Clay bar

[Whalen182]

Driveway and garage daily driver hobby/enthusiast here. I’ve used several brands of clay bars and Griot’s Garage Brilliant Finish Synthetic Clay.

The Synthetic is a much nicer experience for a number of reasons.

Whatever you choose, don’t overthink it. Keep it simple. There is plenty of information on the forum and great products at the store. Try to enjoy the process and you will be very happy with the final results.

[spazzz]

I always pick Mothers kit since it is really hard to beat for the price.
It's available just about anywhere.

Same product Mike is using in his pics.

[Eldorado2k]

I always pick Mothers kit since it is really hard to beat for the price.
It's available just about anywhere.

Same product Mike is using in his pics.

Yup, I like the claymitt, but I always have a good old claybar available on my shelf. 2-3 different kinds actually.

[WillSports3]

The Mothers clay kit is awesome. I use it for for when I do a car that's only seen the brush wash "paint protection wax" at gas stations. Generally speaking, I use the CarPro clay block. Just quicker on a car that's had decent protection.

[selkov]

One last thought - Clay bar vs Meguires M105 polish?
If I use the polish do I still need to clay bar?

[rlmccarty2000]

I really like a clay towel. I tried to like regular clay but I’m fumble fingered and I kept dropping it before I finished the job. Dropping a clay towel is not a disaster like dropping a clay bar, just rinse the clay towel and get back to work.

[Mike Phillips]

One last thought - Clay bar vs Meguires M105 polish?


If I use the polish do I still need to clay bar?

Yes.

Clay removes contaminants that are BONDED ON TOP of the paint

Compound removes defects that are IN the paint.


If you want to go DEEP - when machine buffing with FOAM pads the foam tends to just GLIDE over bonded contaminants - it will not remove them as well as a dedicated mechanical process.


I wish I had a dollar for every time I've answered this question. Good question. If you FEEL contamination on the paint then CLAY first and then COMPOUND.

[WillSports3]

Also if you polish without claying, if your paint levelling process removes the contaminants, then you're basically scouring them over your paint as you polish. Considering what a lot of bonded contaminants actually are like embedded brake dust, industrial fall out, hardened sap, or rubber/tar, you don't want rub that over your paint. Also will destroy your pads a lot quicker.