First Time Using Clay Bar - Any Suggestions?

[islandboy57]

I have some kind of rough coating on two areas of my car (texture is like sand paper) and as a last resort I started hunting for a clay bar kit. I really wanted the Mother's branded one but the company who sells it via Amazon.com doesn't ship to Hawaii! Checker's didn't have anything..I went to Napa and they had a house brand clay bar kit (80g bar) @ $18.95 - 10% AAA discount.

Anyway, the guy at Napa said that his daughter's car had a similar texture on the paint and the clay bar took it off no problem. Apparently it's from acid rain/industrial fall out. My car was detailed when I bought it so it didn't feel like anything, but since then, it's gotten pretty bad as the wax wears off. I polished my car this weekend so it's hardly noticeable now.

I'm planning on trying the clay bar out this weekend at a friend's house. The roads here in Hawaii are awful so there's also tar not only on my car, but on her grandma's '05 Avalon, so I'll hopefully be able to take that off too.

Any suggestions/tips for a clay bar n00b? Seems like a great product, and people either have no clue what it is, or have heard about it but never used it.

Thanks

PS: There's also light scratches on my car..should I avoid those places with the clay bar or...? No difference?

[DarkMastyr]

#1 rule with claybar: Don't drop it.

Get a spritzer to keep the areas wet that you're claying over.

[ToyotaToday]

I've used it and there's not really much to it.

Make sure you wash the car very very clean. Rinse the car off really well. I like to go over the car with a rinse cloth to ensure the soap is washed off. Then you'll need to dry off the car.

Clay bar kits will have a spray lubricant (if you don't have spray lubricant, use soapy water). Work in 2 feet by 2 feet sections. Flatten the claybar, spray lubricant on the car surface, and glide it along the car surface. Every now and then, roll the claybar into a ball, and flatten the claybar again, and glide the claybar along the surface. Make sure you roll the clay bar into a ball and flatten it again, so you get a clean surface on the claybar. Dirt will stick to the claybar.

After you claybar, make sure you wax the car. As the claybar would have stripped away dirt and possibly some wax from your car.

Before you start, make sure you set aside 3-4 hours.

[anoiel]

check the deatail forum has a great post on claying.

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/t126955.html

[darksparkz]

Wash before AND after your done.

Don't drop it.

Try to keep it as flat as you can and move your clay bar around the surface evenly.

Use enough lubricant from the detailer sprays that it usually comes with.

Buff off after you finish a certain area.

[kwirnu]

it won't hurt anything to go over the scratches.

[tavalon]

Originally Posted by islandboy57

I have some kind of rough coating on two areas of my car (texture is like sand paper) and as a last resort I started hunting for a clay bar kit. I really wanted the Mother's branded one but the company who sells it via Amazon.com doesn't ship to Hawaii! Checker's didn't have anything..I went to Napa and they had a house brand clay bar kit (80g bar) @ $18.95 - 10% AAA discount.

Anyway, the guy at Napa said that his daughter's car had a similar texture on the paint and the clay bar took it off no problem. Apparently it's from acid rain/industrial fall out. My car was detailed when I bought it so it didn't feel like anything, but since then, it's gotten pretty bad as the wax wears off. I polished my car this weekend so it's hardly noticeable now.

I'm planning on trying the clay bar out this weekend at a friend's house. The roads here in Hawaii are awful so there's also tar not only on my car, but on her grandma's '05 Avalon, so I'll hopefully be able to take that off too.

Any suggestions/tips for a clay bar n00b? Seems like a great product, and people either have no clue what it is, or have heard about it but never used it.

Thanks

PS: There's also light scratches on my car..should I avoid those places with the clay bar or...? No difference?

dalei sells the mother clay bar kit

[islandboy57]

Thanks for the tips guys. I'm going to my friend's house today so we'll see how it goes. Hopefully I don't mess anything up..he he. Is it okay to split the clay bar into two pieces? I figure, that way - if I drop it or something, I can just use the second piece. I'm really hoping this makes my paint feel somewhat new. We've been washing the '05 Avalon (it's only a few months old) every weekend and after waxing it, the paint feels like glass! I'm jealous :P

[nodrogkam]

hmm good luck. i just did my car that's 8 years old and the paint feels just like glass. Better than some cars off the lot i dare say.

[islandboy57]

w00t!

I ended up doing almost the whole car (minus the hood..got tired) with 2 friends of mine. The rough spots are GONE and the paint feels as smooth as glass. Polishing it made it all the more better. I am so impressed.. I'm going to use the rest of the clay/solution and do my mom's car. 11 years of build-up must be pretty bad.

Oh and even better..it took all the tar spots off. It wasn't easy, but it took it off! Two of my friends - suprisingly both girls (he he..they never used to care about cars) - were the ones helping me wash car and stuff cuz we washed all our cars. They were nice enough to help me with mine since I had to clay bar it and wash it twice then polish.