Clay longevity and How to Clean

[NM15]

I have used clay in the past, but am not super clear on how long the visco bar or mitt last?  And after I get the bar full of contaminates and bugs, is there a way to clean it properly to avoid any scratches etc. on future uses?

 

I appreciate any advice, Thanks guys!

[falcaineer]

No way to clean the Visco clay, you just keep stretching and folding it in on itself. According to the Visco product site, the Visco clay will last for dozens of vehicles, less for heavily contaminated cars. When it starts feeling tacky, probably about time to replace it. If it drops, it's a general rule you should also replace it (may have picked up something you can't see in the clay...but will see the swirls from later).

 

The clay mitt is advertised to be used 20-40 times and can easily be rinsed with water during or after use. Super easy to use, it speeds things up dramatically. I love it. The trade off is increased potential for marring, so a polish will likely be needed afterwards.

 

Watch these for more details:

 

 

 

 

 

[NM15]

1 hour ago, falcaineer said:

No way to clean the Visco clay, you just keep stretching and folding it in on itself. According to the Visco product site, the Visco clay will last for dozens of vehicles, less for heavily contaminated cars. When it starts feeling tacky, probably about time to replace it. If it drops, it's a general rule you should also replace it (may have picked up something you can't see in the clay...but will see the swirls from later).

 

The clay mitt is advertised to be used 20-40 times and can easily be rinsed with water during or after use. Super easy to use, it speeds things up dramatically. I love it. The trade off is increased potential for marring, so a polish will likely be needed afterwards.

 

Watch these for more details:

 

 

 

 

 

That’s a lot of good knowledge, thank you very much I really appreciate it

 

 

[RayS]

1 hour ago, falcaineer said:

No way to clean the Visco clay, you just keep stretching and folding it in on itself. According to the Visco product site, the Visco clay will last for dozens of vehicles, less for heavily contaminated cars. When it starts feeling tacky, probably about time to replace it. If it drops, it's a general rule you should also replace it (may have picked up something you can't see in the clay...but will see the swirls from later).

 

The clay mitt is advertised to be used 20-40 times and can easily be rinsed with water during or after use. Super easy to use, it speeds things up dramatically. I love it. The trade off is increased potential for marring, so a polish will likely be needed afterwards.

 

 

 

 

I want to point out and reiterate a statement Chris made - If you drop it, replace it - don't use it, especially if you have sand like we do in South Carolina.  Someone, who shall remain nameless, dropped it in sand and before the brain engaged, had ran it over half the trunk of a car.  Then the Oh "Adjective" hit and the person realized what he'd done - it took him 3 times as long to correct that half a trunk than it did to get out a new clay bar and do the rest of the car. 

[NM15]

17 minutes ago, RayS said:

I want to point out and reiterate a statement Chris made - If you drop it, replace it - don't use it, especially if you have sand like we do in South Carolina.  Someone, who shall remain nameless, dropped it in sand and before the brain engaged, had ran it over half the trunk of a car.  Then the Oh "Adjective" hit and the person realized what he'd done - it took him 3 times as long to correct that half a trunk than it did to get out a new clay bar and do the rest of the car. 

I appreciate the warnings. I really don’t want to cause unnecessary work.  I had heard some horror stories in the past.  

[falcaineer]

So I will throw out there I asked the "what to do with dropped clay" of Adam during a clinic one time. He actually said the Visco clay would be fine to keep using. I was surprised, and it's certainly possible one of misunderstood the other, but thought I'd mention it to see if anyone had heard something similar. 

[NM15]

9 hours ago, falcaineer said:

So I will throw out there I asked the "what to do with dropped clay" of Adam during a clinic one time. He actually said the Visco clay would be fine to keep using. I was surprised, and it's certainly possible one of misunderstood the other, but thought I'd mention it to see if anyone had heard something similar. 

That’s interesting, you would think it’s not much different than older standard clays. 

[BHarris23]

If you drop a piece of clay, you could “down-grade” it. Use it for the inside of the wheels or something that you aren’t concerned with fine scratching. That’s why it’s always a good rule to never use an entire bar at once. Split it into halves or quarters depending on what using it for. 

[NM15]

1 hour ago, BHarris23 said:

If you drop a piece of clay, you could “down-grade” it. Use it for the inside of the wheels or something that you aren’t concerned with fine scratching. That’s why it’s always a good rule to never use an entire bar at once. Split it into halves or quarters depending on what using it for. 

That’s a good thought to split in half, to one make it last and also but just in case like you were saying. 

[Mbrazelton]

I usually get 5-6 cars out of clay, and then I feel like they get wore out or to full.  Lately though I've had cars that were pretty gross and seems to be quicker I feel. 

[NM15]

On 7/16/2018 at 11:23 AM, Mbrazelton said:

I usually get 5-6 cars out of clay, and then I feel like they get wore out or to full.  Lately though I've had cars that were pretty gross and seems to be quicker I feel. 

5/6 cars sounds about right from what I have read. Then like you said if cars are much worse less use it will have. 

 

Thanks for the the input. I appreciate it 

[falcaineer]

On 7/16/2018 at 9:23 AM, Mbrazelton said:

I usually get 5-6 cars out of clay, and then I feel like they get wore out or to full.  Lately though I've had cars that were pretty gross and seems to be quicker I feel. 

 

13 minutes ago, NM15 said:

5/6 cars sounds about right from what I have read. Then like you said if cars are much worse less use it will have. 

 

Thanks for the the input. I appreciate it 

 

According to Adam himself, the Visco clay is able to do 5-6 times the number of cars as the previous Adam's clay. See 1:25 and 5:20 minute points of this video.