Claybarred

[Honkeytonk Monkey]

The reason Mother's claybar intructions tell you not to use water is because they can't sell you water.

The bar is clay, it will last until it is too dirty and you decide not to risk using it anymore. Some bars (meguiars in particular) start to decompose and absord some of the liquid. I find the Mother's bar does not have this tendency.

Using my methods, I did this:

[Z63R]

Nice job, I guess; can't see the hood.

[Honkeytonk Monkey]

Not showing the hood, it was repainted as it was black primer. The rest of the car however was paint that hadn't been washed for about 7 years. I fixed it pretty good

Ah screw it, I love to show people the hood...

[Z63R]

That claybar is amazing!

[longarm]

Claybarring is great. Using a soapy water mixture is good, as long as you use something with some kind of lubricative quality, not just plain water alone. The Mothers Claybar is great. It's the same exact claybar that Zaino sells on their website. Both bars are manufactured and packaged by the same company. Blackfire also sells a great claybar. Stay away from Pinnacle Claybars though, their garbage. Everyone I have ever used discinigrated way before it's time.

[Kristin]

So I just "barred" my car. Very impressive. My car is black. I live in Florida. Florida and black cars do not mix.

I washed it and dried it with a towel I wasn't too concerned about water spots because I figured it would be ok.

Seriously, my dad came home and was like did you wax it? He always get scared because he knows when I bust out the wax, he's helping me get it looking good without smeers or swirls.

But yeah. I got the mothers brand. I couldn't find Miguiars (sp?) then used the wax that came with the kit. I was going to use meg. 3 step because my brother has got me hooked on that. but then I wasn't sure if using the cleaner and everything would be a little too much. But now that I know it's cool to do it and stuff I'll do it next time.

I was so happy when I pulled my car out of the garage and let the sun (sorry northerners) beat down. I looked and almost cried in happiness.

Seriously if I (who has little abilitity of taking care of my car) can do this and it works good then anyone can.

The only issue I had was in the begining, when I started and my brother was like I think thats too much spray. So I wiped some off.. yeah no not enough spray is the problem. haha but after that I was very happy.

So thank you everyone that has posted.

[ladybug04]

i cant wait till spring. i am so doing this. the road salt is killing my paint. and road tar wont come off when i wash it. and i scrub it. too cold to even wash my car. bout 20 degrees. is there something to help remove bug guts?

[zetecgt]

Also, I live/work near a Foundry. They put off these little orange particles in the air that settle on the car. So my white car has tiny rust looking spots EVERYWHERE on it. The claybar isn't working the best for me- but I've seen it done on my car at the dealership and it works fine for them. What am I doing wrong??

Use a little elbow grease. Sometimes rail dust like that is a pain to get off, but you can do it.

[Oreo]

I got my car in Sept.- it being Feb. now... The weather has been really nice the last few days, so I decided to apply my newly learned detailing tricks to my beloved baby.... WELL, I figured that since my car was still so new, I didn't need to go through the claybar process... stripped my car with Dawn dish soap, applied 3 layers of sealant, 1 layer of carnauba, and BLAOWWWW!!! My car looks GREAT!! Except that on the hood, when I feel the surface, there are these just-noticable little bumps. I should've clayed.

J

[Remy]

Just barred up the back bumper...wow...im happy now...so smooth....worked a little on the front bumper as well...

[BLUE_02_ZX3]

I need to do this too. When I used ot work for a semi shop, i used their washbay to clean my car, and this frist time I used it, I used the soap and sponge tehy had used already,in the bucket, WHAT A MISTAKE, I got grease spots on my car and had to clean them off, but there still kinda on there.

as far as dawn goes I see no problem with it, Its not abrasive enough to remove clear coat, alcolol wont remove clear coat so why would dawn?
I use dawn the first time I wax every year to
"deep clean" pre-wax. I think this year Ill clay mine. My car is the DARK blue that never looks GREAT, always looks good.
If you want a car that ALLWAYS looks good, buy silver, its such a neutral, my g/f family have owned nothing but silver cars for 20 years, they always look great, waxed or not.
so when my g/f bought her focus guess what color it was?
Im pissed cause she takes hers to a auto carwash, takes 5 mins, and It looks better than my car after I wash/wax mine, takes 2 hours. BUT I LOVE MY COLOR.

