I’ve found having a bucket of hot water with some lubricant additive helps the claying process. The heat softens the clay meaning you can fold it over quicker, especially in winter when it tends to be naturally a lot stiffer. Having the bucket there also means you can give the used face of the clay a quick wipe under the surface of the water to get rid of some of the contamination, helping you extend the life of your clay.
I use plumbers mate putty with tonnes of soapey water, did a grand job. To anyone skeptical of claying, try it out first. Its INCREDIBLE how much crap came off
Finally got round to claying my car today with a dedicated lube spray what a differance! The smoothness of the paint is magic, can really feel the difference befor and after! Cheers for the tips. Please keep the videos coming. Cheers
I clay as little as possible, once a year when I do the year enhancement at most. I found a good combo this year with my clay mitt and a bucket of Garage Therapy Zero as the lube. The paint was totally clean and ready for the polish stage after.
This is an informative video on claying. And yes, I think you should use a dedicated clay lube spray. I tried water alone and it just created more issues to correct. The dedicated lube adds to the whole process. Strictly my experience. Most enthusiasts tend to shorten this step, but once a year is probably often enough for this process.
Just clayed for the first time yesterday. It's surprisingly easy. Claying after using Autoglym liquid clay, there was only a bit of contamination left so marring wasn't so bad. I skipped polish and used a paste wax and this filled in 90% of light marring. Black bmw.
Agreed....but a major pain in the ass for us old guys.i,m a retired electrician ...wrists and fingers aint what they were....and then the DA....Blew out my wrist just pressure washing our jeep and Ram...not looking forward to the pre winter mntnce.😭
Thank you for your information on claying. I thought I was doing it wrong when I noticed swirl marks on paint so I had stopped altogether. I'll treat my claying and buffing steps as one now.
Better use first the chemical decon follow up with mechanical decon (if needed), in that manner, the contaminants will be less when claying the car. You may have fewer scratches or none at all..
Someone should make this clear for the noobs like me. Spent an hour trashing my paint with a claybar (since it was never decontaminated before folding the clay every 3 seconds wasn't enough) and then the rest of the weekend getting the marring out....
One week ago, I did the lite polishing to remove some lite scratches. Today, I got a new clay bar that feels like a new toy and starts trying to clay. Then my surface has many scratches again as if the previous polishing is useless. Despite the clay, it was very smooth, without any grating noises.
Thank you Sir, for the tutorial! Put my clay day on hold until I can get a good buffer and learn more from y'all! Trying to get my spouses Camry sorted.
I’ve always had good luck using a snow foam as a clay lube in a slightly modified use of Larry from AMMO NYC’s method. Snow foam a panel. Clay. Rinse and dry with AMMO Hydrate.
God a English man ... I been looking to clay bar my mokka it's been waxed every week for years and it's time to give it a fresh start but every time I look it's the Americans get in but I don't live in America So your videos are brilliant 👏
Earlier I left a comment with two time stamps that gave the direct answers to the title's questions. I would like to apologize for that to the video's owner. It was not my intention to offend in any way. I watched the whole video. I was in the middle of my project trying to clay bar and needed my answers quickly and was thinking about people doing the same thing. Apologies again. The video is well done and informative.
dont apolagise :) I know where your coming from and the timestamps were put there with gr8 intentions. with tutorials ive quickly searched for something on YT and like been screaming get on with it. But like when you make content, most channels chat and talk and fire up the camera do jokes etc.. its part of the fun of making content as well, without doing so making videos would be really dull and its that engagement from viewers that allows us to have channels. without the engagement there is no channel. so I was just trying to tell you about why putting those shortcuts in can be counter productive. thanks mate I can tell you are a top guy.
@@ForensicDetailing Yeah. It wasn't my intention to offend. Your video was well done. Sometimes there have been channels that put timestamps in the description to give a direct response and they say, " go to the timestamps for a direct answer... Watch the whole video for a more in depth response". But, I shouldn't have overstepped. Thanks for informative content and keep up the good work. I did clay bar my car and will probably use compound to help with scratches etc. Stay safe my friend and health to you and your family.
Thanx for all the videos - really enjoy the channel! I use my old Gilmour Foam Gun w/ my normal car wash shampoo and then lube up each panel one at a time. I use a Nanoskin AUTOSCRUB Fine Grade Wash Mitt! I can get around the car (including glass) in less than 5 mins and there is less marring than using a fine - med clay bar! After each panel I use the Foam Gun to flush off the Nanoskin Autoscrub Mitt!
