Hi,

Well, I bought a (Mother's) clay bar kit a few months ago. The kit includes 2 clay bars, a microfiber cloth, and a bottle of lubricant. I have been putting off using this, but now I'm thinking I should go ahead and try it out on our 2013 RDX. I have never done this before, so any advice would be appreciated. Can someone please outline the steps involved?

Here are a few of my questions:

1. Should I first wash and dry the car?

2. Should I also apply wax (or polymer) to the car first?

3. Should I apply a new coat of wax (or polymer) right after using the clay bar?

My guess is that the answers to 1, 2, and 3 are yes, no, and yes, but please correct me if I'm wrong (and/or elaborate on any fine points).

Thanks in advance for any advice and helpful suggestions you can give me.

Gregg

 

It's actually quite easy. This should explain things far better than I possibly could in a post. Be sure to use plenty of lube.

 

Ditto on the lubricant. Go on Griot's Garage website, and they have videos on each product, and how they should be used. They use their Speed Shine as a lubricant. You will be surprised as to the dirt left on your paint after washing. If the finish is really scratched, or has swirls, then used a polish after claying, and before final wax.

 

I didn’t watch that entire video, but it looks like some good advice. You might also want to check out the Meguiars and Auto Geek websites. Don't get too hung up on any one person's suggestions or techniques. There are several ways to acquire the same results.

I’ve been detailing cars for many years and probably can’t add much to the videos you might see. I put all of the tips I have on this web site: http://www.parkingbydesign.com/detailing.htm (See the "Paint Prep" section.)

I usually clay once or twice a year when I’m doing a full detail including polish and wax. Remember that you only need to clay when you need to – sounds silly, but if your paint is as smooth as glass after a wash, clay is not necessary. However, if after you wash a vehicle you can feel little bumps, clay will greatly help. (Some people suggest doing another wash after the clay – I’ve never found that to be necessary.)

Give it a try – you may be surprised at what a difference it makes.

Keep in mind that clay will remove "above surface" contaminants - it won't really "clean" the paint. So here's another tip: many people think they just need to wash and wax, but that's not enough. It's a lot more work, but if, even once in a while, you use a paint cleaner and polish before waxing, your paint will sparkle.

Main tip - have fun!

 

The purpose of a claybar is to remove stubborn contaminants. Accordingly, you'll want to start with a clean car but it need not be dry.

Make sure to use sufficient lubricant - that goes for claybar'ing as well as in other activities

 

Here are a few other suggestions...

- Before you start, divide up the clay bars into 3 or 4 parts and put the spares in ziplock baggies. Keep air out of them. This will keep them workable for many months. Also, you will drop the bar, by dividing them up ahead of time you will have three others that are clean.
- If you drop it on the driveway, just get rid of it. You may have picked up some grit that will scratch the $#I! out of your paint.
- You can use almost anything for lubricant. You don't need any fancy special purpose stuff. I've used ultimate No Rinse car wash (a cap or two in a spray bottle) once, worked great.
- Once you clay bar the car then it is a good time to give it a polish and wax, or apply Opti-Coat 2.0. Great stuff.

 

Once dropped, the claybar MUST be thrown away. There is no way to clean it and you will have picked up grit.

While OptiCoat is great stuff (I have it on both of my cars) it requires much more than a claybar to prep the surface. Any imperfections in the paint (swirls, holograms etc) will be permanently locked in.