Anyone addicted to Clay?

[Wivvix]

After reading this thread I was thoroughly convinced that buying a Meguiars detailer/clay kit was the solution to my cars paintwork ails. I also picked up a bottle of Meguiars Gold class shampoo/conditioner (car wash).

9 cap-fulls and 9 litres of water later, my car was already looking cleaner, more reflective and smoother than it's ever been before. Armorall....... rubbish.

I wasn't sure what to expect with the clay. I'm still a little confounded which component, the detailer spray or the clay, is responsible for what is hard to describe in words.

This kit seriously needs to be renamed. Something along the lines of "Meguiars MAGICAL clay kit" would be more appropriate.

After 2 hours of clay detailing, quite a fair chunk of which was spent on one particularly badly affected area, I was left with glistening, ultra reflective white paint. It's really no exaggeration, it's like liquid glass. I'm guessing the paintwork probably hadn't been treated to a polish or clay for many years prior to my buying the car ;).

I'm considering now whether I ought to purchase the other components mentioned in many people's wash/clay/polish/wax regimes. Unfortunately I didn't have time to complete claying the whole car the other day, so i've yet to finish that.

Just thought i'd add to the collective positive experience of this product. Best $34 i've ever spent.

Edited April 13, 2008 by Wivvix

[DHC09]

Good to know this thread has somewhat made a handful cars on the road more shinny :D :D

[CheekySportivo]

Hey Guys,

I too like Wivvix bought the Meguairs Clay Kit and it worked wonders!!!

It's amazing how quick the clay bar became dirty just by picking up surface rubbish after a Gold Class wash!

One question I have though, what is the best way to keep the clay bar clean?

I was a little worried having to re-apply the clay bar back onto the paint surface once it was becoming rather dirty.

[DHC09]

I hope you have been folding your clay as you go.

Once the clay becomes dirty/spotty you need to fold it, which then exposes two clean sides.

The clay will have trouble picking up new "crap" when its dirty. I usually fold it after going through 1 or 2 sections, depending how bad it is.

[and1]

haiison and i have just clayed, polished and waxed our cars.. will post some pics up tomorrow when i take some.. silver is now that much shinier and sexier ..

[Wixy]

arent we all glad that meguiars is passionate about car detailing, just as all of us are, hence the CAR CRAZY motto.

on youtube there are alot of OFFICIAL sources and videos that explain how to's on differing meguiars products.

the guys who have post these videos are friends of mine in the meguiarsonline.com forums. they are great. the american guy in the videos is the technical director of the meguiarsonline.com forums, so he knows what he's on about. its hard enough to follow and read steps from people on this forum (including from myself) so these videos are just plan and simple.

hope you guys enjoy them

How to Clay your Car

Detailed Instructions on How To Use Scratch X

Ultimate Quik Detailer in Action

Megs Part 1 - Perfect Showcar Paint Tutorial

Megs Part 2 - Tools and Techniques Needed Tutorial

Megs Part 3 - Prove youself which wax is better Tutorial

How to apply Tech Wax

Extreme Makeovers

Dual Action Polisher G220 on a Bentley

cheers

[Shaunus Maximus]

I may have to see if i can get a handle on some of this stuff, as we dont have a meguirs in Mackay, but i do use some pretty awesome 'truckwash' from work that we have in massive 20L drums, and the grime that it pulls off the car is insane. One problem that i have with cleaning my car is that our yard is all lawn, and that our driveway is about 1km of dirt so I end up feeling like im wasting my time cleaning my car because its going to be dirty after only 1 or 2 trips out.

[dannywss]

seriously great vids.. i have followed the waxing and i have to say... i washed it and start waxing properly.. IT IS VERRRYYYYY TIRING!!!! i only done half of the car.. and phew! tired and stopped..

COntinue on tomolo...

Cant wait to clay my car...

[DHC09]

seriously great vids.. i have followed the waxing and i have to say... i washed it and start waxing properly.. IT IS VERRRYYYYY TIRING!!!! i only done half of the car.. and phew! tired and stopped..

COntinue on tomolo...

Cant wait to clay my car...

Hmmm... you should have clayed before you waxed cause, as far as i know, and experience u'll need to wax again after claying.

