Megafast13

Meguiars Smooth Surface Clay and their Professional Line Mild Clay

Griot's also makes nice clay.

GS4_Fiend

iTrader: (22)

I heard the Mother's clay bar is more aggressive than the meguiar's. They also have the Meguiar's clay bar kit that comes with the same items. Why didn't you get that? Just curious.

Olskool53

Always................Clay Magic Blue!


Dave @ Innovative Detailing

Greg@DI

I generally recommend the DI Accessories Gentle Fine Grade Clay - 180 gfor most vehicles. If you have really heavy build ups (sap, paint over spray, etc.) then a medium grade clay bar may be needed.

Greg @ DI

nick01

I have the meguiars kit and love it

Blkexcoupe

iTrader: (8)

I've never really liked the Meguiars smooth surface clay kit. Everytime I've used it the clay bar always breaks apart or is really sticky. Meguiars also comes with two 50gram bars while the mothers kit has two 80 gram bars for practically the same price, but more importantly I don't have enough cars to justify buying more clay bars.

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

I dont really like meguiars clay for the same reason. I had the chance to use it and boy was it messy. Breaks way too easily. I love Clay Magic though

GS4_Fiend

iTrader: (22)

When or how does it breaks down?

Nickc0844

Meg's sells a refill kit with 3 small bars

Nickc0844

+1 the absolute best. Worth importing!

vuiskool

exactly what i want to know, mines never broke down.

GS4_Fiend

iTrader: (22)

Some people here that had experience with Meguiar's Clay bar says it only last for 2 time use on a full car. But Meguiar's claims it can be used up to 4-5 cars.

roundeye

Having tried several clay bars over past few years (Blackfire, Griots, Mothers, Clay Magic), I must say that Clay Magic is the best of the bunch.

jfelbab

It's nearly impossible to know how much contamination and oxidation is on any given vehicle. Clay is relatively inexpensive and I'd suggest that using a clay bar after it has become too contaminated will cause paint marring.

My process is this:
I lightly draw my dry fingertips over the paint on my hood after it has been washed and dried. If it doesn't feel as smooth as glass, I clay. I typically clay every three to four months when I do a full detail.

I cut the clay bar into two or three pieces and put the unused pieces in a plastic box or ziploc. If I drop a piece of clay while using it I throw it away and fetch one of the unused pieces. I use liberal amounts of the supplied Quik Detailer lube. Starting with the horizontal surfaces first, I clay a 2' x 2' section at a time and test with my fingertips to insure that the contaminants have been completely removed. I wipe up the residue and lube with a mf and move on to the next section. As the clay gets dirty, I fold it and re-kneed it into a fresh pad and continue the process.

The clay is supposed to be gliding on a thin layer of lubricant, literally hydroplaning over the paint. The contaminants stick up above the paint and will be caught by the clay and pulled out or sheered off level with the paint.

The clay should not bind or drag. If it does you might not be using enough lube, might be using a poor lube, might be using too much pressure or possibly the paint surface could be too hot. Oxidation can also cause your clay to grab or drag. If the paint is oxidized use a paint cleaner prior to claying.

Clay your car after a wash and dry and the paint is cool to the touch. Don't clay in the sun.

Most frequently you will have problems with clay disintegrating if working with a poor lube, like using car wash soap for example, or are working on paint that is too warm (clay does not like heat and becomes too soft) or on oxidized paint.

Claying frequency is determined by the environment the car is exposed to. If you leave the car outdoors 24/7, park under trees, do a lot of freeway driving, smash a lot of bugs, then you will notice that the paint gets contaminated more readily. You can test your paint condition by washing and drying it, then gently drawing your dry fingertips over the paint. If there is a need to clay you will feel the contamination. The paint should feel glass smooth.

TIP: when washing your car and run into stuck on, dried on bugs, don't just press harder with your wash mitt to try to remove them. This will wind up marring your paint. Grab your clay and use it to remove the bug remnants.

Claying is completely safe and very effective if done properly. It's been used in automotive body shops and by detailers for decades. It's not hard to do and will result in a notably cleaner paint surface. This means a higher gloss and a longer lasting wax or sealant.

I clay my paint then move on and clay the glass and finally the exhaust tips and wheels. I toss this piece of clay when I have finished with the wheels as it is now quite contaminated and should not be used back on paint again.

So to summarize, my clay kit comes with two bars of clay. I cut each bar in half and wind up with 4 pieces. Each piece should be suitable to do a vehicle depending on how contaminated the vehicle is. If you have a vehicle that has never been clayed then you may need to use a couple pieces of clay on it. If you clay regularly, say once or twice a year, you should likely be able to clean the paint with one piece of clay.

DDLexus

I've tried both Clay Magic and Mother's. The CM blue bar seems to hold it's shape better than Mothers. After doing a small area, the Mother's yellow bar flattens out and you have to pull the clay off your fingers. It works just as well, in terms of getting rid of contaminants, but a little more difficult to work with.

Clay Magic is my preferred clay! I even provided a testimonial after my 1st use.