Clay Bar?

[Dragon Slayer]

OK for the first time in my life I used a clay bar on my wifes 99 Dodge (before using it on my 07 Chevy Haaaaaaa)

 

I got great results on both.. SO the question is how often should the clay bar be used? 2, 3, 4 times a year???????????????????????????????????????????

Oh and I don't get emails from this forum even though I have it set up to get them when a message is posted to me so if there is a way to send it to my email (without me posting the address) as well as posting go for it...

[Wingnut]

I clay mine once, MAYBE twice a year as needed.

[Dragon Slayer]

I clay mine once, MAYBE twice a year as needed.

 

Thanks... I was thinking once every 2-3 months for th efirst year just to get it really nice an shiny then as needed....

[Zembonez]

You can use it as needed. As long as you keep the bar properly lubricated, it doesn't do anything to the paint finish. It only lifts and removes junk off of the surface. As long as you keep your vehicles regularly washed you shouldn't HAVE to do it more than once or twice a year.

[Wingnut]

You can use it as needed. As long as you keep the bar properly lubricated, it doesn't do anything to the paint finish. It only lifts and removes junk off of the surface. As long as you keep your vehicles regularly washed you shouldn't HAVE to do it more than once or twice a year.

 

Yup.

 

The only time I do it more than that is if I'm going to throw polish and wax on there. I strip all the wax off the paint, clay bar it, then wash it again...Dry it off, and start the tedious polishing/buffing/polishing/buffing/waxing/buffing process.

 

Do it all right, and keep the thing clean, and the water will bead for a year on the hood after that.

[Zembonez]

You can use it as needed. As long as you keep the bar properly lubricated, it doesn't do anything to the paint finish. It only lifts and removes junk off of the surface. As long as you keep your vehicles regularly washed you shouldn't HAVE to do it more than once or twice a year.

 

Yup.

 

The only time I do it more than that is if I'm going to throw polish and wax on there. I strip all the wax off the paint, clay bar it, then wash it again...Dry it off, and start the tedious polishing/buffing/polishing/buffing/waxing/buffing process.

 

Do it all right, and keep the thing clean, and the water will bead for a year on the hood after that.

 

Good to know Fred is in good hands!

[BigJayDogg3]

Do you HAVE to buff after barring the vehicle?

[Zembonez]

Do you HAVE to buff after barring the vehicle?

Not always. If I am working with good paint, I follow up with my usual Meguiar's Carnuba wax and the paint is as smooth as the day it was laid down. Really makes your wax job worth it. I use their caly bar too. Buffing is necessary if you have heavy oxidation or scratches but if all you are doing is renewing your truck's otherwise good finish wax will do the trick..

[BigJayDogg3]

Do you HAVE to buff after barring the vehicle?

[Zembonez]

Do you HAVE to buff after barring the vehicle?

I think you have the post hiccups there BJD3...

[Wingnut]

If I'm going all out, full day, lots of beer treatment...Here's kind of what I'll do.

 

1. Wash with car a light solution of dish soap to strip all the old wax off.

2. Clay bar the whole thing.

3. Wash again with car was soap to make sure I got ALL the residue of soap and clay detailing spray off.

4. Do the swirl/scratch removal stuff (I just tried the 3M stuff, and it worked GREAT).

5. Coat of polish.

6. Another coat of polish (after waiting a couple of hours for the previous coat to cure).

7. Another coat of polish if I'm really bored.

8. Good coat of a high-quality wax to keep that polish job popping.

9. Fall over from too much beer.

10. Get up and realize that I forgot to do the tailgate.

 

Best advice that applied to ALL of the steps above, is wash the car when it's cool out, preferably with the truck in the shade. All the polishes, waxes, window cleaners, black stuff, tire stuff, etc works 10x better when it's cool and in the shade.

[DownhomeVA]

WOO!

 

Just used the Mothers clay bar kit yesterday... beautiful!

 

I can't believe how great it looks. Although due to time constraints I only got one coat of wax on her, it looks amazing.

 

Thanks for all of the input here fellas. Water spots are gone too!

[mrual]

OK for the first time in my life I used a clay bar on my wifes 99 Dodge (before using it on my 07 Chevy Haaaaaaa)

 

I got great results on both.. SO the question is how often should the clay bar be used? 2, 3, 4 times a year???????????????????????????????????????????

Oh and I don't get emails from this forum even though I have it set up to get them when a message is posted to me so if there is a way to send it to my email (without me posting the address) as well as posting go for it...

 

 

okay dumb question why would you use a clay bar?? never used one

[BigJayDogg3]

The clay bar is used to remove stuff that won't come off with just normal washing. Like you know how on the front part of the hood, you have those bugs that have been on there for the past 2 years, but never come off? The clay bar would remove that.

 

Speaking of which, it needs to warm up so I can clean my truck up and clay bar it. I hate having my truck as dirty as it is.

[1999 Tahoe 4x4]

How often depens where you keep it. Do you work/park near a refinery under trees?

 

Once you start using it you'll quickly get a good sense how often to clay.