QUICK GUIDE TO USING CLAY BAR
In the Bowden family we are a little bit fanatical about beautiful smooth paint, with our Fine Clay Bar you can now clean your paint regularly without concern for reducing clear coat thickness or scratching. It's the first step for perfect smooth paint.
Lisa, all equipped for clay barring. Note that the uniform used is not essential.
GET IT SMOOTH
Clay Bar is ideal to remove things like paint over spray, embedded dirt, tree sap, tar, bug residue and just about any other contaminants that want to bond to your paint surface. All can be easily removed without damaging your paint. I call clay bar a glorified blue tack, very derogative to the product, as it is actually quite sophisticated in its formulation. We could talk for hours on this topic, but basically it is like blue tack with a fine abrasive content, which when used with a lubricant, will not harm your cars paint. Our custom made bar is what we see as best for most uses on your car, with a combination of the finest abrasive content and the non drying poly bar. Using this takes away the risk of using a more common heavier grade of industrial clay bar, that can potentially scratch your paints surface.
Using the Clay Bar will give a beautiful smooth finish to your cars paint. It also makes the cleanser easier to use and helps your wax coat last longer. To check if your paint really needs it, after washing your car put your hand in a plastic shopping bag, then run your fingers over the paint. If it feels rough or gritty in any way, you need to clay bar. Very easy to use as you will read below, you will find the Clay Bar is a remarkable product and well worth becoming part of your regular car care regime.
WHAT YOU NEED
Firstly get your tools together, You will need a lubricant, our Body Detail is perfect for this, you will also need one of our soft Microfibre Buffing Cloths.
1. Before using our Fine Clay Bar, thoroughly wash and dry your car to remove any loose dirt. Work in an area that is out of the sun and relatively cool to prevent rapid evaporation of the Body Detail lubricant.
Our little kangaroo was quickly squashed for a more appropriate shape.
2.When using the clay bar, mould it into a good shape, ponies and kangaroos are nice, but an oval shape that fits in your palm is best.
Always make sure to use plenty of lubricant with the Clay Bar
3. Spray the Body Detail on a small area of your car and rub the clay back and forth with light to medium pressure. If the paint is dirty, you will actually feel and hear it working. Keep moving in a light motion till you no longer hear or feel it working on the car. If the Body Detail begins to dry, you'll need to spray more. Please note that our Fine Clay Bar is fairly sticky and cannot be used dry. Try using it dry and you'll make a bloody big mess and damage your paint.
4. After a few passes with the clay, rub your hand over the area you have cleaned to check for areas missed. You should feel a distinct difference between the areas you have and have not clayed. Keep rubbing until it is a beautiful smooth surface. Finally, lightly buff the clay residue off with our soft Ultra Microfibre buffing cloth, to a nice shine. Try to work in small areas at a time.
Happiness is a clean smooth finish.
5. Always check the clay bar for hard particles. If you find one, pick it out. Make it a habit to frequently knead and reform the bar so that a fresh portion of the bar is in contact with your car's paint. If you drop your bar of clay on the ground, it's all over red rover. Toss it out. Don't take any chances, if it is impregnated with grit it will scratch! Depending on the cleanliness of the surface your cleaning, one bar should be good enough for safe use on 3 cars. If it looks dirty it means it is time to replace the bar. Try not to overuse the clay bar.
Yes, this clay is now officially dead! Do not use again after dropping it.
6. Clay bar needs to be used in conjunction with our cleansing and waxing products for the best possible finish for your paint. Our Clay bar is not designed to completely remove wax and other imbedded dirt like the cleanser or give paint a rich and deep protective finish like carnauba wax can. So, when you're finished claying your car, you should wash it to remove any film or residue, then go over it with our Auto Body Pre-Wax Cleanser to finish cleaning the paint. Finally, seal and protect your freshly cleaned paint with the Auto Body Perfection Wax.
7. Feel free to use our Fine Clay Bar as often as you wish, but every 6 months should be enough to keep your paint feeling like new. Store your clay bar in the plastic container to keep it clean and safe .
Clay bar needs to live in it's box between uses.
OTHER TIPS AND USES
Our Fine Clay Bar isn't just for paint. You can use it on any smooth, hard surface, including, fibreglass, chrome and glass. Do not use clay on clear plastic though, such as headlight lenses or bike fairings.
When the clay looks dirty and cannot be remoulded to get a clean surface, use it on your windows. The dirty clay will not harm glass, and it's amazing how much dirt film clay can remove from your exterior glass. Old clay is also great to clean wheels. Clay will safely remove stubborn, embedded brake dust, tar and road film from all factory wheels. Fine Clay is not recommended on wheels that do not have a factory clearcoat or a powder coat finish.
If you want to do the clay job a little bit faster, use with a bucket mixture of our Auto Body Gel car wash and water as per normal mixing instructions, for a nice slippery mixture. Never use just plain water, it has no lubrication properties! This method is not suitable for working inside nor does it give as thorough job as using with the Detail Spray. But it can make for a quicker and easier job at times.
All our products in this article can be found on our website by clicking here or through our network of stockists here.
Have a good look at our Clay Bar Pack, as it is a combination pack of all the products needed for the job and saves you a bit of money as well.
If you have any questions about Clay Bar or car care in general, please feel free to email me dan@bowdensown.com.au or give us a call on (07) 5445 6065.
Love your car,
Dan Bowden
