Discussion
.. al said:
Agreed. I used a clay bar that uses water as a lube 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 all the paint scratches and impact damage when you've done it. Flies, sap, tar, bird shit, general road crap and metallic brake disc particles were gone almost instantly and I know I sound like a geek, but the paint was like glass when I had finished. I'm now a clay convert. If you haven't tried it, you should do.
]
That looks good and quite convinient as it uses water, which one was it that you used?]
Also would one bar be enough for a whole car (astra) or is it only enough to do the front?
Finally, did you wash it first, then clay it and then polish or is it some other order?
Thanks.
Yeah, it was Bilt Hamber Auto clay and thanks for the comments. Its looking almost as bad again now though. As mentioned, the difference between a car before and after ANY claying is awesome. Put your finger inside a pocket of polythere (similar to the plastic on the outside of a fag packet) and very lightly run it over unclay'd paint. You can feel and hear an almost infinite number of tiny bumps and raspings which is the build up of invisible particulate matter. Watch out for metallic brake pad particles especially. Now that asbsestos isn't used, every time you brake, or someone brakes infront of you an invisible cloud of high temperature metal dust fuses itself to your car (ok, the imagery is terrible 
) and its that which will eventually react to break down the paint film. Whatever clay you choose frankly, you're doing good by removing all this crap.
The car should be shampoo'd first (I use Bilt Hamber Auto wash ~ great quality) and then clay'd. You'd get about 6 or 7 complete clayings for an Astra I guess with the Hamber bar - enough for at least a year - year and a half depending on how much you use and value the car. If there's one down side, the Hamber bar is possibly too big. Its twice the size of others (and much cheaper) so I'd suggest tearing off a piece and just using a third, or a half of it at a time, which means you have to store the unused stuff sperately (which ain't so bad). I found too, that lobbing it in a cup of hot water for just a minute or two before using it made it more pliabe and workable, which again, didn't have me in tears of despair.
I've never seen it in Halfords, so you ain't paying their cut which is another bonus although I guess buying direct means you have to wait a few days for it to arrive. If you haven't clayed, it will be the best 20 minutes your paint will get, whatever bar you choose. There's no point in using expensive polish if its not going on clayed paint either. All that minging particulate matter (made worse if you simply have a build up of wax over them, like zit cream over a pluke) causes refraction and prevents the paint shining properly as it would if the polished paint was like glass.
I became a clay convert this summer and now I'm a clay geek, sorry.
http://www.bilthamber.com/autoclayhowto.html
) and its that which will eventually react to break down the paint film. Whatever clay you choose frankly, you're doing good by removing all this crap.The car should be shampoo'd first (I use Bilt Hamber Auto wash ~ great quality) and then clay'd. You'd get about 6 or 7 complete clayings for an Astra I guess with the Hamber bar - enough for at least a year - year and a half depending on how much you use and value the car. If there's one down side, the Hamber bar is possibly too big. Its twice the size of others (and much cheaper) so I'd suggest tearing off a piece and just using a third, or a half of it at a time, which means you have to store the unused stuff sperately (which ain't so bad). I found too, that lobbing it in a cup of hot water for just a minute or two before using it made it more pliabe and workable, which again, didn't have me in tears of despair.
I've never seen it in Halfords, so you ain't paying their cut which is another bonus although I guess buying direct means you have to wait a few days for it to arrive. If you haven't clayed, it will be the best 20 minutes your paint will get, whatever bar you choose. There's no point in using expensive polish if its not going on clayed paint either. All that minging particulate matter (made worse if you simply have a build up of wax over them, like zit cream over a pluke) causes refraction and prevents the paint shining properly as it would if the polished paint was like glass.
I became a clay convert this summer and now I'm a clay geek, sorry.
http://www.bilthamber.com/autoclayhowto.html
I like to use a small amount of clay, flattened out and about the same size and shape of a Jaffa cake, plenty of lubricant and very fast rapid back & forth in straight lines, with only light pressure from just two or three fingers on top of the clay. Folding the clay in on itself after every A4 sized area has been done thoroughly and methodically.
You must polish and wax the car afterwards though, you can't just clay and leave it. As mentioned up above, the Mequiars three stage gives good results, with no residue or powder on the plastic/vinyl bits.
You can't really go wrong, unless you don't use enough lubricant and it drags a bit, or you get grit in the clay or don't fold it over on itself often enough.
You must polish and wax the car afterwards though, you can't just clay and leave it. As mentioned up above, the Mequiars three stage gives good results, with no residue or powder on the plastic/vinyl bits.
You can't really go wrong, unless you don't use enough lubricant and it drags a bit, or you get grit in the clay or don't fold it over on itself often enough.
