Hey thanks Neofate! I am more afraid of me trying to put pressure (brut force ya know) onto the clay...but you made me feel a little more comfortable (not with the **** but with the clay bar comments...haha!!). Can't wait to get the supplies and to do the wife...I mean do the wife's car. lol!

 

The shine was slightly improved but I don't think anyone passing by will look twice like the darker color owners have. The flake was the most pronounced improvement and as a result it did looked wetter. But then again, you're asking someone who could never see a reflection in his car before he polished lol

Haha, don't worry, it was just in certain places where I repeatedly polished. It was more like every side (driver, passenger, top) had its own wash and polish. Annoying but I was bored and waiting for backing plates and stuff . I just give it a final wash after polishing to make sure everything is off of the car before glazing and stuffs

I've heard good stuff about DWG. I just couldn't find it locally and I sorta wanted to finish already haha

 

Usually when I clay I just lubricate then slide it across my paint. Usually the contaminants come out with little pressure. The only time I do rub a bit harder is the spots where the contaminants wont come off. Otherwise the weight of the clay and you lightly resting your hand on top of it is sufficient enough

 

Yup, just resist the urge to pressure the clay -- Even if you put some pressure on it, it isn't going to damage the paint. But, the proper way to clay is to just slide it around on top of the quick detailer spray, or water, or whatever lube you use. Quick Detailer is the best to use imho. Just use alot of it if you want to be double safe. Again you feel the surface with the back of your hand/fingers -- rub against it. Then lube and clay it for a few minutes. Wipe dry then feel it again with your hand.. It should have smoothed out. if still a bit rough, clay some more. Do this for the entire vehicle. I didn't stop and feel every spot as I did it, but I got a general feel for when an area was done by the way the clay felt on the surface.

Again, I strongly recommend you do this , especially if you aren't using any machine to polish. It really gets the surface ready for your sealants/waxes and so on. It allows it to absorb better, and so forth.

There are ALOT of people , most I would guess, who never clay a car in their entire life, and most cars never get clayed. So it isn't a necessary -- but after you do it, even to a panel.. you will know why it is so good to do.

It's easy, cheap, and no danger.

 

Thanks eyezack and neofate! Are all "clays" created equal?? Is the Meguiars clay at a Wal-mart ok or should I go to the Sonus or Ultima on the detailing websites?

 

I use Megs clay at Target but I'm sure they're one and the same. Sometimes, professional grades are a bit rougher than OTC. My friend recently bought some professional grade clay from DI, the "Clay Magic: Fine Grade Clay Bar" version and it actually put quite a few swirls into his rock hard BMW paint. We are currently struggling to find a combo that works to get rid of the swirls with what we currently have

I'd just recommend OTC for now based on my experiences. I used both Mother's and Meguiar's clay kits from Target and Walmart and they worked quite well

 

I concur.. OTC are generally less abrasive. Which can be good and bad. Though from my experiences claying, the OTC -- Such as Mothers, or Megs.. work perfectly. I didn't add any marring/swirls using it, and one bar was more than enough to do the entire car more than once.

No clays aren't created equal,.. some , as eyezack mentioned, are more abrasive and as zack mentioned, this isn't always a good thing.

I concur, again, go with an OTC clay kit, and you'll be happy with the results.

 

Thanks guys!!! Appreciate the help! Will post pics when I do my first (hopefully, next week if it is nice)!