I don’t bother using a clay bar anymore on my van from my own experience and testing I just use some rupes uhs and the rupes polisher I remove the tar and use some ion remover first.
megs clay is a bit on the expensive side. I think they were the only brand that tried to sell you a 50g bar of clay for 11 quid in the UK. Its bigger now but still expensive.
Nice video mate. I clayed my whole car yesterday, just used water and thought it worked really well. I just had clay bar in one hand and garden hose in other, plenty of water and it glides very nicely. Do you still use the bar or are you transitioning over to the mitt/towel? I know those in America seem to like the towels a lot but then I think they are a lot cheaper than we can get them.
Actually John, clay towels, sponges and disks can't be used on hot panels in the sun. If you do, they will start leaving streaks of black rubber material on the panel and it's hard to remove. I am guessing if you are working on a light colored vehicle, you can probably get away with it because they don't get as hot. But on dark blue or black, it's a nightmare to use. Ask me how I know ;)
Calendyr I just clay barred a vehicle for the first time. It’s a black truck. I have pretty bad, black streaks all over the truck. Didn’t do it on hot surface, was in the shade, truck was super clean, etc. followed directions to a T. It sounds like you had a steak problem. How did you fix it? Thanks!
@@SirSwish32 If you used a clay alternative (sponge, towel and so on), a solvant might be able to remove the residue from the surface. You can use acetone, lacquer thinner, solvant based tar removers and the like. They all should be able to liquify the rubbery substance that they use to make those pads.
Hi john. Love all your videos. Thank you. I need your professional advice on the following. My car has been ceramic coated for more than a year now and by negligence I rinse my car with regular tap water and drove away in hot summer sun without drying it off. Now hard-water water spots are everywhere on my car hood and top. How can I remove them without hurting the ceramic coating or the paint?
I know this is a very late response but if it happens again, try just rewashing your car and then towel dry it right away with a microfiber towel. If that doesn't take all the water/mineral marks off, you can clay bar to spots still left. Cheers :)
Great video mate, The BILT hamber clay bar claims that it only needs water for lubrication, is this ok? Or would you recommend using a detail spray instead
Great video! Very informative. My go to clay is bilt hamber Clay as you only need water as a lubricant. Personally I put shampoo in the bottle so the shampoo helps the clay bar glide over the paint.
Yeah Bilt hamber are the best and bang for buck. You get a great amount of clay compared to other brands for the price. I think I'll start using water mixed with auto wash as lubrication.
brought first built hamber clay bar yesterday. Great difference in surface of the car. is they any way of cleaning the clay or just dump it after a few times use? Great channel. 👍
Do they sell the Bilt Hamber clay on a retail level in the UK? If so, where can you get it? I have a friend hopping across the pond next month. Love the channel. Thank for sharing.
Hi. I'm new to weekend washing and coming up to clay barring for the first time. I've seen different grades of clay. Light, medium & heavy. Would I gauge the grade of clay needed on the current condition of my paint work after a wash? Keep up the great work man. Love watching your videos.
I recently tried out a clay mitt on a friends car and was amazed how user friendly it was compared to the traditional clay bar. The biggest advantage of the mitt/clay cloths is that should you drop them you can rinse out and re-use whereas the bar has to be disposed of. Also the mitt has a much longer life cycle over a bar without all the pain in the backside of having to keep kneading it to find a clean bit. Great video as usual Jon and delivered straight down the line...yes claying DOES scratch your paint, but, you have probably put a few minds at rest where the manufacturers wouldn’t because they won’t tell you this to start with. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Always love your videos. My ‘deep’ clean routine I undertake every 4-6 months and includes washing, claying, polishing, sealant and then a glossy wax... most stages I have used your tips to get great results! Thanks!
So for a vehicle like a 2007 vehicle with no oxidation am I good using a light duty clay bar. I have a heavy duty clay bar too but that would seem better with my older vehicle used to have because it had more of the oxidation on it after I painted it plus it was a 2006 Dodge Dakota. I still won't use it on my newer truck though rather use a polisher on it but haven't used a polisher on it either just used showcar wax.
I have the ONR with Carnauba Wax in it, or Wolfgang pink waterless concentrate that I hear can also be used as clay lube. My only concern is: these are going to leave waxes and sealants on the paint, which I don’t want as I am preparing the paint for a different product, which I would like to adhere to the bare paint for maximum protection. Does it really matter? Should I use a pre spray to strip any sealants after that or can I simply use soapy shampoo water? I want the best possible way of doing it to prevent scratches… thanks for the video!!!, hope you can answer my questions.
