Blkexcoupe

iTrader: (8)

I've been claying my car slowly when I have time, and I'm trying to get all the little specks out of my paint. My car is a 98 and is pretty old, but it seems like the car has never had a proper detail. So far I've gone through a Mothers clay bar, some gray clay bar I had (I think it was 4 star, but I can't remember), and I've been doing the little spots with pinnacle poly-ultra clay.

The mothers clay got dirty fast and had to be trashed, so I tried the the gray clay after and it was a lot more aggressive, and the car was much smoother after using it, but the little brown specks can be seen when looking at the paint closely. I've been doing little patches with the pinnacle clay, and it has been pretty successful except for a few tough spots. The pinnacle is easily my favorite clay to use, but it requires some force to remove the specks in the paint, and I'm getting tired of claying the car, so I was wondering what brand of clay do you guys like to use?

tod071

How often are you claying? It sounds like you are claying way too often. But it seems like you're not happy with the results of the clay you've used. I'd go with Clay Magic Claybar (Blue). Its very sticky and needs to be well lubed, but very effective. I haven't had to use anything more aggressive yet. Certain defects may need to be worked harder than normal.

Blkexcoupe

iTrader: (8)

Yeah, the claying has been a bit excessive, but all of that was done within a time span of a week or two since I only work on the car when I have some time to kill. I didn't even finish the full car with the mothers clay before I had to trash it, and then I followed up the whole car with the gray clay to get it all smooth. After that I've been doing certain spots with the pinnacle clay.

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

You need more clay bars

JK... I'll come over and help you clay this week. I'll bring over your clay magic that you gave me a few years ago.

tod071

Anytime you clay, it will remove any protection you already applied. So, you should protect it with wax/sealant after every clay. Otherwise, you're driving the car unprotected.

tod071

Hey, what's with the mini-Lexus sigs? Did I miss something? Looks cool though!

Blkexcoupe

iTrader: (8)

I can't believe you are still using that same clay bar. I'm down to my last pound of poly-ultra clay, and you said I could never use all of it.

I might just settle for how the car is now, and start the polishing process, and then finish it off with a sealant and wax.

Kaydee

i use mother's too...but it's so expensive and so small (talking about the yellow ones) i clayed my car not too long ago but since i saw nothing on the clay itself i stopped doing it. usually i use paint sealant after clay and wash...makes life a lot easier

Euphoric

iTrader: (1)

I use Zaino's clay bar and have always been happy with it.

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

This past weekend, I used Maguire's Smooth Surface Clay bar with detailing spray wax, and then finished with polish wax. The kit came with the clay bar, spray wax, polish wax, and microfiber towel; all for about $17.

Use it on both the car and the motorcycle this weekend.

I highly recommend it for ease of use, cost, and excellent results.

SCRUFFDOGG

I started with the mothers kit but I never used the other stuff that came with it, good clay though. Right now i've got a supply of Sonus clay i've been using and it works just as well. Didn't like the zaino clay.

Blkexcoupe

iTrader: (8)

He got bored on photoshop and made both his and mine. The picture he is using is actually taken in front of my house.

I remember when I tried the meguiars clay it was really soft and would stick to the paint. That actually might work really well for what I need.

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

I've used meguiars clay. I really really really really hated it. It was brittle and soft. I detailed Dung0981's white GS and even he agreed it sucks. Can't tell you how many times I have to reform the clay because it was breaking into pieces. Apparantly I'm not the only one who shared this experience. Many on autopia had the same problem.

Clay magic is my choice when it comes to easy replacement and effectiveness. Other than that, I'll steal some Pinnacle from Blkexcoupe's house

Lexkost

Sorry but the clay bar does not remove wax/sealant only the contaminants that sit on the paint.

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

Yeah, it's sticky and soft. But combined with the detailing spray, it provided smooth gliding motion (think of it as lubricant between the paint and clay).

It was frustrating at first (I wiped off the spray the first time, instead of using the clay while it was still wet), but as soon as I got the hang of it, it turned out well.