[330iChicago]

Alright. So what exactly is claying? I'm a first time car owner, and I'm intrigued by this claying thing I've heard about. What is it? I'm pleading completely dumb here because I really have no idea what it is. Would my black sapphire e90 benefit from this? Expensive?

[mycoupe]

[shoes]

Read this:
http://www.detailedimage.com/Auto-De...uide/Clay-Bar/

Nice first car.

[Josh_C]

Originally Posted by shoes

Read this:
http://www.detailedimage.com/Auto-De...uide/Clay-Bar/

Nice first car.

^This. You can probably benefit from clay bar, but remember different clay bars have a different aggresiveness. Aggresive clay bar can/will leave micro-marring, just an fyi.

[TOGWT]

Clay Process

Automotive clay is not a replacement for polish or a compound; it is a pliable, petroleum resin product, Polybutene PB-1 (Polyisobutylene) containing a mild abrasive(s) i.e. kaolin, silica sand, calcium carbonate, alumina, ceramics quartz and also silicon carbide that polishes and exfoliates bonded surface contaminants by shearing ( a popular misconception - it does not pull or extract contaminants from a paint surface, if this was the case there would be no need for it to be abrasive) it is then encapsulated by the clay resin.

These abrasives are extremely small with an average particle size of 1- µ (6000 grit) dependent on the aggressiveness required, mixed in with a powdered synthetic detergent.

The clay bar may not totally remove rail dust, but it will exfoliate the protruding particles. It will, however, easily remove surface contaminants i.e. tree sap or paint over-spray. Usually only the horizontal paint surfaces require detailer’s clay treatment, as it is these surfaces that contaminants tend to land on and adhere too, you should evaluate any vertical surfaces and if need be, clay them.

It can be argued that a polish or compound will do the same thing; problem is that they not necessarily remove surface contaminates but just ‘round-off’ the edges, whereas clay will remove the surface contaminants and a percentage of the applied wax /polymer.

Application –a thin film of lubrication (see Detailer’s Clay Lubrication) provides a safety barrier that enables the clay to hydroplane across the surface. In other words, the clay is aquaplaning on a micro-thin film of lubrication between it and the paint surface removing the (protruding) surface contaminants by abrasion and encapsulation by the malleable clay. Without lubrication the clay will abrade the paint surface much like a dry-sanding block and will produce significant fine surface marring. When you start the clay process you’ll feel resistance as you glide the clay with its lubricant, this is normal, the resistance will lessen as the contaminants are removed, once there is no more resistance you can move to the next 2 x 2-foot section

Note: You may have to remove minor surface marring caused by the clay

[fdriller9]

Originally Posted by Josh_C

^This. You can probably benefit from clay bar, but remember different clay bars have a different aggresiveness. Aggresive clay bar can/will leave micro-marring, just an fyi.

So? You just polish it after. Then follow up with a wax/sealant.

[jopa489]

Originally Posted by *********

So? You just polish it after. Then follow up with a wax/sealant.

Clearly we don't want to advise the guy to use a clay which will lead to his finish looking like garbage. Obviously, the OP doesn't know how to polish if he doesn't know the purpose of claying. Josh_C's comment was perfectly relevant.

That being said, go for it OP. Just do some reading and make sure you're buying good products. Claying really isn't difficult, nor is it particularly expensive.

[pander5]

There is a higher likelihood of causing damage the first time using clay however if you stick to the rules you might be ok. The rules are 1.) always use plenty of lubricant 2.) always use a clean clay surface (ALWAYS means either knead the piece to a clean exposed clay surface for the next "pass" OR grab a fresh piece), 3.) if you drop a piece THROW IT AWAY and 4.) ALWAYS use plenty of lubricant!

Oh and make sure you use clean clay and plenty of lubricant. Yes, your Black Sapphire needs it and it's not expensive when you consider it's only done about twice a year and you break up a 200 gram bar into several individual pieces.

I mention the importance of these rules because I certainly remember the first time I used clay. I thought the rules were general recommendations! WRONG, they MUST be followed or you can inflict pretty deep scratches if not. I know I did and learned over time that a deep scratch is simply one clay swipe away every time.

At least my first claying lesson yielded a nice cut and buff session after!!!

All joking aside, claying is a simple process when done correctly and yields much smoother, cleaner paint for polishing. Stick to the mild clay (Detail Image blue, Clay Magic blue, ClearKote fine grade, Pinnacle Poly Clay etc.)

Let me add my congrats on a phenomenal 1st car! If it's an 06 and has never been clayed chances are there is a lot of stuff for the clay to remove. I'll give you credit for even asking about clay. That's probably the first (or rather second) step to falling into this sick, demented condition of having a detailing state of mind! We all clayed the first time. I say get it done and learn from the experience.

[jocamryn]

Is mother's California Gold Claybar kit good or should I return it and get one of the below mentioned brands? Thanks

Originally Posted by pander5

Stick to the mild clay (Detail Image blue, Clay Magic blue, ClearKote fine grade, Pinnacle Poly Clay etc.)

[pander5]

Mothers calls their clay a "medium" grade clay. I've never used it so I can't comment on how aggressive it is. I would not hesitate to use it but just make sure you simply glide it along the lubricant and the paint surface. DON'T bear down with pressure on the clay during your passes.

[kensk]

be careful when you clay bar and black car because you might leave the really thin scratch lines. kinda like spiderwebs. I recommend going in a back and forth motion and not circles. No worries though, if you scratch it you can try to buffer it out but you will need a buffer machine.

claybaring gets rid of paint rust and makes the body smooth. and you only need to do it once a year normally. at least in socal.

[deepakh]

awesome explanations guys. im gonna try it out this weekend!

[marzepeda]

What I did that worked well was I washed my car and left it wet. I then used the clay bar with the detail spray and worked Great. Make sure though after you use the clay bar to go over with a sealant to protect the paint.

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