Just be sure to use a lot of the lubricant/quick detailer spray. In this weather with cold panels it doesn't take much for the clay to dry up and grip the paintwork which can cause marring, it'll polish out so it's nothing major, but it's likely to be more noticeable on a black car.
As to the clay bars themselves, I think the photo's posted speak volumes, suffice to say they work wonders for what they cost.
As to the clay bars themselves, I think the photo's posted speak volumes, suffice to say they work wonders for what they cost.
Balmoral Green said:
You must polish and wax the car afterwards though, you can't just clay and leave it. As mentioned up above, the Mequiars three stage gives good results, with no residue or powder on the plastic/vinyl bits.
Autoglym is better for that sort of think methinks. 
You'll have to re-polish the car if you want to get a good deep shine, and then wax on top to protect and add even more shine.
You don't need to use the bottle that comes with the clay, you can use car shampoo, and save the bottle for best.
Well thats what I do. All you need is a lubricant really.
A clay bar is a good tool for making the paint smooth, it works by sheering off contaminants that are embedded in the paint.
The clay bar itself is abrasive so it may leave some slight marring in the paint finish, especially if the car is heavily contaminated.
The Meguiars clay kit is a good kit to try for the first time, you can get it from Halfords for about £13.
It will come with some 'quick detailer' spray which you use as a lubricant (the clay should aquaplane on the paint, never grip). Note that if you run out of quick detailer, a mild shampoo solution will work just as well.
Make sure the clay bar is warm, kneed it until it is warm and mallable. If the weather is cold, a glass of warm water helps.
When your claying, continually inspect the clay and fold it over to get a fresh surface as it absorbs the contaminants.
I tend to split a claybar into smaller chunks incase I drop it (in which case I discard it).
I'd follow up the claying with a good paint cleanser such as Autoglym Super Resin Polish, then finish with a good sealant/wax, Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection could be used, or a very durable wax such as one from Collinite 476/915.
I should also note, it is advisable to use a good tar remover before you clay, removing tar spots with clay is just a waste IMHO. WD40 could be used or a dedicated tar remover such as Autoglym Tar and Glue remover on a soft microfiber cloth.
The clay bar itself is abrasive so it may leave some slight marring in the paint finish, especially if the car is heavily contaminated.
The Meguiars clay kit is a good kit to try for the first time, you can get it from Halfords for about £13.
It will come with some 'quick detailer' spray which you use as a lubricant (the clay should aquaplane on the paint, never grip). Note that if you run out of quick detailer, a mild shampoo solution will work just as well.
Make sure the clay bar is warm, kneed it until it is warm and mallable. If the weather is cold, a glass of warm water helps.
When your claying, continually inspect the clay and fold it over to get a fresh surface as it absorbs the contaminants.
I tend to split a claybar into smaller chunks incase I drop it (in which case I discard it).
I'd follow up the claying with a good paint cleanser such as Autoglym Super Resin Polish, then finish with a good sealant/wax, Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection could be used, or a very durable wax such as one from Collinite 476/915.
I should also note, it is advisable to use a good tar remover before you clay, removing tar spots with clay is just a waste IMHO. WD40 could be used or a dedicated tar remover such as Autoglym Tar and Glue remover on a soft microfiber cloth.
Edited by Neil_Sc on Saturday 1st December 16:52
Balmoral Green said:
Polarbert said:
Balmoral Green said:
with no residue or powder on the plastic/vinyl bits.
Autoglym is better for that sort of think methinks. 
Balmoral Green said:
Used SRP for years, wouldn't touch it now. Got a big bottle here that you can have, will bring it on Tuesday.
Meguiars three stage for me from now on, even better than the pot of Concours Zymol i've got in the fridge.
For winter you might want to think about replacing the stage 3 wax with the Concours or another durable wax as the stage 3 wax really isn't very durable at all, fine for a few weeks, but not months like Concours or Collinite waxes for example.Meguiars three stage for me from now on, even better than the pot of Concours Zymol i've got in the fridge.
Edited by Balmoral Green on Saturday 1st December 16:55
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...
As this is a detailing "issue" you should have put it in there instead of GG.
Have fun when you get your clay!
As this is a detailing "issue" you should have put it in there instead of GG.
Have fun when you get your clay!
Wouldn't have suggested Halfords, even though they're probably convenient.
Better products for the same price or less from one of the various vendors you can find through Google.co.uk or Detailing World.co.uk.
As for 150mph flies - no worse to get off than 50mph ones - they all stick fast once their arse smashes through their body!
Better products for the same price or less from one of the various vendors you can find through Google.co.uk or Detailing World.co.uk.
As for 150mph flies - no worse to get off than 50mph ones - they all stick fast once their arse smashes through their body!
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff