clay barring question

[Murr1525]

Re: clay baring question

I have clayed with the car still wet, it seems to work ok. But yeah, dont cheat too much, still use some QD.

[gjohn28]

Re: clay baring question

thanks guys!
what is the different between last touch and M34? which one is doing better on "quick detailer"? because i wanna buy it to use on both lubricantion on clay and quick detailer on the car for wipe off dust... also M34 also can be dilute with water too right? because i heard that some product can't be diluted with water because it will change the formula or something. lastly i found it online that the last touch and M34 is only $2 different(15.99 vs 17.95), so should i get M34?

IMHO Last Touch makes the most sense from a cost and versatility standpoint. Assuming your prices are for a gallon quantity, LT is ~$.13/oz or $.065/oz diluted 1:1 for claying vs M34 at ~$.14/oz. Some even use LT at 1:1 as a quick detailer.

M34 is a great product, but I use it only as a detailer. I don't think it is recommended to dilute M34 for claying.

[the_invisible]

Re: clay baring question

I heard that someone here has been using Last Touch to water ratio of 1:4 for claying. I haven't tried it yet, but someone has used this ratio for claying.

[akimel]

Re: clay baring question

This might not be that related to your question , but the way I usually try to cheat on saving QD is by claying the car when it isn't fully dried yet ( remember my car is in a shaded spot ) So I won't need to spray as much QD to lubricate the clay.

IF IM DOING ANYTHING WRONG PLEASE LET ME KNOW!

I know that some fine professional detailers use their car shampoo as their claying lubricant. Rydawg over at Autopia, for example, does this. His concern is not saving money, though, but avoiding the application of silicone to cars he intends to polish. The disadvantage of car shampoo--so I have read (I don't know if this is true)--is that it prematurely breaks down the claybar.

IMHO, even if you are a professional detailer, cheating on QD as a clay lubricant is the wrong way to save pennies. A gallon of Last Touch will set one back $20. Diluted 1:1, one can safely clay a bunch of cars with a gallon of LT. Perhaps someone out there has actually calculated how many cars, on average, one can clay per gallon. Anyone?

And if one is detailing one's own behicles, it makes absolutely no sense to cheat on clay lubricant!

Just my opinion, of course.

(The smilie icon probably isn't accurate, but heck, I've never had occasion to use it before, and this is the closest I've gotten to climbing on a soapbox in a good while. )

[the_invisible]

Re: clay baring question

Perhaps someone out there has actually calculated how many cars, on average, one can clay per gallon. Anyone?

It depends on the rate of fluid being dispensed by the nozzle. With the ZEP industrial spray bottle purchased at Home Depot, I was wasting ALOT of clay lubricant.

However, with ADS' own brand of nozzle, I am using much less lubricant while getting the job done.

Thanks for the insight about Silicon on paint, Al.

[love67]

Re: clay barring question

so last touch Dilute with water = lubricant for clay and last touch it self = quick detailer?

[Murr1525]

Re: clay barring question

Yeah, Last Touch is very slick, so it prevents the clay from picking up the dirt. Diluting it makes it less slick, but still enough lubrication to be safe on the paint.

[Andy M.]

Re: clay barring question

Ok I found it.

Last Touch - Meguiar's Last Touch Spray Detailer produces incredible depth, shine and gloss. This spray-on, wipe-off product has a unique blend of polymeric lubricating agents that gently removes dust, fingerprints, smudges and other contaminates, leaving a flawless, showroom shine.

D-15501 1 gallon
D-15505 5 gallon

Ready to Use
Can be used as a lubricant for Meguiar's clay, dilute 1:1 for this application.

Recommended replacement for Final Detail

This is how I do it and yes a gallon will last quite a long time. Invisible, I haven't actually calculated how many cars I can do with one gallon. I use the Meguiars DLine spray bottle from Meguiars.com. Normally, I will use half of the bottle while claying.

I used this in the last detail I did with Shyneman and it worked like a charm. Hope that helps a little.

Andy

[akimel]

Re: clay barring question

Invisible, I haven't actually calculated how many cars I can do with one gallon. I use the Meguiars DLine spray bottle from Meguiars.com. Normally, I will use half of the bottle while claying.

Okay, if one gets approximately two cars worth of claying lubricant from a properly diluted LT bottle, then (assuming I have done my math correctly, which is a bad assumption) this means that one will get approximately 21 cars from a gallon jug of LT or 105 cars from a 5 gallon jug.

A 5 gallon jug of LT costs $76 from ADS plus $14 shipping = $90. This comes out to 85¢ per car.