What do you recommend for a piano black finish, I have a front air dam, not painted just shiny black plastic, but there is contaminants on the surface??
May be a silly question but is clay barring the new “T-cutting” we used to do back in the day. It sounds like it. Or can T-cut be used to correct the marring created by clay barring. Great vids by the way 👍
yes clay mar marring is normally best just polishied out on a DA with soft pad and finishing polish TC is sort of absolete now used to be awesome back in the pre clearcoat days. the formlation has changed to cater for clearcoat now but proper abrasives for machine polishers is the way to go (koch menzerna scholl 3m rupes etc )
smanderson117 I only use a very small amount of APC to give lubrication - if I’m claying I’m 100% polishing afterwards and there’s no harm in a little APC.
As your average Joe (literally) I often give my car a polish with AF tripple and top with Dodo Juice PH, I don’t machine polish but will get into it eventually when I have a garage etc. I understand the claying process, but how noticeable are the benefits? Does it help the level of gloss? Or is it more just the feeling of the paint.
Hi Jon, Thanks for another great video. What is the next stage after decontaminating your vehicles paint, now that the paint is clean and unprotected? You did reply to my previous message and recommend a M or G 8 Ceramic product, but I can't find the product in the UK?
so after the decon is polishing mate. hae a watch here washing ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-AUytWaLtOOo.html decon ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-9B9Cn-GeJqw.html polishing ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MI_m2rO-OpM.html products ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-I7q5E8Kz-CY.html
Jon a quick one on clay bar process - if a car or motorcycle is under cover for winter can that vehicle be clayed then return to polish at a later date?? Removing contamination then polishing say a week later wouldn’t effect the process or the current paintwork?? Also if that vehicle doesn’t have a clear coat is it still recommended to clay bar? Thanks
Ash, so if you clay it then cover it up. Its not going to get any contamination on the paint.. so you could then just take the cover off later on and wash and and dry and polish it sure. If its single stage it does still get contamination yes.
Hi Jon, my clay is in the bin and I use Naniskin auto scrub sponge. So much easier to hold and if you drop it, a quick rinse in soapy water not only cleans it but also loads it up with lube. As usual, good info 👍
@@ForensicDetailing I just now saw that one on ebay. It is cheap. As I previous mentioned to you (you might not remember as you have so many followers) but I am a begginer detailer. Im here in Eastbourne but need to return home in October but I just bought my 1st polisher, an AutoJack DAP150. I am also getting a DAS6 Pro and a 3" backing plate. I think it was actually you who recommended it in a video. Im not sure. Just bought yesterday a few things in Halfords cuz they have their summer sale and all I bought, of all places, they are the cheapest right now. Still need to go back at the end of the month when I get paid. I have a begginer detailing kit from Pure Definition I bought in December that I used incorrectly (wrong order lol. No experience...) But the kit is quite good. The products are good and also their clay bars. In October I will use my car and my dads (1990 VW Jetta) as ginea pigs. Lol. Thanks for all your videos and all your hard work mate. Cheers
I get the point that claying should be followed by polishing in order to avoid scratching from the bonded contaminants sticking to the pad when machine polishing. Have to ask which of the following options you would prefer: 1) Using a mild grade clay for a longer time (more swipes) to get the desired result, or 2) Using a medium grade one for a shorter time (fewer swipes) ? Would intuitively think a milder clay would be better due to risk of less marring from the clay itself, but am unsure. Or is it mainly the level contamination of the clearcoat that should determine whether to use a mild vs. medium grade clay bar?
basicalyl if its like 2-3 years old.. or well maintained a fine clay is good. old crappy dirty cars then agressive clay.. I tend to have a quick feel behind the front wheels on the panels down low there.. if its all bumpy and rough then agressive clay.
I was told by a guy at my local car wash that if sprayed some diesel (mixed with kerosene or just plain diesel ) and left it on for a couple of hours in the bright sun and wash wiped it off later, it would help too. Is that right? Would that not dull the paint? Kindly bear with the NON CLAY BAR comment/Question
@@ForensicDetailing You should be able to fix under exposed videos in post. Overexposed are hard or even impossible to fix completely but under exposed should be easy to fix.
