Evening all,

I have had a Meguiars clay kit since last June/July sitting brand new and unused as I felt that the paintwork on my Focus didn't need claying as the previous owner kept the bodywork in lovely condition and used to detail it also. As time has gone by and because it is used in all weathers on a weekly basis, I have noticed close up some bonded contaminants in the paintwork which I know shouldn't be there so whilst the paintwork is still lovely and smooth, especially on the boot lid and arches there are some bonded contaminants in there.

So I want to give claying a go when the weather gets a bit better. I will prepare the car in the normal fashion but my question is should I apply my spray gloss and sealant directly after claying or can a car be left after claying? I've seen a lot of brilliant results on here using a clay bar but can't work out whether there should be another couple of steps after claying or if claying can be done at any time and the paint work left as is. So should it be:

1) Snow foam, wash, dry, clay, done.

OR

2) Snow foam, wash, dry, clay, then use the Werkstat Prime, Jett and Gloss products I have.

Thing that puts me off the second method is that it would mean I would've gone round the car panel by panel using my bare hands 6 times from washing to applying all the shiny stuff

 

Usual routine would be,

Foam, wash, iron x and tardis if you wish, clay, wash again, dry, polish, then wax / sealant.

No point drying before clay as you will just be making it wet again!

 

That would help if I didn't need to dry it all!

I will be giving it a go for sure when the weather picks up and I might have the option of borrowing a friend's machine polisher which should make life a bit easier. First time I will have used clay so will be a bit of trial and error till I get the hang of it. Any tips for claying?

 

Lube, lube, lube and a bit more lube. Keep it soaking wet all the time. You can get dedicted clay lube in a spray bottle but all I use is a strong mix of car shampoo and water, seems to work fine. Either flat it out like a bar of soap and rub it over the paint work with your fingers or roll it into a ball and hold it in your hand, whichever works best for you.

Oh and if you drop it on the ground, throw it away and start again. as it will pick up all sorts of shit. Get some tardis and some Iron x and use that on the paint work before you clay as it will dissolve most of the contaminates in the paint before you start to make the laying process easier.

You can also put your hand in a thin sandwich bag or similar then rub it over the panel to feel all the crap stuck to the paint. You've finished claying when it is smooth as glass!

 

Thanks for the info! I have the Meguiars Clay "Kit" so it comes with its own spray which is probably the lube I would think. Also, I've no idea how much clay is in that kit, do I break it up into small sections? How much do I need to use?

 

Use the whole block, you can break it in half if you wish, use one half over the top and tops of doors, then the other half on bumpers and bottoms of doors which are generally much more contaminated. The detailing spray in the megs kit is ok and perfectly fine to use, I however get on much better with some strong soapy water, just keep dunking the clay bar in to keep it very wet. Just what works best with you really.

Best thing I can suggest is you watch this series of videos, about a couple of hours long but crammed full of info and definately worth a watch!

 

I wouldnt use a full bar, cutt it in half and that will do a full car no prob

Save the other half for next time.

 

Cut the bar into cubes, that way if you drop it you simply use another cube.

 

Never use a full bar ... Cut in half.

 

Thanks chaps, will be waiting for temperature to be at least double figures before I even attempt this!

 

 

Very wise choice mate

 

I used my clay bar for the first time after shampoo this weekend. It took far more post wash dirt off than I expected, very impressed, I will buy a seco d o e for the top half now though and keep one for the dirtier tar dirtied lower half.
I then covered the car in Autoglym Super Resin polish which even by hand removed some swirls! I've been told to seal it with Autoglyms HD wax so will get some in for next time I get chance to te do the shampoo wash rinse clay SRP in maybe 3months
Time? Shouldn't need doing again till winter then

 

Use tar remover first on thew lower half or the clay will be black in seconds,srp fills swirls its not abrasive enough to remove swirls by hand

 

I will do, the lower half is difficult to spot the tar on a black car, thanks Al. Is that what SRP does- just fill? Looks better anyway.

 

SRP its a good product,its not very abrasive so it does not cutt much but it will cutt very slighly when use with a machine,if you tape of half a panel on a dark car you will see it fills some of the swirls and it also darkens the paint a little.

If you run your hand accross the car you will feel the tar,and if you spray on some tar remover you will see the tar in a certain angle/light bleed.

And you will also see it transfer onto your cloth.

 

My mrs uses bits of clay not much bigger than a 50 p piece and a couple times as thick when she does it. And the clay sort of thins out as you use it and spreads then you can fold it in on itself to get a fresh surface of clay to work with.
It removes all surface contaminants which includes any LSP such as a wax, so you need to reapply that after. And its worth doing two or three coats of wax. It is something to only do annually not weekly by the way if you are going to clay and machine polish etc, you don't want to be doing it every week as a hobby on the same car like some people do, the paint will end up ruined.

 

can anybody explain a bit more about tar removal please, theres a meguiars bug and tar remover in a spray bottle, any good? do u just spray it on and wipe it off?

 

ideally you'll need a decent IPA or tar remover.

I use Tardis on mine with a microfibre pad. Spray it on clean and dry paintwork and lightly work it in. The tar should dissolve

Then you can clay the surfaces ready for polish, seal, and wax


Tardis is also very good for preparing panels before polish, and after polish ready for the wax (depending on what wax you use)

 

I meant to update this thread since I gave this all a whirl last weekend but never got any pics unfortunately.

Products used:

Meguiars Hyper Wash
Bilberry Wheel Cleaner
Iron X
Meguiars Clay Kit
Werkstat Jett Acrylic

First time having a go at claying and obviously I was brilliant at it ... Didn't drop the clay bar but had to really work it in some places to get some of the bonded contaminants out. Surprised how much work I had to put in as I thought it would just glide around and strip everything off. The Iron X I was very impressed with, real powerful stuff and would definitely recommend using it. It does stink like fuck though! Then finished it all off with a coat of Werkstat Jett Acrylic spray and bodywork felt amazing after all that. Over the next few weekends I'll be laying on more coats of it but overall I'm happy with how it turned out and car has stayed so shiny all week even though its been raining like mad, the beading on it was amazing.

 

Be careful with the clay. You're not meant to put much pressure on it.

You need post some pics up of the results though

 

Hopefully I'll get some this weekend after another coat of Werkstat Jett.

 

Think I need to master this clay ting!

 

thanks for the reply, what is this tardis stuff?

 

is the meguires/turtle wax stuff in the spray bottles not very good then?

 

tardis is a tar remover. Its alcohol based so evaporates quickly
Gives you a nice clean, contaminate free surface ready for sealing

 

thanks for posting this video up it def worth a watch, i spent hrs yesterday afternoon watching these lol