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Liquid clay bar?

Clay bar is absolutely amazeing stuff, My car is black and Mitsubishi's paint is known for its poor quietly..Here's some pics after i clayed,polish/cleaner,wax., Dont be scared or alarmed to use the clay bar..

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Whao don't bash clay bars my dad details cars on the side and he swears on clay bars, as I do too. I clay bared my g/f's blazer and the roof felt like fine grit sand paper (kid you not) I used a meguiars clay bar on it and it was smoother but not perfect (nothing could help this roof, maybe I'll get it near perfect). Body shops use these things to get over spray off vehicles they paint, the things work wonders. So please don't bash a product on something YOU did. :nonono:
 
I've checked with at least 4 different professional detailing shops around where I live. NONE of them said they would use a clay bar on a vehicle except to remove paint overspray.

I stand by my original statement on the potential danger of using a clay bar. The proof is in the pic.
 
Whoa did this post turn into a cluster f of information. Clay bar is an excellent tool when used properly. And it's pretty difficult to screw up since it only pulls contaminants out of the clear coat.
 
RoadiJeff said:
I've checked with at least 4 different professional detailing shops around where I live. NONE of them said they would use a clay bar on a vehicle except to remove paint overspray.

I stand by my original statement on the potential danger of using a clay bar. The proof is in the pic.
Click to expand...

The only danger pertaining to a clay bar is NOT using one about twice a year, but its not really danger, but rather dumb to NOT use one! Now there are some clay bars I've read about that are VERY aggressive and you basically need to lie to get those and say your a pro (I read this a couple years ago in one of my car mags) There is a fountain of mis-information here, turn off the spicket....QUICK:help:
 
I don't know why a few of you insist on denying what I've shown you in a pic. I used a Meguires clay bar kit from Auto Zone and the spray that came with it.

It is obvious that a clay bar CAN damage the paint, especially if the paint is of poor quality and it is not used properly. I didn't see any warnings on this when I used the clay bar several years ago or my spoiler would not look like it does today.

I seriously doubt that the paint just decided to break down at the same time I used a clay bar on it. None of the rest of the car's finish looks this bad and I'm sure it has the same paint and clearcoat on it.

Any of you clay bar enthusiasts want to step up to the plate and offer to pay to have my black Viper repainted if I use a clay bar on it and it turns into another disaster? I didn't think so.
 
You said yourself you most likely used it wrong (for about 15 min on the spoiler when you can do a whole car in that amount of time), bad paint, and if you don't use enough spray bad things will happen. I used the exact same kit on my car with no problems at all. The paint feels like glass now, where before it was extreamly rough. previous owner lived down a dirt road I think.
 
your kidding right? you said yourself that you didn't use the clay bar right so that means its bad and never should be used :shrug: :confused:


plan and simple you messed up but don't want to take the blame so you are blaming the product ...

add me to the list of those who used a clay bar with great success ... but I must be wrong :rolleyes:
 
Ok, I didn't want to post a pic but you made me. I used that exact clay bar on my g/f's blazer a few weeks ago and here it is after I washed it 2 days ago.
IM000372-1.jpg

The roof was like fine grit sandpaper before I started and it's a lot smoother now but not perfect, I think it needs a going over a couple more times.
 
RoadiJeff said:
I don't know why a few of you insist on denying what I've shown you in a pic. I used a Meguires clay bar kit from Auto Zone and the spray that came with it.

It is obvious that a clay bar CAN damage the paint, especially if the paint is of poor quality and it is not used properly. I didn't see any warnings on this when I used the clay bar several years ago or my spoiler would not look like it does today.

I seriously doubt that the paint just decided to break down at the same time I used a clay bar on it. None of the rest of the car's finish looks this bad and I'm sure it has the same paint and clearcoat on it.

Any of you clay bar enthusiasts want to step up to the plate and offer to pay to have my black Viper repainted if I use a clay bar on it and it turns into another disaster? I didn't think so.
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I used the Griots claybar on my 2003 BMW Z8 w/o a problem:shrug:
 
My observation is that some outfits are coming up with alternatives to clay bars which is expensive to make.

I tried the Turtle Wax Ice and thought it was a joke. I had two friends try it and side-by-side with real clay, they thought it was a joke (though that wasn't their exact words).

