Clay bar not as good as expected

[TonyHetherington]

Mr Whippy said:

vernan said:

Wash

Polish

Wash

Claybar

Wash again

Wax

That'll keep you busy

You sure you want to polish *before* claying?

I agree - you would NOT polish BEFORE claying. The clay (to answer the original question too) simply gets rid of contaminents on the paintwork. No more, no less (it CERTAINLY would not get rid of scratches. If anything it would make scratches more prominent...not by making more, but by removing anything masking them). It provides a 100% bodywork to polish and wax, rather than polishing 99% bodywork and 1% tree sap/bird muck/tar etc. etc.

To TRULY get rid of scratches you need proper paint correction. Think of what a scratch is; it's a dug out bit of lacquer (clearcoat). So to get rid of it you need to make the other clearcoat around it the same height; i.e. remove it (giving the appearance of a flat clearcoat layer, no scratches). To do that you need a polish; this is abrasive to remove the clear coat. Hand polishes like Megs Scratch X and AG Super Resin are good, but can only go so far. Depending on the amount of scratches and the depth of them depends on the result you get.

To do it 100% properly you need paint correction - a few hundred quid from a body shop or from a detailing company (it is an art!). However, the polishes mentioned will do a very good (but not 100%) job on your car for a fraction of the price

[dr bob]

OK, so if I want to spruce up my car a bit for the summer what should I get (max. budget £10), just to take the look away from fine scratches etc... Is Turtlewax Colour Magic any good?

I'm only after a quick, cheap and reasonable-ish solution(!)

CH

[The Walrus]

dr bob said:

OK, so if I want to spruce up my car a bit for the summer what should I get (max. budget £10), just to take the look away from fine scratches etc... Is Turtlewax Colour Magic any good?

I'm only after a quick, cheap and reasonable-ish solution(!)

CH

I would use something like megs scratch x or poorboys SSR 2 OR 2.5 but to really make these work you need a rotary as trust me you arm will not make enough speed or heat to cut the laquer effictively.

[vernan]

That's useful, thanks for putting me right

[TonyHetherington]

dr bob said:

Is Turtlewax Colour Magic any good?

Not really.

Bit more than £10 but the Meguiar's 3-step system is a good one (probably £20). For just a polish, AutoGlym SuperResinPolish is a good one, or their new one with a black front (Deep Shine Polish or something like that, they call it).

IMPORTANT POINT: Use the right cloths! You could spend hours polishing a car only to put more scratches back in when you remove the polish residue. To put polish on the car I recommend from halfords the 3 meguiars little spong pads (you'll see what I mean when you get there). To remove, get yourself a towel from www.cleanyourcar.co.uk (I'll hunt out a link for you in a minute).

Hope that all helps

Oh actually this thread can be put in the body work section, so I'll move it.

[TonyHetherington]

vernan said:

That's useful, thanks for putting me right

No probs, glad it helped

[Vodka Margarine]

How abrasive is super resin polish? Just if you used it too much would you thin the paint down alot?

[TonyHetherington]

For a really good thread on car cleaning, see this;

www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=&t=372760

[TonyHetherington]

Vodka Margarine said:

How abrasive is super resin polish? Just if you used it too much would you thin the paint down alot?

In theory, yes. It's abrasive and so removes a little bit every time you use it. However it's all relative; if you're detailing a 50yr old car that still has it's original paint then you'd start to worry....but any modern car you could probably use SRP every month for 5 yrs and not worry - especially if it's by hand.

[Mr Whippy]

SRP is also a bit of a filler too.

It's not that good, I've worked it and worked it and seen no real benefit.

The Meg's scratch X and/or the 3 stage polishes are proper abrasives for removing clearcoat by hand.


I'd say SRP is just a good now and again filler/polish, great to just use on a newer car that is taken care of, but if you want to really remove swirls you'll be there for months

Dave

[evolutionvalet]

If you can, break the clay into three pieces and use one for paintwork one for glass and then one for wheels. Dont cross use them and remember to always fold the clay into itself regularly. Use lubricant on the panel too to avoid marring the surface.

