clay bar or deep cystal cleaner?

[Mirancer]

Would it be better to clay a car or use the Meguiars Deep Crystal paint cleaner with a DA?

Another question that I've had rolling around in my head is, Is it necessary to use the Quik Detailer spray when claying or can you just use a continuous stream or water?

Last question. On the washing instruction tags for the micro fiber towels it says not to use fabric softer. Why is that? wouldnt that make the micro fiber towel even softer?

Thanks for the answers guys and gals.

[Murr1525]

Re: clay bar or deep cystal cleaner?

1. Both... they do different things. Though I would choose SwirlX if possible instead of DC Cleaner.

2. Water alone is not enough lubrication.

3. No, it makes them less absorbant.

[yalerd]

Re: clay bar or deep cystal cleaner?

Clay and DC are just two very different things.
Depending on how the paint "feels" then you would clay or not, have you touched your paint surface? is it rough? If yes then you should clay to remove those above surface contaminants.

Water does not lubricate enough to make the claybar slide, so with water you may find it hard to do the job. And using a current stream of water will waste a lot of water for something that you can do with 32oz of product on a big car.

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: clay bar or deep cystal cleaner?

Claying and dc do different things.

Using water I have heard breaks down your clay prematurely. Use a qd to lube for claying.

Using a fabric softener on your microfibers leaves a residue on the towels. This causes streaking on the paint.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: clay bar or deep cystal cleaner?

A clay bar is designed to remove above surface bonded contaminants - all the stuff that makes your paint feel rough to the touch. Proper use will make your paint feel literally as smooth as glass. Also, removing that junk from the surface will make your paint cleaner easier to use, and more effective as well.

A paint cleaner such as DC Step 1 Paint Cleaner, SwirlX, Ultimate Compound, etc will not be terribly effective on these bonded contaminants but will do an outstanding job on the below surface defects like swirls, fine scratches, etchings, etc. Once you've clayed the surface pull the car into the sun so you can critically evaluate the finish visually. This will give you an indication of what you're up against.

Claying should be done with Quik Detailer or similar for proper lubrication. Water alone doesn't generally provide enough lube for this purpose. You may see cases where people claim that's all they use and "haven't had a problem yet". Seem whenever people deviate from manufacturer recommendations they always qualify their statement with the word "yet". Gee, why is that????

Fabric softeners and dryer sheets tend to leave a film on microfiber towels and that film can lead to streaking when working on your paint. Not a good thing. Best to just wash them with a good quality liquid laundry detergent in warm water and then machine dry them on a medium setting. Also, do not mix microfibers and terry cloth towels in the same wash. The terry cloth will lint off and the microfiber will act as a lint trap. You'll spend a few days with tweezers trying to get all the terry lint off your microfibers.

[Mirancer]

Re: clay bar or deep cystal cleaner?

Thank you everyone for your answers. I've always wondered why the MF towels washing instructions said use no softener. Now I know.