This stuff I've never heard of, but at $24.95 per bottle, a clay bar seems cheap.
 
RoadiJeff said:
I've checked with at least 4 different professional detailing shops around where I live. NONE of them said they would use a clay bar on a vehicle except to remove paint overspray.

I stand by my original statement on the potential danger of using a clay bar. The proof is in the pic.
Click to expand...

I'm curious as to which shops... I have a friend in St. Louis and I should probably tell him which shops to stay away from! :laugh:
 
JimD said:
I'm curious as to which shops... I have a friend in St. Louis and I should probably tell him which shops to stay away from! :laugh:
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I would suspect just about any of them have the same policy about using a clay bar in their detailing work.
 
I just used Zaino's Claybar on my car twice last Friday... it was magic in a jar because my car never looked better.. It completely changed from a dull milky version of silver to a bright super metallic version of silver. It removed some black scuff marks off my rear bumper where someone must have slightly hit my car.

I followed the clay bar with 2 coats of Z5 and the car looks and feels amazing ... so shiny, so smooth and just like glass.

I'd take the Zaino Claybar challenge on anything! Also you just use it with a clean bucket of their carwash concentrate which is cheaper and easier to use than the Meguiars and Mothers versions. Its also much softer clay in my opinion.
 
elraido said:
You said yourself you most likely used it wrong (for about 15 min on the spoiler when you can do a whole car in that amount of time), bad paint, and if you don't use enough spray bad things will happen. I used the exact same kit on my car with no problems at all. The paint feels like glass now, where before it was extreamly rough. previous owner lived down a dirt road I think.
Click to expand...

Honestly i first used clay bar 2 Weeks ago. At first i took it out and rubbed my spoiler with out lubricant. For about 10 Min's. To See what happens. Nothing.

Then i used the lubricant with clay for literally like 25 Min's. Over and over again i rubbed it. :)

That wing felt like like glass. Perfect.


I'm sorry but your wing kid had crappy paint on it. Bottom line. Did you even check to see if the car was repainted before you buying it?
 
Harrry said:
I'm sorry but your wing kid had crappy paint on it. Bottom line. Did you even check to see if the car was repainted before you buying it?
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As I've posted before, I am the original buyer of the car. I ordered it from the factory with the factory installed spoiler.

My bare hand rubbing the surface did not cause the paint to deteriorate the way you see in the pic - the clay bar did.

Sorry, sonny, but you got lucky with the clay bar.
 
RoadiJeff said:
As I've posted before, I am the original buyer of the car. I ordered it from the factory with the factory installed spoiler.

My bare hand rubbing the surface did not cause the paint to deteriorate the way you see in the pic - the clay bar did.

Sorry, sonny, but you got lucky with the clay bar.
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I am just trying to figure this out. EVERYONE else on here has had great results with a bar but you. And you are saying that it was the bars fault that did it. Not the paint, not you, not the clear cloat. How can everyone else have good results but you? hmmmmmmmmmm. I know if I tried something on my car and it did something bad I wouldn't be happy about it and would be leary as well, but when this many people have had good results and you are the only one I think the conclutions are clear (unlike my spelling LOL)
 
Okay, I think I already said it but I don't dispute that there may have been a problem with the factory paint on my car. However, the clay bar certainly made it worse.

Here's a point to ponder. The spoiler was installed at the factory so I would guess that they used the same paint as what's on the rest of the car. However, they sometimes have side mirrors and other parts made elsewhere and shipped to the assembly plant for final installation. Thus, the spoiler COULD have been painted someplace else.

However, the only place on the entire car that I touched it with a clay bar was on the top of the spoiler. The paint on the sides and the bottom still look good. Even if the rest of the car has a different paint I'm sure the spoiler did not get painted differently on the top than the rest of the unit.

I don't know why others on here have had great results with a clay bar and mine turned into such a disaster. Someone said he even tried to damage the surface with it and couldn't. Ha - let me stop by and I'll show him how.

Anyway, the entire experience has sworn me off from using a clay bar ever again. The fact that all 4 of the professional detailing shops I visited said they don't not use one in their $100-$150 exterior detailing process only enhances my dislike for the product.

Use at your own risk but don't say someone didn't try to warn you.
 
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