[Wixy]

9 times out of 10 when u wax without claying u will have shiny results, but u will also have swirls and lights scratches all over your car.

just pull it out in2 the sunlight and look @ the surface in direct light, u'll see what i mean.

usually the shopping centre wash and wax for $10 scheme is bang for buck, but its sometimes so sad to see a brand new i dunno SSV sportswagon or some classy european car in it getting majorly swirled up. im not going to comment on the materials they use to do it either~!

waxing prior to claying is like waxing a surface full of little granules of sand. what youre doing is spreading the granules of sand into and around your surface, and then ultimately picking it up onto the application pad. not good.

u'll have a shiny surface, but when the wax wears off in 1,2 or 3months time, your car surface will be showing up alot of swirls u'd wish werent there.

without clay, u might as well not wax at all, thats my opinion.

cheerios~!

[dannywss]

I just spent $150 for someone to wash and clay 4 months ago, and keeping the car garaged and park in multilevel carpark when reach uni. I did the "using hand to feel the paint surface.." in the vid, and it feels "not tat bad", thats why i just washed and wax, according to the vid..

Actually it looks better and it is very tiring(total of close to 3 hr job).. I waxed only half the car, and my gf drove my car out to work, without letting me know, AND!! that night it RAINED...(vic keep raining these few days..)

&W^&(*%##%&^*@#&%@%&@$*&())% so.. u can imgaine, the car is half shinning like glass, and the driver side is.. just normal..

Next time i will LOCK the garage.

Thanks for info thou, i will keep in mind... hope my hand dont fall off after clay and wax..

[Wixy]

lol

u know with that $150 u spent for someone to do it, u can buy yourself alot, and i mean HEAPS of car detailing products (close to the whole set even!) of any brand, be it autoglym, meguiars, mothers, kitten, polyglad, poorboys, sonnax and so on.

if you are tired of using your hand, and are serious in having that passion to detail your own car, try investing some money in an automated polisher/applicator.

it saves times, and trust me on this one, makes your detailing sessions so much quick, and MUCH MUCH MUCH MORE enjoyable I'LL GIVE U THAT!

Turn on the power switch, let the machine do the work, and enjoy the results.

theres heaps of automated applicators out there, the one hitting aussie shores soon is the meguiars G220 dual action polisher, and it will be one of the most expensive ones on sale in the australian market because of the rave reviews overseas.

cheers

[dannywss]

$150 is cheap.. and that was done before i saw the videos..

$150 wont buy heaps too.. i bought the clay with spray, wax, a cloth, 2 polish round thingy.. cost $110...

[kolourhero]

9 times out of 10 when u wax without claying u will have shiny results, but u will also have swirls and lights scratches all over your car.

Claying doesn't make your paint work shiner.. it only prepares the surface so it feels nice and smooth.

$150 is cheap.. and that was done before i saw the videos..

$150 wont buy heaps too.. i bought the clay with spray, wax, a cloth, 2 polish round thingy.. cost $110...

I don't know about you, but after i buy washing products i don't throw them out if they ain't empty.

[dannywss]

Just heard, Clay works like a sand paper, it "sands" off a little of your paint..

Correct me if i am wrong.

Wanna ask bout the polishing pad(usually yellow, size of your palm?), after waxing, we clean it and reuse?

[Zoran]

excuse my ignorance guys,

how does the process of using "clay" compare to using cut and polish paste with a buffer?

I've only ever cut back paint work using that method

[kolourhero]

Just heard, Clay works like a sand paper, it "sands" off a little of your paint..

Correct me if i am wrong.

Wanna ask bout the polishing pad(usually yellow, size of your palm?), after waxing, we clean it and reuse?

Clay removes contaminants from the paint making the surface feel really smooth like how you bought the car - smooth like a baby's bum. I don't believe the clay bar removes paint unless you don't do it properly.

You can wash the applicator pad, yep.

[DHC09]

Just heard, Clay works like a sand paper, it "sands" off a little of your paint..

Correct me if i am wrong.

Wanna ask bout the polishing pad(usually yellow, size of your palm?), after waxing, we clean it and reuse?

excuse my ignorance guys,

how does the process of using "clay" compare to using cut and polish paste with a buffer?

I've only ever cut back paint work using that method

There's some good and detailed info already posted in this thread (eg post #49 and the videos on this page). Claying gets rid of the "crap" on the surface of the clear coat, therefore making the surface very very smooth. What you (Danny) heard is removal of light scratches where the clear coat is very lightly "sanded" down - definitely not claying.

Just polishing and waxing on a un-clayed surface will not get rid of all the "crap", and will still feel rough/bumpy.

Edited May 23, 2008 by DHC09

[Wixy]

Just heard, Clay works like a sand paper, it "sands" off a little of your paint..

Correct me if i am wrong.