[Halo]

Where can I buy Mothers Clay Bar?

[UltegraSTI]

got 1 for my bday from my bro and spent all day on it, but it was worth it. about july 2004





-Ult

[focusfirefighter]

Every where i've went they have not carried the mequirs or mothers claybar and the claybars they do carry cost like $27 and thats just for the bar and no lubricant.. i hate liveing in a small town ggrrrr

[Pzev]

Have you considered ordering online?


www.properautocare.com
www.autogeek.net
www.autopia-carcare.com
www.griotsgarage.com
www.exceldetail.com
www.specialtymotoring.com
www.topoftheline.com
www.detailersparadise.com

These sites are all good places to purchase clay bars. When looking at buying clay, one thing to note is the amount of clay (ounces). The more the better. The majority of clays perform well, and if there are differances it is usually in hardness. The softer clays are easier to fold, but tend to break down easier. The opposite is true for hard clays.


good luck

[LittleMissSvt]

Just to add to the above sites... http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc Thats for the Zaino Bros .... Its a complete system and its just amazing

[93StangBanger]

I've been using Mequiars Crystal Deep System for quite a while and admittedly have never used a clay bar. I've always been quite impressed with the Crystal Deep System - after the paint cleaner, the car always felt glass smooth. Of course, you have to do the same thing three times to your car before the process is finished, but, the end result has always been fantastic. I do use a random orbital electric buffer for my application and removal of the product (yes, I change bonnets).

I'll have to try the clay bar process to see if it yields any better results...but, from what I've read in this particular forum, it sounds like I'm likely to get comparable results to the paint cleaner step 1 of the Crystal Deep System but with a bit more physical effort.

Anyone else out there used the Crystal Deep System and clay barred to offer a pros and cons comment?

David

[firstonraceday]

clay magic worked wonders on my car it was fubar from too much wax swirls and crap but it worked awesome it works amazing on windshields too

[Jibberish18]

Anyone else out there used the Crystal Deep System and clay barred to offer a pros and cons comment?

I've got pictures for ya. YOu can compare and contrast to your cars. I've always heard that the claybar works better than the cleaner wax.

Crystal Waxing

[Sevendust]

I can't wait till spring, cuz I am all over this, I will do the older of the two Foci I have and see whats up with this whole clay-bar thing and if I like the result I will do the other! I am pretty sure I will like it as I have seen cars that have been done and it does produce an amazing result, so my whole point of this post? Would someone happen to have a black car with a before and and after picture? If you do please post!

[EggYolk_Zetec_ZX3]

I stopped at the local auto parts store, and they had never heard of the "clay bar" it was O'Reilly Auto Parts. I wouldn't even think Wal Mart would carry this, but I am kind of new to the area here, and I used to be able to get a Clay bar at AutoZone. Anyone else know where they can be found?

[hEaT]

Not sure if one is near you, but I got my Meguiars kit at Advance Auto. If you can't find one locally, you can always order online.

[Jared]

ok so i bought the Mother's kit and am going to wash, clay bar, and wax my car tomorrow cuz tuesday it's getting some collision work done and i want the paint looking as nice as possible before they try to paint match for the hood respray. if i haven't waxed my car in like over two years (i stopped loving my car a while ago) do i even need to use dish soap to strip the wax beforehand?

[Jared]

nevermind i figured it out on my own. this **** is AMAZING! my paint has looked like crap for years and this just took thought to be permanent stuff away like a magic wand. of course it isn't a cure all but it way exceeded expectations. at some points my girlfriend was laughing cuz i'd scream something like "HOLY **** IT TOOK THAT SCUFF OUT, I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!"

[larryinfl]

I just have to say something about the first page of this thread, I know its old.

I've used dish soap for years and I feel it is the best thing there is to wash your car. My car outshines nearly every car I see, and I see a lot of them.

As far as I'm concerned the dish soap being bad for your car is a myth. I've used the 'special' soaps designed for cars and they work like crap compared to dish soap.

Just my two cents.