Need Some Advice on Claying

[Cdhoff502]

So I’m ready to clay my truck, and I’m hoping you guys could help me with a few questions:

1. Is it okay to use a wash and clay mitt, or better to use a clay bar and lubricator? I’m more interested in quality than time saving here.
2. Do I have to worry about marring with the clay mitt, like I would with a medium vs a fine grade clay?
3. I have a rather large truck (2014 GMC Sierra ext. cab), so any estimates on the number of bars I would need to clay it, if I did go that
route?

Thanks for the help.

[C5Longhorn]

I've always read that you will most likely get more marring with a clay mitt than with a cla bar. The mitt action is more aggressive than a standard clay bar.

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[pilotpip]

I've never used a mitt. I have one for the next time I do my truck (hopefully next week).

1) Personal preference. Mitt with a high-lube wash seems to be a good alternative to clay.
2) Any of it can mar. Too many variables to say what will or won't. Maybe an expert can chime in here.
3) When I use clay, I usually do the hood and one side with a gumball-sized chunk, then the other side and roof with a second one. Any of the kits are more than enough. It's the detail spray that you'll need more of.

[dpevans]

If you decide to use a mitt make sure you break it in on glass. I always like using clay bar because I could not only feel the change in "pull tension" but you also see the contamination on the clay. With a mitt I couldn't feel the change in pull tension. (once you start using a clay bar you will know what I mean with pull tension) I found marring comes from too much hand pressure, you don't need much to make it work. I use fine grade on my car which I take good care of, medium for cars I know have never been done and rims. I would suggest you do Iron X treatment before you clay, also debug and tar removal to minimize bar contamination then one bar of clay will be more then enough.

[Rsurfer]

So I’m ready to clay my truck, and I’m hoping you guys could help me with a few questions:

1. Is it okay to use a wash and clay mitt, or better to use a clay bar and lubricator? I’m more interested in quality than time saving here.
2. Do I have to worry about marring with the clay mitt, like I would with a medium vs a fine grade clay?



3. I have a rather large truck (2014 GMC Sierra ext. cab), so any estimates on the number of bars I would need to clay it, if I did go that
route?

Thanks for the help.

dpevans answered your questions quite well. Your avatar looks like dark paint, so I hope your planning on polishing after claying no matter what clay method you choose.