washing a new car's paintjob

[Mrk_Mickey]

thats true....never have had break down of clay thou

I did tonight....at work we used to use an alkaline based cleaner for wheels and it got into BOTH of my little boxes of clay. Bye bye clay.

[JVLR32]

The M3 clay comes with a plastic jar
if i use any other clay i always spray with a solution and than wrap in plastic

[gregozedobe]

I use Bilt Hamber clay (from the UK) which is designed to be used with plain water as the lubricant,

Guys,

For claying you should really use a proper clay lube. Water is a lubricant but not a great one, some shampoo solutions and window cleaners will actually dissolve and break down your clay. A clay lube is designed to give maximum slip and not breakdown the clay...

Good lubrication equals less chance of marring and scratching (so does a quality clay). After you have seen what can be done with a cheap clay bar and just water then you will never do it again

As I said - SOME clays ARE designed to be used with plain water and so don't need a special lubricant.

See: http://www.bilthamber.com/autoclay.html

Competing clays require the use of special lubricants. Bilt-Hamber Laboratories Auto-clay differs as its formulation enables normal tap water to provide the necessary lubrication.

I haven't had any marring or scratching problems using the B-H clay, and I've used it a lot to remove stubborn rail dust from the roof of my Transporter which has very soft paint. ( CCP : PM me if you want to try out a sample of B-H clay)

I have no doubt that using plain water with a clay that is formulated for use with a lubricant will create problems.

[Mrk_Mickey]

I don't think it will create problems as such, I just think that with the clay that is designed for use with lubricant won't work as well. And of course, if the clay itself differs between the models (ie the lubricant-designed clay is stickier than the water-designed one) then it could be more difficult for beginners to get it right.

But hey...that's just my thoughts, I could be way off!

[emuexport]

Great thread.

Just want to check a few things!

I dont have to Clay the car if I use Dodo Lime Prime Lite?

I was going to stay with all Dodo products and see how that works.

Dodo Born to Be Mild
Dodo Lime Prime Lite
Dodo Supernatural Paste Wax

Anything I should be aware of?

I dont mind spending some quality time washing and waxing the car so I can make sure it stays Schmick!

[Transporter]

Great thread.

Just want to check a few things!

I don't have to Clay the car if I use Dodo Lime Prime Lite?

I was going to stay with all Dodo products and see how that works.

Dodo Born to Be Mild
Dodo Lime Prime Lite
Dodo Supernatural Paste Wax

Anything I should be aware of?

I don't mind spending some quality time washing and waxing the car so I can make sure it stays Schmick!

You will need to at some stage when you paint will not feel smooth even after waxing. On our 11 years old car I used clay bar 2x, the paint work looks like new (parked under the sky 100% of the time).

But hey I'm not an expert on The body care products! Lets see what the pro's have to say?

[carcareproducts]

As I said - SOME clays ARE designed to be used with plain water and so don't need a special lubricant.

See: http://www.bilthamber.com/autoclay.html

I haven't had any marring or scratching problems using the B-H clay, and I've used it a lot to remove stubborn rail dust from the roof of my Transporter which has very soft paint. ( CCP : PM me if you want to try out a sample of B-H clay)

I have no doubt that using plain water with a clay that is formulated for use with a lubricant will create problems.

Thanks for the info and the offer of a sample, I already have both of the BH clays here which I have tested quite extensively. On some paints they do not induce marring with water as the lubricant but with some paints, dark porsche paint, subaru for example marring was easily induced even using the BH soft clay and lots of water.

I know on the BH website it states water only but it also states "Listen carefully - at first you will hear the bar as it pulls the particles away from the paint, the noise and friction will disappear quickly." ALL clay is 'abrasive' that is how it can pull contamination of paint, after playing with loads of different clays, hundreds of cars I would still not recommend using water alone, lube is superior at allowing the clay to glide across the surface - but this is based on my experience and only IMHO. Like a lot of products/techniques there is no absolute right or wrong but a few shades of grey...

[carcareproducts]

Great thread.

Just want to check a few things!

I dont have to Clay the car if I use Dodo Lime Prime Lite?

I was going to stay with all Dodo products and see how that works.

Dodo Born to Be Mild
Dodo Lime Prime Lite
Dodo Supernatural Paste Wax

Anything I should be aware of?

I dont mind spending some quality time washing and waxing the car so I can make sure it stays Schmick!

It depends on the paint condition but a clay is usually needed if it has not been clayed in the last 6-12 months or even sometimes needed when your car is new. So the steps:

Wash
Dry
Clay
Pre-Wax Cleanser - (Lime Prime or Lime Prime Lite)
Wax

The clay will remove any contamination that is bonded to the paint and the Lime Prime/Lite will prepare the surface perfectly for waxing by removing any old wax or polish, grease or oils and enhancing the gloss - this way the wax can bond to the paint nicely increasing the durability and performance.

Hope this helps

[gregozedobe]

...... after playing with loads of different clays, hundreds of cars I would still not recommend using water alone, lube is superior at allowing the clay to glide across the surface - but this is based on my experience and only IMHO. Like a lot of products/techniques there is no absolute right or wrong but a few shades of grey...

I bow to your superior knowledge and vastly greater experience

I have only used the BH clay on my current two vehicles (the white T5 has soft paint, the yellow paint on the Skoda is MUCH harder).

[JVLR32]

From my experience,,,they both work effectively water and lub.
Its the same old broken record PREP PREP PREP