@@ForensicDetailing I understand completelly! I have been wanting to make youtube videos for 3 years but can't find the energy to do it. When I am done detailing for 50+ hours per week, I just can't muster the will to shoot video and edit on top of it. What you are doing is great. It doesn't matter that it is not perfect.
I find a brown/dirty scum that comes off after even using a fallout remover and tar remover, Would the megs wash plus cause marring if it was used after i've washed the car properly first rather than using it straight away? Thinking about it as part of my decontamination steps if it may be of use
Iv just got a dark silver 4 year old car the garage has polished it I was going to use iron remover on the paint would you guys just use compound onit I want to use turtle wax hybrid solutions polish and wax on it then use the turtle wax hybrid solutions ceramic spray after a day or so what do you guys suggest I do
9:13 - I tried getting my clay lube into a squirter but she was furious! What do you think of these "not-clay" pucks that are out there? They feel like they're an awful lot less harsh than traditional clay.
yes kyle I have a video coming on this... the clay blocks work, theres mild and more agressive variants. but they seem to take more passes to strip the contmination.. but you can use them more times.. some people favour them. I think I prefer clay.
Hi John, loving the videos...lots of great advice. Looking for a bit of help....Clayed my black 2017 BMW 335d with Bilt Hamber clay but has left minor light scratches on parts of the panels. Have tried to DA machine out using Menzerna heavy compound 1000 but struggling to get the scratches completely away...can you recommend any compounds that work well? Thanks in advance.
Koch H9 on flex purple mate Stuart. Then finish the paint out with Koch M3 on Flex orange pads. however you could just keep going with Menz. It sounds like you put deep scratches in the paint just needs more compounding to get it out mate.
Hey John and thank you! I just bought a clay mitt, with those little rubbery checker patterns that you showed in the video. Should you toss the mitt in the trash sooner since it cannot be folded like a traditional claybar? Will it be unusable sooner, all thing being equal?
I have seen from other pro videos stating that the clay mitt last way longer than a clay bar. You simply rinse and keep using, and if you drop on the floor, no problem, just wash or rinse the dirt and keep using it. Some say to last up to 20 cars however, some people claim to leave more marring on the paint than a regular clay bar. I have only used clay bars, thinking about trying the clay towel, some use it while washing the car. Scott from Dallas Paint Correction and Auto Detailing (I think that’s the name of his business on youtube channel) uses an Armor All foam spray wash as lube, says that is cheap and does the job.
If your going to ceramic coat your vehicle,they usually say, Clay your vehicle beforehand. Since the ceramic coating won’t adhere to wax. After claying do you ceramic coat over the surface without any polishing?
First time claying and i fucked up bonet full of scratches ... i washed the car, i lubricated the spots that i was working every 5 seconds with water and car shampoo mixture ... one thing im suspicious is i maybe added to much pressure while claying
Hi John..! Great video.. I have a question do you recommend claying (clay baring?) a car which has a ceramic coating..? I actually do feel a bit of fallout on the paint surface, and the folks who did my ceramic coating said it’s recommended every 9-12 months; although I think it’s just so that they can afford a second holiday home in Spain. Thanks
Hello mate quick question I bought a second hand car and had a stage one paint correction done on it to get rid of swirl marks. After the correction the car was very slick but I could still hear the contaminants on the paint when rubbing my hand on it. Just wanted to get your opinion Should I clay my car to remove the contaminants because it seems like it's never been done. If so will this ruin the paint correction or can I just hand polish later to remove the light scratches from clay?
I was never scared of clay bars until one day I demolished the paint on a just about brand new Chevy Malibu. I had to 2 step the paint before I could finish the job, now I'm super careful with clay. Sometimes you just learn the hard way sometimes
Same brother. I guess I didn’t fold my clay over enough or it was dirty but I did use clay lube and light pressure ( i thought). I clayed a 200,000% Mercedes and when I was done I though OH SHIT!!! It looked terrible. I had to spend a ton of time buffing it out.
I'm a complete amateur but a keen on learning best methods to clean my pride and joy (BLACK Audi) Brother in Law recommends mid range clay bar and quality lubricant (AutoGlym Detailer spray)...Ok before I start what are your thoughts on alternatives such as putty which I notice contains linseed oil, is this a good idea or complete NoNo?
hi there friend. Blue tac or putty dont contain abrasives its just gonna maybe pull some crud into it and scratch up the paintwork and also leave horrible residues. Use bilt Hamber Mild Clay (the white one) or in2detailing medium clay. These both the 2 cheapest on the market but they are superb the BH clay is hard to work but more abrasives.
