Newbie here - Clay Bar question!
Discussion
Evening folks,
Picked up a Meguiars Smooth Surface Clay kit from Halfords today and spent a few hours doing one side of my MX5 before work.
Bearing in mind it's a 21 year old car with all it's original paintwork - I can't help but think I'm doing something wrong because the clay wasn't really getting very dirty at all! Is it possible I've been using too much lube? (oo-er missus)
Followed the instructions pretty carefully and only used one or two squirts from the included bottle over a 2 square ft area but it didn't seem to "grab" anything at all, only really started catching when the lube dissapeared and when it did catch, the only thing it seemed to pick up was some of the red paint!
Since my ownership (August '11) I've tried to keep on top of the paintwork with polish and wax but I still find it very hard to believe that the paint is contaminent-free after such a long time. I read about the plastic bag tip to check and could only really feel a few pimples on the side I clayed this afternoon - I kept claying until these pimples were gone and then polished and waxed over the top, but the bar is still very clean looking and I'm not entirely conviced it has done anything.
I would be interested to hear any thoughts or advice, in the meantime here are a few pics of the panels I managed this afternoon (any excuse!
)
Shiney bits by St_Anger1, on Flickr
Shiney bits from another angle by St_Anger1, on Flickr
Picked up a Meguiars Smooth Surface Clay kit from Halfords today and spent a few hours doing one side of my MX5 before work.
Bearing in mind it's a 21 year old car with all it's original paintwork - I can't help but think I'm doing something wrong because the clay wasn't really getting very dirty at all! Is it possible I've been using too much lube? (oo-er missus)
Followed the instructions pretty carefully and only used one or two squirts from the included bottle over a 2 square ft area but it didn't seem to "grab" anything at all, only really started catching when the lube dissapeared and when it did catch, the only thing it seemed to pick up was some of the red paint!
Since my ownership (August '11) I've tried to keep on top of the paintwork with polish and wax but I still find it very hard to believe that the paint is contaminent-free after such a long time. I read about the plastic bag tip to check and could only really feel a few pimples on the side I clayed this afternoon - I kept claying until these pimples were gone and then polished and waxed over the top, but the bar is still very clean looking and I'm not entirely conviced it has done anything.
I would be interested to hear any thoughts or advice, in the meantime here are a few pics of the panels I managed this afternoon (any excuse!
)Shiney bits by St_Anger1, on Flickr
Shiney bits from another angle by St_Anger1, on Flickr
The Meg's one is quite mild - so won't lift everything off.
As above, feel the paintwork when wet after rinsing, with clingfilm over fingertips.
Any roughness, grab the clay bar.
There's a whole plethora of bars on the market - most rehashed/alternative coloured versions of the patent owner brand, but a few are not.
Bilt Hamber does soft, medium, original, and the soft whilst designed for colder weather use, would still lift up more than the Meg's, but I'd opt for the medium to have on standby for when the Meg's can't grab some stuff.
You only need water, rather than quick detailer/clay lube - but whichever one you use, keep the clay's thickness at 3-5mm and don't apply any real downward pressure.
As above, feel the paintwork when wet after rinsing, with clingfilm over fingertips.
Any roughness, grab the clay bar.
There's a whole plethora of bars on the market - most rehashed/alternative coloured versions of the patent owner brand, but a few are not.
Bilt Hamber does soft, medium, original, and the soft whilst designed for colder weather use, would still lift up more than the Meg's, but I'd opt for the medium to have on standby for when the Meg's can't grab some stuff.
You only need water, rather than quick detailer/clay lube - but whichever one you use, keep the clay's thickness at 3-5mm and don't apply any real downward pressure.
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