Wanna ask bout the polishing pad(usually yellow, size of your palm?), after waxing, we clean it and reuse?

excuse my ignorance guys,

how does the process of using "clay" compare to using cut and polish paste with a buffer?

I've only ever cut back paint work using that method

There's some good and detailed info already posted in this thread (eg post #49 and the videos on this page). Claying gets rid of the "crap" on the surface of the clear coat, therefore making the surface very very smooth. What you (Danny) heard is removal of light scratches where the clear coat is very lightly "sanded" down - definitely not claying.

Just polishing and waxing on a un-clayed surface will not get rid of all the "crap", and will still feel rough/bumpy.

thank you!

i thought this thread was getting no where if all relevant information was already posted to answer the simple questions

cut and polish is nothing like "claying". claying results in you working with the existing paint WITHOUT "cutting" and revealing new paint to work with. if u continually cut and polish, or polish in general, and you do it very frequently, paint thickness will gradually decrease and before you know it youre hanging on a thread.

paint thickness instruments are out there for those wanting to know how much paint is left on one's surface to work with, quite expensive though.

on the other hand, paint cleaners remove oxidation (and amounts other things such as below surface stains), by removing dead paint from the surface which able you to work with the fresh paint underneath, or u can cut and polish, however, cut and polish is an aggressive method and should be used as a last resort.

Edited May 23, 2008 by Wixy

[Wixy]

$150 is cheap.. and that was done before i saw the videos..

$150 wont buy heaps too.. i bought the clay with spray, wax, a cloth, 2 polish round thingy.. cost $110...

surface prep/swirl remover = $25

clay = $30

polish = $30

nxt wax + nxt car wash shampoo + nxt tyre shine = $25-$50 value pack (i got 2 packs for $50)

lsp (last step product - e.g. megs ultimate quik detailer) = $30

Microfibre towels (12value pack) = $6x2 = $12

applicator pads (2pack) x2 = $10

total=$162

and those prices are retail. furthermore, they last you, on the assumption you do the 5 stage process every 3mths, around 1 to 2 years dependant on various conditions and location.

from that analysis, $150 is pretti exy. those are just essentials, and dont include interior detailer products ranging from australian export brand (which is $2), rim and wheel care to chrome care.

[dannywss]

$150 is cheap.. and that was done before i saw the videos..

$150 wont buy heaps too.. i bought the clay with spray, wax, a cloth, 2 polish round thingy.. cost $110...

surface prep/swirl remover = $25

clay = $30

polish = $30

nxt wax + nxt car wash shampoo + nxt tyre shine = $25-$50 value pack (i got 2 packs for $50)

lsp (last step product - e.g. megs ultimate quik detailer) = $30

Microfibre towels (12value pack) = $6x2 = $12

applicator pads (2pack) x2 = $10

total=$162

Where did you buy them??? lolz.. i wasted soo much money..

[Wixy]

Where did you buy them??? lolz.. i wasted soo much money..

any supercheap,kmart, or repco. no offense, but most autobarn's hype up the prices in exchange for their 'professional advice'. not being rude here but if u get knowledge and just want a product, then maybe repco or supercheap is the best to go

repco also has 30% of detailing accessories every now and then, to make them cheaper.

for the microfibres, id highly recommend the kenco value packs. they come in half a dozen to a dozen, for cheap prices kmart sells them for $10 while autobarn sells them for $15.

all materials used are machine washable in cold wash (COLD WASH ONLY). so i find that they last u a long time (including hand applicator pads)

[SILVABULLIT]

Don't forget the cost of a good quality micro fibre wash mit, good quality chamois as well. those 2 items will push your total to almost $200.

As for telling people to buy a buff and do it yourself.... If you have never used a buf before then my advice is get a professional to do it. Have seen too many people who think " I got told it was easy so I can do it" come to grief doing damage to their paintwork which can only be repaired by repainting panels of the car. Buff burns and not holding the buff correctly can cause damage that will be costly to repair.

If you don't want to do it yourself then there are professional detailers out there who can do the job correctly and attain the best finish and you don't have to sweat a bit!!! They just might ask you to get them a drink every now and then..... sure know that's what i like when i do detailing jobs for people.

Keep the drinks and refreshments coming and the job will get cheaper lol

[Browny]

can clay be used on your windows? i have some overspray on the windows from when the car was fixed and nothing that i have used has got it off. So i thought if it is designed to get it off paintwork without scratching why cant i use it on glass?

[DHC09]

I think there's no harm in claying windows/glass. I tried to clay a small part of the glass last time, but it didn't seem to do much in terms of getting crap off (maybe my windows were really clean already :P)