the Smooth Surface Clay Kit will tackle the majority of above surface bonded contaminants most people are going to run into on their car's paint.

Using good technique is just as important as using the right clay.

[gjohn28]

Re: Clay Questions

Thanks, Mike.

[srady]

Re: Clay Questions

I press the new clay bar into a 'thin pad' before claying as shown in the video. When the clay bar gets 'dirty' do you guys fold it and press it into a thin pad again or simply et a new one?