I6turbo

iTrader: (1)

My 2003 LS430 (Parchment Crystal) had some tiny debris embeded in the paint. Most of it wasn't visible, but you could feel it if you paid close attention. I used a cleaner wax and it helped a little bit, but you could still feel the roughness.

I bought the Mothers Clay Bar Kit (clay bar, lube/quick detailer, cleaner wax) at Advance Auto and used it according to instructions. I was amazed at the results. The paint now feels incredibly smooth and I'm pretty sure that it shines a little better than before. The clay bar was very easy to use, even fun to a certain extent.

Following the amazing results on the Lexus I set out to clay bar my 1995 Turbo Supra. This is a 22,000 mile car that spends literally 99% of its life in an enclosed garage, and the original Black factory paint is in very good condition. The results on the Supra were a little different than on the Lexus. After doing a small spot on the Supra I decided to stop. It seemed that the Supra paint is so soft that the clay bar was putting very, very small scratches in it. The scratches were only visible under certain conditions of flourescent light, but they were there. I'm thinking of washing the car with strong detergent and then trying it again, but my first impression is that the Supra paint may be too soft to tolerate the clay bar. (And YES, I was using PLENTY of lube/quick detailer on both cars. Probably a lot more than necessary.)

Guitarman

You have to be real cautious when claying ANY black car. The methodology is extremely important (i.e. you can't make any mistakes with lubrication, pressure etc.) or you'll get fine scratches. Actually, they're there in ANY color if you mess up, it's just that you can't really see them the same way you can with black, and certain lighting conditions.

I would advide people to only clay black cars when really necessary, and to take your time.

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

I6, I had the same problem when claying my black onyx GS at a Zaino clinic I set up for Lexus folks locally in Charlotte. I assume your Supra has the same 202 paint code type of paint, very sensitive to stuff like this.

My theory is that I wasn't lubricating enough when I was using the clay and it left fine scratches in the paint OR that I was pressing down too hard on it (or both). Ended up using scratch-x to remove them, re-washing and then Zainoing. Was a pretty depressing beginning to the clinic for me, but it turned out OK....

tiguy99

Yeah I hear you guys! I even tried it. Its good on ceratin paints, ok on others and not so good on headlight lenses hehe

GFerg

Yeah I acutally bought the kit last month. It worked great. I used it on my black Maxima, and it turned out fine. No scratches from the clay bar. I honestly used the entire bottle of spray wax that comes with it. It worked out fine. Then gave it 2 nice coats of wax.

superpats

It's also possible you picked up a grit of dirt and that was causing the light scratching. I've clayed my black onyx (202) ES with no problems before. Lots of lube and light pressure.

Showdown

make sure that when you use the clay bar that you wash your car first so that it removes all the dirt and sand off from the surface. thats what may have been causing the scratches. also be careful that you dont drop the clay when using it as you wil have to throw it away because it picks up debris on the driveway and will damage the paint.

SCRUFFDOGG

For a one time clay that kit is ideal. If you plan on claying very often I would suggest buying the bigger bars online and cutting in in half or quarters. Then after I wash I mix up a fresh bucket of car wash and use my wash mit for lube. And remember, if you drop the clay throw it away

Shawnmack

At everytime i clay i re-wash my car.

Jewcano

iTrader: (4)

I bought the exact one at a pepboys. It came with the detailer, mini bottle of wax, 2 clay bars, and a large microfiber towel .....Good stuff, amazing how i could tell my door was repainted after using the clay......
Before: Looked even not orangepeel effect.
After: Removed all the grime, saw the orange peel effect. Waxed that area, and boom.... No more orange peel. Car feels silky smooth too

jfelbab

When using clay it is vital that you fold and remold the clay into a pad frequently to get the grit it picks up away from the surface. Also using clay is not like applying a polish. You should not apply much pressure at all. The clay should gently float over the lubricated paint with just enough pressure to pick up the embedded grit..

Hai_Nguyen

yep, i washed my car and used the mothers clay bar kit just last week and waxed it twice. looks better than ever, and you can definately feel the difference. it feels like your touching glass!
just make sure you don't miss any spots. and another member on here told me its better to work in "patches" instead of complete sections (hood, fenders, doors, etc). just make sure you wax that baby good when your done and it should be great.

STONER

Washed with NXT wash
Mothers clay bar
Washed again with NXT wash
2 coats of NXT wax with a 24 hr delay between coats

Car looks better than ever, and I can hardly lift my arms.
I need a PC if I'm going to keep this up.

Car is Black Onyx and didn't get any scratches with the bar.

Here are the results. It rained like crazy today (1 day later) and I didn't take any pictures yesterday when it was gorgeous. I snapped these before work, I hope you get the idea.



Thanks CL for the knowledge base to get my self confidence high enough to do this myself.