Using Clay

[Black_Cat]

following the recommendations on this forum I am looking to clay my car as when you run your hands over the surface you can feel small grit like lumps.

I bought quik clay detailing system, which I understand you keep the surface wet with quik detailer whilst rubbing the surface with the clay.

How do you actually use the clay to ensure it doesnt drag any deposits onto other areas of your car and make scratches? do you cut it into pieces and use each piece for each panel? does the clay only last for one application or can you re-use it and if so approx how many times ?

[2000]

yes you can reuse it. you should get 5-10 cars out of it. just keep folding and kneading it as you go. you don't need to cut in pieces, leave it whole. DON'T drop it on the ground cause if you do it has to be thrown out. I usally do have to an whole panel, than fold and strech it a couple of times and go on to the nexxt panel. always, it doesn't take alot of force, just alittle usally, the idea is that the clay is a magnet to pull the contaminents of the paint, not a wash rag that drags it off. well thats alittle off, but I think you get the idea.

[gb387]

2000 said it well... One thing I have found if you use it for the first time you are more then likely going to get some smearing till you get the hang of it. I have found the smearing is easy to remove with a little Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner.

[Rockpick]

Hey Black_Cat! Welcome to meguiarsonline.com!

Clay is a simple, yet very effective, way to remove those tiny bumps that you feel on your paint. As both of the other responses have mentioned, you can probably get upwards of 4+ vehicles out of that one clay bar. Of course, this is going to be very dependent upon the condition of the finishes that you're working upon.

Also, if I may offer a quick hint that I've learned over the years; try chopping that clay bar into two pieces. The prime driver behind this suggestion is that if you drop the clay on the ground it's trash. No exceptions. One tiny grain of sand, stuck in the clay at the right angle/location, can thrash your paint. Throwing clay away is hard to do as it isn't exactly cheap. By having two pieces from one package, it makes the task slightly easier.

RP

[Black_Cat]

Thanx for the advice and the top tip from rockpick

[gb387]

I didn't mean to make it seem a pain to clay in my earlier post just pointing out some problems you might have. As Rockpick said "Clay is a simple, yet very effective..."

I too just used Rockpick's tip on cutting the bar in two, GREAT tip considering that was the first thing I did was drop half my new clay bar on the ground but I still had the other half!

[rusty bumper]

Here is a link on the subject that I thought you would like Black_Cat.