Next step!! Clay bar??
 

Right guys,

After months of trying different polishers and waxes, I've found the combination of Auto Glyms super resin polish and Meguiars NXT Tech wax 2.0 is very good, so be sticking with that in future.

The next step I think is Clay bar, Which ones have you guys found the best and are they easier enough to use for an amateur like me?? :smile:

A few pics below of my weekends activity using Auto Glyms Polish and Meguiars NXT tech wax.

Any of the std types will be fine, I find the Megs kit the best with two gentle bars and a good lube!

Clays bars are fine to use. First off I would go for one thats not too aggressive. I generally use the meguires one which can be found in halfords or on sites like polishedbliss.co.uk.

Wash the car first making sure all the loose dirt is off.

Warm the clay a bit by squeezing it with your hands until it is a bit loose/soft.

The meguires one comes with a bottle of speed detailer to use as lube (ooh err!!). Do one panel at a time, spray the detailer on and the rub the clay bar over the panel lightly. If you feel it 'drying up' spray more detailer on. The key is to keep the clay moving freely.

I would recommend going around the top of the car first (i.e roof, bonnet, boot lid top, and tops of panels) and then do the bottom of the panels last as thats where the majority of the muck will come from.

Worth noting between each panel (or when necessary) 'need' the clay bar again in your hands so it is clean. I often find a rinse in warm water helps this)

Wash the car again to get rid of any remnents of clay, polish and seal/wax.

Remember that claying will strip any wax you already have on the car off, hence needing to do it again.

You will see/feel a big difference in the paint after, and its alot easier to keep on top of by just topping up the wax every 3 or 4 weeks.

If you need a hand mate, give me a shout. I miss cleaning a scoob lol.


Steve

Thanks mate!

Cheers Steve

I've just brought the Meguires kit, so the next nice weekend I'll give it a bash.

Thanks for the offer to help mate, if i get stuck I'll give you a shout.

Sam

Cool. I've tried all sorts and to be fair the Meguires kit is as good as any in my opinion.

Plus one for the megs kit! Very good.

I'm currently trying the MER kit though and I'm not as impressed with the lube compared to the megs or the fact that the clay bar is blue which is hard to see what you've exactley Removed. Plus I find the blue MER clay harder to kneed.

Rich, now you are just showing off as you can spell 'kneed' :lol:

I use meguires aswell mate seems pretty good.plus most halfrauds stock it..:ok:

If the Megs kit isn't available the T-cut kit is pretty similar.

I was warned of the Turtle Wax one... bit abrasive apparently.

Cheers for the advice guys, I picked up the Megs kit this afternoon.

Will give it a bash the next dry weekend.

Do boot and rear bumper last.
You will be suprised how much crap comes off the back.

I also use it on the side windows amd rear screen.
Some speed detailers also bring the black plastics on the roof gutters and window surrounds (not rubbers) up a treat.

Thanks Scott.

The boot and rear bumper was the reason I looked into getting a clay kit, even after a good polish and wax, the grime and dirt was still quite visible up close :polish:

The autoglym bar is very good but I couldn't get on with their QD.

go on www.cleanyourcar.com - they do a 3 pack of clay bars in a box - all different grades. Start with the finest, so as not to cause to much damage if you do it wrong (not enough lube for instance) as this will cause less holograms. Once you've perfected it - go over again with medium bar. Its pretty easy once you get going - just remember - you can never have enough lube! ha ha