Also gold rule ---- if you drop it throw it straight away..............


Ohhh golden rule number 2-------- Blu Tack will not work......

Kev

[Vodka Margarine]

It's a bit off topic, but from what ive read, alot of people use polishing machines. What one should I buy? how should I use it? and what polish?

Im a total novice but I have plenty of time to learn


Matt

Edited by Vodka Margarine on Friday 20th April 23:04

Edited by Vodka Margarine on Friday 20th April 23:10

[t40ora]

Vodka Margarine said:

It's a bit off topic, but from what ive read, alot of people use polishing machines. What one should I buy? how should I use it? and what polish?

Im a total novice but I have plenty of time to learn


Matt

Edited by Vodka Margarine on Friday 20th April 23:04

Edited by Vodka Margarine on Friday 20th April 23:10

This is the one that has been recommended to me a number of times. I'll be ordering one soon.

www.autopia-carcare.com/pcdepot.html

[Megane230F1]

t40ora said:

Vodka Margarine said:

It's a bit off topic, but from what ive read, alot of people use polishing machines. What one should I buy? how should I use it? and what polish?

Im a total novice but I have plenty of time to learn


Matt

Edited by Vodka Margarine on Friday 20th April 23:04

Edited by Vodka Margarine on Friday 20th April 23:10

This is the one that has been recommended to me a number of times. I'll be ordering one soon.

www.autopia-carcare.com/pcdepot.html

Your spot on there mate the Porter Cable is the way to go, I have seen some stunning results with this machine.
Porter Cable polisher 7424
SFX PC Polishing kit from Autopia - www.autopia-carcare.com/son-sfxpol-kit.html
www.detailingworld.co.uk Please note you will need a 110-220/240 volt adaptor with this kit.
Use this in conjunction with Megiuars Mirror Glaze 83 and you swirls should be gone. Also recommend using microfibre cloths between each of the cleaning stages.

Hope this helps Phill J

[TonyHetherington]

You are right, Phil...HOWEVER, one thing that should be stressed is that using the PC is an art - it is really a skill and technique/style has a huge effect on the final result.

It IS worth getting, but only if it's something you may intend to work at and get better with...not just a once every 6 month polish.

Hope that makes sense
Tony

[Megane230F1]

Yeah one thing I forgot to metion as well Tony which might help the guys is, keep the head wet as if used incorrectly the paint has a chance of being scorched even though you may be told it won't.
Thanks for the tips from everyone.
Kind regards Phill J

[ukwill]

Megane230F1 said:

Yeah one thing I forgot to metion as well Tony which might help the guys is, keep the head wet as if used incorrectly the paint has a chance of being scorched even though you may be told it won't.
Thanks for the tips from everyone.
Kind regards Phill J

I've never wetted any of the pads I've used on my PC, in over 3yrs of use. No paint burns.

In fact, I've never heard of anyone burning their paint with a RO polisher such as a PC.

Maybe you could if you kept it in the same position for about 15-20mins!

[sospan]

I just used meguires clay bar for the forst time and was impressed with the effect
Silky smooth after use.
Next i will progress to swirl removal with suitable fine abrisives as recommended by detailers
Then.......
full treatment

[.. al]

I used a clay bar to do the Alfa a few months back. The car had driven 3,000 summer miles without a wash and was minging. But to do the entire front (up to the rear of the front wheel arches) and the windscreen took me about 10 minutes. The only down side is that it shows up paint scratches and impact damage when you've done it. Flies, sap, tar, bird shit, general road crap and metallic brake disc particles were no problem and I know I sound like a geek, but the paint was like glass when I had finished and there was no marring either, although I should have cut a piece off before using the whole lot of it, and it may have been a bit 'overkill'. Worked great on the windscreen, far better than a sponge at a fuel station.

Before.


10 minutes later, literally. It polished up a treat too.

Piece of piss to use.