ITRCA

Has anybody used a clay bar to remove in ground grit from the exterior of their car? Are the results worth the time? Also, exactly how do you do it? Any suggestions will be helpful

I used a clay bar last summer, it worked well, you have to keep it wet to keep from marking up the paint, it worked well, you have to wax it afterwards. I would like to do it again, but it's so damn time consuming I just never have the time.

I did it a few weeks ago, best 3 hours i spent on my paint. Well then i had to polish it and then wax it, not to mention the washing before hand.

pretty much its worth it if you have half a day to spend

Sounds like I'll go ahead and do it, I just ordered some clay bars and a ton of other stuff from zaino bros. Any suggestions regarding the actual process of claying? like the direction and amount of pressure I should be using.

Jan Niemi wrote:I would like to do it again, but it's so damn time consuming I just never have the time.

Yes it is so time consuming, it took me around 4-5 hours..
I did it this early summer...but result really2 satisfying

a clay bar works very well when dealing with over spray and stuff. just make sure you get a clay bar kit like mothers or meguiar's. also makes sure to wax the car after cause it will take the wax off. if done right the car will shine like new.

Yes the clay bar works wonders for my car's paint, expect to spend most of the day doing the whole car. As far as pressure on the clay bar itself, there should hardly be any on it. Just keep it lubricated and wet and pretty much glide it over the paint; you can feel it picking up the particles. Do not scrub down on it. I think the instructions on the Mother's kit said to go back and forth in the same direction, not circluar. Good luck!

I clay my car every time I wax it, then again I wax it about once every two months- I try to stay out of the rain and dirt when possible.

When a car is clayed first the waxing is so much easier.

Just be sure to use a quality wax after waxing your car.

yeah i clayed my r and it works great. use windex or a glass cleaner to keep the surface wet and light pressure is good enough. good luck youll be happy withe the results.!

Is it ok to use diluted car wash in a spray bottle, that's what I've been told to use?

its okay to use the diluted soapwater but windex shines the paint after your thru! thats what i did and dyamn it shined (bling-bling)!!!!

VtecWhore wrote:its okay to use the diluted soapwater but windex shines the paint after your thru! thats what i did and dyamn it shined (bling-bling)!!!!

Windex contains Amonia and Not sure that is good for the clear coat.

I used the Clay bar on my Civic (haven't had the time to do the R yet) Yes it is Time Consuming but time well spent in mt opinion.
They sell a Claying Kit atAuto Zone. Greatto remove Bug Guts and Tar and other stubborn Road Debris. The Kit coms with some kind of spray to keep the clay wet. Someone else mentioned that it takes off Paint Over Spray and this is really true.

Anyone know how often this should be done. Anyone heard of any adverse effects this may have?

I use Griots Garage products - great stuff - and have clayed my car(s) several times prior to polish/wax. I use their Speed Shine with the clay. If you have someone with you (wife, friend, child,monkey) to wipe the lubricant off after you clay the surface, it goes by pretty quickly. Doing it alone takes a lot longer.
It's amazing how well it prepares the surface for wax or polish. It looks great just after claying it - gives you motivation to continue with the next step!

When you clay you car don't use any harsh soaps or cleaners with heavy solvints. the best thing to us is Ivory soap (just a drop) in a spray bottle with luke warm water.

And be sure to WAX your car after because when you clay it leaves the paint open to more dirt.

I used spray detailer, like Meguires showtime, or Mothers spray detailer to keep the bar and paint lubricated. It worked very well, I would stay away from glass cleaner on the paint, though it works great on wheels

I used to use the Mother's clay off WesternAuto and it was very good. I discovered you can buy a better product off body-work supply shops. It ran me $27 but it was a much bigger piece of clay than Mothers and it was blue, not yellow like Mothers. The lubricant was another $7. After almost all day on this, the car looks just incredible. All the tar, bug residues, and paintdrops from my neighbor painting his house is gone !! Truly awesome product. After the clay, I waxed with Kit Karnauba wax and I was done !!

I have one question... my ITR is NBP (black) and there is a little bit of water stains on the roof and hood. This is the mark left behind after raindrops dry out in the sun and I could not get this off. Granted, it is not something noticeable unless you look for it but I'd like to know how to get rid of this. Anyone have any suggestions ??

I just clayed my car last weekend actually... worked wonders on my paint. I ended up spending more than I anticipated though... Ended up buy Miquires (sp?) body shop clay bars and there final touch spray which totalled around $35.00.. though it'll last me a while so in the long run it'll be worth it... YOU'LL HAVE TO WAX AFTER CLAYING THOUGH cause it'll take all the previous wax, tar, etc... off when you clay bar the car... GOOD STUFF THOUGH!!