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I wash, clayed, and waxed my wife's CT200h. It's kind of my guinea pig for detailing my IS500. It was my first time I ever used a clay bar. I only did the rear bumper which had a ton of rail dust, and a few areas on the gloss black roof which had small hard stains. On the rear bumper it was very effective, producing a super deep gloss shine. When I looked closely however, I could see some unevenness and scratches left behind by the clay bar. I was still pleased with the result. The clay bar did not work on the roof for the hard stain marks on the roof and in fact ended up doing more damage than I started with. I had to polish the resultant scratches out. I would not recommend using a clay bar on gloss black surfaces.
Overall, I will not clay bar my IS500 unless I absolutely have to. Perhaps in 4-5 years when I can actually feel surface contaminants with my finger. For now, it's super slick and I've only washed it once in 3 months.
Interior detailer is probably the weakest of this collection (pretty sure it's just soap and water). Otherwise, I stand by all of these other products!
You should not use a clay bar to remove rail dust. You're basically creating metal sandpaper and rubbing it all over your paint. Rail dust should be removed with iron remover, washed, then you can clay if the dust is gone and you still feel contamination on the paint.
Also, a clay bar when used properly can still introduce micro scratches in your paint. I try not to clay too often. Yet another use case for a good ceramic coating... I haven't had to clay my cars once after I put on a ceramic.
@macmaster you will want to use an iron fallout remover on the car after you wash it. I used Iron-X after doing the first was on the IS500 and there a decent amount of reaction. Also look in to the new ceramic or graphene infused waxes; they are easy to put on and last much longer than just wax.
You should not use a clay bar to remove rail dust. You're basically creating metal sandpaper and rubbing it all over your paint. Rail dust should be removed with iron remover, washed, then you can clay if the dust is gone and you still feel contamination on the paint.
Also, a clay bar when used properly can still introduce micro scratches in your paint. I try not to clay too often. Yet another use case for a good ceramic coating... I haven't had to clay my cars once after I put on a ceramic.
Most people swear by clay bars to remove rail dust. I would say it's the gold standard. But I agree with you. I do believe you're essentially creating metal sandpaper. But any contaminant the clay bar picks up has the potential to scratch. I guess the key is to keep folding the clay bar and liberal lubrication. Fortunately the silver paint is pretty forgiving with microscratches. I'll probably clay the rest of the car the next time I wash it.
The Iron-X stuff looks easy to use, but man that's gotta be a harsh chemical.
So what do you think? I look down every time the door is opened. 😎
i LOVE them. They gave me a loaner and we went and had breakfast and it took awhile so we ran to Costco. He called me and said sorry for the delay we couldn’t figure out why they wouldn’t come on. Until he realized they are attached to the dome light and I guess I had that off <shrug > who knew lol
i LOVE them. They gave me a loaner and we went and had breakfast and it took awhile so we ran to Costco. He called me and said sorry for the delay we couldn’t figure out why they wouldn’t come on. Until he realized they are attached to the dome light and I guess I had that off <shrug > who knew lol
Oh my God, I feel SO MUCH BETTER!! When I first picked up the car, the sills were lit. A week after I got home, they weren’t. I was like, wait a darn minute, these worked before. Then I figured out it was the dome light. I was too embarrassed to tell anyone, but if the Lexus tech made the same mistake, then I’m not an idgit! 😂🤣
