Clay bar question?

[ApacheAv8tor]

Ok. I bought the essential kit and did everything step by step. I have a new challenger and it needed a clay bar very bad. Clayed entire car and it sounded better and felt smooth. I didn't redo the Baggie test. Bad mistake. Swirl and haze remover, revive then buttery wax. Did the Baggie test at the end and car still felt terrible. What did I do wrong? Used a half bottle of detail spray!! Which is awesome by the way.

[Feets31]

The same thing happened to me the first time I used a clay bar. The second time it worked fine. I am guessing it might have had something to do with the amount of pressure.

 

Maybe the first time I allowed it to glide over the detain spray and the second time I worked it into the clear coat better.

 

Someone probaly knows what we did wrong the first time.

[ApacheAv8tor]

I thought the same thing but did not want to apply too much pressure. I hate that I wasted all that time only to do it all over again. I'm going to let it ride for a couple of months. Thanks

[07RS4]

Strange. Maybe it was pressure. How long did it take you to clay? I usually take my time, and I won't move to another panel/area until I feel the clay release, and stop grabbing.

 

Even if you didn't clay to perfection, after you use the SHR, it should be smooth. I see you went SHR and then LSP. Is there any reason why you didn't finish it down with a polish?

[egott_91]

Definitely need to use a good amount of pressure when claying for the first time when it needs it. I find that after the first heavy claying the ones that occur afterwards don't need as much pressure to remove the contamination. Using 1/2 bottle of DS sounds about right. I usually use almost an entire bottle for my truck.

 

Also, just remember, if you're polishing afterwards you really don't need to worry about the pressure because the correction afterwards will remove the imperfections.

[GXPaycheck]

Don't be afraid to scrub. Just use lots of lube.

[b_pappy]

Sorry to hear you didn't get correct results. That's the biggest reason we always urge to do a test panel (like half the hood) to make sure your technique is yielding the results you want.

Not to worry, just go back at it again.

Bruce

[Chris@Adams]

Sorry to hear you didn't get correct results. That's the biggest reason we always urge to do a test panel (like half the hood) to make sure your technique is yielding the results you want.

Not to worry, just go back at it again.

Bruce

[ApacheAv8tor]

Thanks for the replies. I will let this job go for a couple of months and do it again. This is my DD so it will need it.

[Brandon Lutz]

When I clay I wear a pair of nitrile gloves. It allows me when claying, to quickly feel if I'm doing a good job. Much like the bag test you can feel all of the contaminants left on the paint or if they have been removed.

 

What I normally do is clay a 2 foot by 2 foot section and then drag my fingers across the recently clayed area. The gloves are like a bag for your hand and will help you save time by letting you know right away if you got all of the stuff out of the paint for that section.

 

As others have mentioned, don't be afraid to put some elbow grease into it when claying. Use plenty of lube and you'll be fine.

[Chewy]

I wear the gloves for that same reason, as well as not wanting pink hands! lol

[Brandon Lutz]

The pink hands will at least smell good.

[Feets31]

I thought Chewy looked good in Pink. Great hint with the gloves all.

[EPHIOS]

I sometimes have to do claying twice or three times on a panel on one of our car, because it always park outside my house. You can probably get it done with one pass, if you are using an aggressive clay. However, I would not recommend this, because it is a denser and "grabbier" than the one Adam's sell. This clay is usual reserve for body shops, and it may result on marring your paint if used improperly.

 

I always do the baggie test after I clay each panel, especially the hood. Horizontal panels (like the hood) tend to get contaminated more than vertical panels. Also, when your clay is almost unusable, use it on the lowest parts of the car, especially next to the wheel fenders.

[K5/TBSS]

I usually do 3 passes per panel... And always at least 1 in each direction ("North" & "South")

[ihaveacamaro]

On your next go, clay until you feel the paint go completely smooth. Then you will have a good surface

[myb5blue]

What year/model Challenger? 2010 SRT8 here. Glad to see a fellow MoPar man here!

[mdolandese]

Don't be afraid to scrub hard with the clay bar as long as you use a lot of lube. You ever see Junkman clay? I think he over does it a bit.

[Team Adam's]

Over lubrication is also a pretty common mistake... you want just enough DS on the surface to allow the clay to slide, but not so much that it can't make contact with the paint.

 

Start with 1 trigger pull with a sweeping motion from about 8-12" from the surface, start claying. If it starts to drag, add another shot. This will allow you to get the feel for 'how much' lubrication you need to get the job done.

[EPHIOS]

Over lubrication is also a pretty common mistake... you want just enough DS on the surface to allow the clay to slide, but not so much that it can't make contact with the paint.

 

Start with 1 trigger pull with a sweeping motion from about 8-12" from the surface, start claying. If it starts to drag, add another shot. This will allow you to get the feel for 'how much' lubrication you need to get the job done.

 

 

There is a fine line between overusing your DS, and not using enough DS. Use you DS, only enough so the clay can glide easily.

 

*Not enough DS = Clay might stick; may cause marring

*Too much DS = wasteful; might accidently send your clay flying

[LarryR]

How "far" does a single can of clay go?

[mc2hill]

That really depends on how contaminated the paint on the vehicles is. The 200 gram bar can be broken into 1/3's or 1/4's , but should easily do several cars.

[Chris@Adams]

Yea I would say you could clay a car 3 or 4 times with Adam's Clay Bar!

[varga740]

What do you guys think about using shampoo as a lube for the clay bar?

 

I've clay bar'd four cars since I got into the whole detailing world and adams products earlier this year. The first two cars I used detail spray as lubricant. The 3rd car I did it right after washing the car while it was still wet using just water as lubricant. Then in between, I watched a youtube video where the detailer had his soap bucket and mitt ready and he would clay bar one section at a time using the soap as the lubricant. I was curious so I tried this method on the 4th car just yesterday.

[Team Adam's]

As long as you can get the lubrication right its not a problem... but sometimes thats easier said than done. Just like I mentioned above, over lubrication is a common mistake. If the clay is slipping too much you're not getting the paint fully decontaminated.

[KBsToy]

Don't be afraid to scrub. Just use lots of lube.