Paintwork - How to Clay.

ok will do

Well I had a bash with the clay this weekend, I washed the car, dried it off & applied clay, then polish, then Megs Gold class wax & it only took me a hour & half :yesnod:

So now thats the bonnet out of the way, Im going to work my way down the side......

It just seems so wrong, rubbing what seems like a bit of plastic onto my bodywork. Although I cant see a difference, you can see little bits appearing in the clay from somewhere so its doing something but the feel of the car is fantastic, it feels so smooth & slippy.

The problem is with me, its like painting the Forth bridge, by the time Ive got to the back, the front will have an inch of dust on it again.

Slippy;11222 wrote: Well I had a bash with the clay this weekend, I washed the car, dried it off & applied clay, then polish, then Megs Gold class wax & it only took me a hour & half :yesnod:

So now thats the bonnet out of the way, Im going to work my way down the side......

It just seems so wrong, rubbing what seems like a bit of plastic onto my bodywork. Although I cant see a difference, you can see little bits appearing in the clay from somewhere so its doing something but the feel of the car is fantastic, it feels so smooth & slippy.

The problem is with me, its like painting the Forth bridge, by the time Ive got to the back, the front will have an inch of dust on it again.

sound about right mate, but well worth the effort ,doesnt matter how clean you think your car is its amazing the crap that it collects just in general use, just wait till you get to the bottoms of the doors sill area:OMG:

bought this clay thing and started with the bonnet, the clay simply glides on the bonnet, is that how it's supposed to work? or should it be more sort of stuck to the bonnet?

If you use lots of lube, its just a case of rubbing it across the paint as far as Im aware, thats all I did & got the desired results (but Im no expert)

While we are on the subject of cleaning though, look at this little lot ........



Just brought this back from the States 15, 14"x17" microfibre cloths, 2 Microfibre wash mitts, a tin of Megs Cleaner polish & a tin of Megs NXT polish (the solid stuff, not liquid) & a chunky leather knob all for less than $33 (about £21) The Liquid NXT over here is about £18 alone.
I was was also filling the car up from empty over there for $30.

Only problem is now Ive done my already knackered back in lifting the suitcases on the way home so I cant use em yet

Please dont use t cut.... not needed.

Rinse off
2 bucket wash no wax shampoo
dry off
AG clay kit....(clay, detail spray and microfibre towel)
Wash again
dry off
SRP from AG
HD from AG or Dodo juice wax cover or garage car after finished
wait 12 hours then apply 2nd coat of wax and if your really keen the do a third again after another 12 hours.

Your car will not need more than a quick wax free wash for months....xxx

Simples... mine took all day to do 100% so set a good day to do it....then stand back and have a look at your face in the paint.
One other point.... if you think your paint is already good then slip your fingers into a small plastic bag or the plasic cover off a pack of cigs and gently rub over the paint.... if your paint is good and not need to clay it will run over smoothly with no noise or resistance this cant be done without the bag. If you then decide to clay after try the bag trick again and you will feel and hear the difference.....

Slippy;12163 wrote: If you use lots of lube, its just a case of rubbing it..........

........& a chunky leather knob all for less than $33

Hold on, which forum am I on again?

This thread has reminded me that Blue Belle needs a clay!

Well, after nearly 40 years of motoring I finally decided to try a clay bar on the TF. (in between the rain showers: can't get the car in the garage for crap like bikes, tumble dryer, toolboxes, corpses etc).)

I felt that there was a better shine lurking somewhere: I managed to get a reasonable gloss but it seemed, well, not quite there: a bit streaky.
So far I have clayed the bonnet and front wings. I have to say that after the clay bar it looked like....well, not good! The residue on the clay gave hope however, sort of nicotine brown and after a sample polish with some Meguiars on a hand-sized patch: deep Bentley-stylee shine! The Ignition Blue looks sensational now: well, at least on a small patch so far. Hopefully tomorrow may bring some better weather so I can finish claying and give her a wax.

I must admit to some initial scepticism regarding claying: I'm a convert so far. Can't work out why the clay is so 'spensive though: ten quid for a small bar the size of a hotel soap. Also bought some detailing spray to keep my bar lubed (oo.... er Missis)

If completed tomorrow I'll post a pic or two.

Any before and after pics John? :beer:

Before I do the doors and rear wings I'll take some 'before' pics: I'll do clean before clay, after clay and before wax and then final result. Not sure if the photos will show the differences but I'll give it a go.

I haven't posted pics on here before: I take it I can post to a hosting site then copy the forum link into the thread?

Here is better just upload jobs a gud un