Well for a start its not really made of clay, but a mixture of a soft plastic resin (polybutene) and various grades of abrasive particles that is perfectly safe to use on paintwork.
What's It Do?
Your Clay Bar will remove bonded contaminate that washing cannot hope to remove. Its the invisible crud that has stuck to your paintwork over the years that not only dulls the finish, but makes the surface feel rough to the touch. A clay bar will also remove visible defects, such as tar spots.
Why Should I Clay?
OK, remember the first thing you learnt in woodwork back in school? That a finish will only be as good as the prep? Its the same principle. The cleaner the surface the better chance your polish will have to do its job.
So How Does It Work?
A Clay Bar will gently remove any contaminant residing on the paint work, lifting it from the surface and onto the bar itself. Here's how you go about things....
First, take your bar and despite what some manufacturers will tell you, cut the bar up into sections. Take a section you have cut off, and mould into a pancake-like shape....
For this demo, I used Sonus Green Clay.
Now, the clay will only work if you lube up the surface. I use water, but any Quick Detailer/weak shampoo mixture is fine. Don't be stingy with the lube, the only way the Clay will do damage is if its not lubed correctly.
Working on small area at a time, spray the work area thoroughly with the lubricant and then using light pressure and pace rub the clay backwards and forwards across the surface of the panel, following the lines of the car. You may choose to hold the bar with your fingertips, or palm. Its whatever you find comfortable.
Don't put any pressure on the bar, be gentle. You should at first hear a light scratching noise. Don't worry! Its the bar lifting the nasties. After around 10-20 passes of the section, the bar should feel no resistance and you can be sure that section is done, so on to the next. Wipe off the excess liquid from the lube when your finished with a section.
Generally speaking, if a car as old as ours has never been clayed it can take 3 hours plus to finish a car to a good standard. But as with everything, the more you do it, the less time it will take from then on in.
After a while, the bar will become discoloured....
That's how you know you are doing a good job
Important! If you drop the bar on the floor, throw it away at once. The clays nature means that small stones will attach to the bar and you don't want to drag those over your paintwork!
When finished you should be left with a surface as clean as this, ready for the polish and wax of your choice...
Hope you guys found this usefull!
Alex
