Clay bar

[CoolCarl]

I've read about people using a clay bar on their car. What exactly does it do? How do you apply it? Like a wax? I just can't imagine how a clay bar would clean your car.

[efnfast]

it basically pulls off contaminents.

you'll probably need to polish the vehicle afterwards as, unless your clear is relatively hard, it will cause some slight marring.

http://www.autogeek.net/detailing-clay-bar.html

[CoolCarl]

That link had just the information I was looking for. Thanx.

Next time I'm at an auto parts store I'll pick some up if they carry it.

[FRANKRAT]

If the clear is "soft" how do you apply the clay and not streak your finish?

[efnfast]

You don't. Any clay, even the softest, is still a form of abrassive. On a medium clear hardness (e.g., later model mustang), depending on clay type, amount of lube and pressure used, you may induce a little bit of marring here and there. On a harder clear (e.g., later model lambo) less marring or no marring. on a softer clear (e.g., toyoto or infiniti) you don't have a hope in hell of not inducing marring.

Basically anytime you clay you should anticipate following up with a polish (the type of polish - mild or aggressive) depending on the condition of the paint

[calbullet]

and if you drop it on the ground, pinch that area off and discard it. it will pickup dirt and you do not want to transfer to your paint.

[patpur]

What I usually do with the clay is break it in half. If you happen to drop it toss it. You still have the other half to work with. In the past I have used Zaino clay. I have been able to use plain old H20 to lubricate the area, some recommend using detail spray to lube the area. By area I mean you work maybe a foot and a half square or smaller at a time. A trick people use to see if they need to clay is to put a plastic bag on your hand and run it over your finish, if it doesn't feel completely smooth you should clay. I usually do this once a year in the spring, I would think it should only take a few hours to do a Cobra, pretty much the same as a Crossfire, size wise.