Just wanted to know what the life of a clay bar should be? I used mine for the first time today and it got very dirty. Are these a one time use material or can you remold them and use them a couple of times?

 

I read on Zaino's site that a single bar can do 3 to 4 car with moderate contamination (However, I do not know if they meant that you do 3 to 4 cars at the same time or you save it and use it at a later time).

I just washed my car today and threw away the clay bar that I used. I figure I will only do this twice a year and it's not too expensive to buy another bar instead of risking scratches from any dirt that might be stuck to it.


RedBox

 

Thanks RedBox,

I just can't see running a very dirty claybar over my new car. I can't believe how much debris that claybar took off my car. I think I will throw mine away and buy a new one a couple times a year.

 

I've never done it personally, but readng about it, I thought you were supposed to slice off the top part that is dirty and use the clean clay under it?

 

Cut the bar into small pieces so that you can just pitch them when they become tainted. Try warming them first in the sun or oven to soften them up, then mash them into fifty-cent sized disks. After some use when the outer surface becomes dirty, fold the outside in and start again and repeat the proccess until the clay becomes contaminated, then thow it away and start with another piece. One clay bar should last you for 3 or more sessions using this method.



Santa Rosa Steve

 

With as thin as my bar was you couldn't slice any off. Cutting the bar into small pieces makes sense. I really didn't even use but one side. I will say it made my day alot better when I saw the debris come off that great paintjob. I still find very small fragments of plastic paint protector in the creases of the hood and front fenders?? All in all a very easy process and well worth the time!

 

What is a clay bar, and what is it used for ?

 

It's literally a piece of clay, kind of like the clay you probably used in art class to make mugs or bowls. It's not exactly the same thing, so don't go putting that on your car, but feels and looks similar. You use it to get surface contaminants off of your paint. I recently had a run in with paint overspray from some asshole painting something or another white overhead when I drove by.
(I hope that all the bad things that can happen in this world happen to that man and no one else). My paint had a slight sandpaper feel to it. I used paint clay to removed the paint. It can also remove unseen contaminants, but I think it's mildly debatable how useful that is (I still do it during my 6 month detail).

If it weren't for clay I'd be looking at a repaint for over half of my car, or at least a lot of wetsanding. I never got the paint and trim back to 100% white spot free but it's 99% so I'm just going to live with it.

 

the "clay bar" i saw are all synthetics... do i don't think they are the same thing comapre to glay used in art class. but it did work like charm, i love it!!

 

I know it's not literally the same as in art class, but for the sake of comparison it looks like the colored clay you use in art class.