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Detailing a car using a clay bar
Introduction
Claying a car using a clay bar is an extremely effective way of removing surface contaminants. When detailing clay is passed across the paintwork of the car, with a quick detailer used as a lube, surface contamination such as tree sap and other bonded materials are lifted off the paintwork. This leaves a glossy surface behind, perfect for polishing.
Pre-claying 1: The wash
The first step in claying the car is to remove dirt using a shampoo and wash mitt. Neglecting this step means that any dirt on the paintwork would be dragged along by the clay bar, creating swirl marks.
Before pics (not too bad since the car had been washed a few days previous):
Using the trusty Zymol Auto Wash for the wash stage, along with a Meguiars microfibre wash mitt
Pic from after the wash stage (sorry, no 'during' photos)
Now for the door shuts, all given a wipe with Meguiars Quik Detailer and a microfibre cloth, previously treated here
Front, before and after
Rear, before and after
Fuel filler cap, before and after
Given the strong sun, the drying step became more of a 'get rid of the water spots step' using these...
Before..
After..
Pre-claying 2: Tar removal
The next step is to remove tar spots using a tar remover (this step was done a couple of days previously but inclement weather prevented the claying taking place at that stage). Apply the tar remover, leave for a few seconds to soak into the tar and wipe off to remove completely from the paintwork. Again, this would be dragged across the paint if not removed before claying, although any spots that are missed will be removed by the clay bar stage - just make sure to knead the clay regularly to minimise the possibility of swirls.
Claying
Now for claying itself, the weather was against me so apologies for lack of photos. These are the tools required, the clay bar (in this case Sonus Green Mild Clay) and a quik detailer (Turtle Wax Ice in this case since the Meguiars had run out).
Remove the clay from its wrapping and roll it into a ball in the palm of the hand. Flatten it out into a roughly circular shape.
Now working in small areas about 1ft x 1ft, cover the area with the quick detailer and rub the clay lightly along the bodywork. The clay will grab at the contaminants for the first couple of passes but after a few passes it will glide smoothly, indicating that the contaminants have been lifted from the paint.
The paintwork was in good condition and the clay was not picking up large volumes of contaminant
Two golden rules are to use plenty of quick detailer and keep kneading the clay to expose a clean surface.
After a couple of hours, the whole car will have been clayed and will be in need of a wash. A quick wash gets rid of any marks from the quick detailer and exposes the mirror finish of the now smooth paintwork.
The paintwork is now in great shape for some polishing and protection to really bring out the shine.
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