I see from time to time people asking about claybars and what it really does and if they will see any benefit from it.

I have seen clay remove contamination from a brand new car. I have also seen clay completely revive the surface of cars that you would have thought needed a good sanding.

I am by no means an expert and this is not a complete how-to.
There are tons of great websites out there to help.

Claying does take caution and can actually induce defects.
Black is a bit particular about getting clayed and should be approached with caution.

You may want to do the "Baggie" test to see if your car needs to be clayed.
Put your hand in a baggie and lightly brush it over the surface ofa cleancar.
If you feel grit, then itwould be beneficialto clay prior to any further detailing work.

In the video below you will see a 2000 Corvette with about 50,000 miles. The shot is taken from the left side of the car looking at the front fender and accross the top of the hood. In the video, the fender has been clayed and the hood has not been clayed. The whole car felt (and sounded) like what you are about to hear. The horizontal panels were terrible.

http://www.yourfilehost.com/media.php?cat=video&file=claybar_vid.wmv

Great info Jim!

wow! its really that much of a diff!
damn i have a black car. What do i have to do diffrently when claying?!

thanks for the video...
i was expecting you to make a kitty purr sound while you were petting the car.

ORIGINAL: Juztang

Great info Jim!


Thanks Justin.

ORIGINAL: tommy2273boy

wow! its really that much of a diff!
damn i have a black car. What do i have to do diffrently when claying?!

thanks for the video...
i was expecting you to make a kitty purr sound while you were petting the car.


I have no experience with claying a black car.
I understand that black can be a bit particular.
Try your clay with plenty of lube in a hard to see area and watch for maring.
From what I understand it is not unusual for the clay to leave a "smear" mark which can be polished out.

Let me look around a little and see if I can find something that might be more useful for you.

ORIGINAL: tommy2273boy

wow! its really that much of a diff!
damn i have a black car. What do i have to do diffrently when claying?!

thanks for the video...
i was expecting you to make a kitty purr sound while you were petting the car.


tommy2273boy -

This quote is from a trusted friend and a professional detailer -
Lube, lube and more lube.
I always clay a car directly after washing while it is still wet...helps tremendously. Use a traditional wash method and pull the vehicle in a covered space to clay.
Even on soft clear with Meg's Aggressive (red) bar you should not get marring.

ORIGINAL: tommy2273boy

wow! its really that much of a diff!
damn i have a black car. What do i have to do diffrently when claying?!

thanks for the video...
i was expecting you to make a kitty purr sound while you were petting the car.


I have clayed by black stang and the key is lots of lub...like the post above says. Also ensure the clay bar is clean so as not to make matters worst. Since everything is noticeable in a black car...and I mean everything. I have a few pics of my Stang posing it after a doing the detailing thing. It's not bad at all.

Clay bars really are amazing. I've used it a few times on a couple cars I've owned. It's amazing how smooth the paint is afterwards. One really bad spot on the f-bods is the top of the back bumper. Turbulence in this area causes dirt/dust to get beat into the paint and after a couple months it's pretty rough. After claying it's smooth as glass again. One thing I would recommend is to wash the car first to get rid of any extra dirt/debris that will foul up the clay. Dry it off and then go to town with lots of lube and the clay. Afterwards wash the car again to get any leftover clay off of the car.