Technical The power of the clay bar on paint

When I bought my Deuce truck it had a layer of overspray all over the front end making the paint quite dull. Decided it was time to do something about it. Went at it with one of those clay bar kits. I knew they were good on glossy paint for getting the sticky stuff off but didn't know how good it would be with overspray. As you can see in the pics it does quite well.

 

Looks good!
Can you post a picture of the clay bar?

I have NO ideer what it is, but it works damn good from the looks of it!
What did you use preserve the paint with after worth?

I did see a video the other day someone used WD40, to polish scratched paint with, and it did a great job! I bet there are at least 10 more tricks to do this!

But Thanks so fare!

 

Looks brilliant. Was the overspray just clear coat or another colour paint? How old is the paint under the overspray?

 

I have also used the clay bar kits with success.

 

really impressive, we some times have gotten overspray in the shop , going to try it, LOOKS GREAT. never thought of trying a clay bar , See you can teach an old dog something new. Thanks John

 

Clay bar is the only thing to use to remove unwanted things from paint. My mothers car got backed into last weekend and the bumper of the truck left a big silver paint mark on her dark blue car. 10 minutes with a clay bar and it was gone.

 

Time to put one of these in my arsenal.

 

Same experience with a clay bar kit ( Meguire, I think) - on an newer car with some overspray from the Wildfire. Worked great !!


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Got the clay bar kit from Mothers. Haven't had a chance to use it yet, but my coupe has lots of old grit and stuff that needs to be removed. Car was in storage for about a year before I got it. Lots of stuff settled on the paint and had time to stick.
Be sure to wash your car good before using the clay bar, to remove any loose grit.

 

how long did it take?
how does it actually work? does it stick to the overspray and pull it off? then where does it go?
is it faster on that overspray than just buffing it off?

 

I am impressed. Think I will try it.

 

Yes, they work great if used properly. Truck looks like it's cleaning up nice. Great patina.

 

Bought the clay bar today and tried it on the hood of my wife's black SUV. I've never seen anything remove surface debris from paint anywhere even close to the clay.

 

Guys just remember, while the clay is removing all of those contaminants it's also removing any and all wax, so don't forget to protect the area with some wax when you're finished with the clay.

 

depends on how much overspray there is, if it's light, then it comes off in seconds.
it's almost like silly putty, the overspray sticks to the clay.
it stays on the clay, you just have to kneed the clay.
yes it is faster than buffing, plus it does not remove anything but the overspray. no burning the edges either!
2 things to remember though, make sure the car is clean so you don't rub any dirt and grit into the cars finish, and if you get any dirt or grit in the clay, it's no good anymore. they have a liquid solvent that comes with the kit you have to use so the clay bar moves along the surface easier to collect the overspray. if I run out of solvent, I use foamy glass cleaner.

 

MUCH better

 

I need to get some. I oversprayed my wifes car and my company truck while working on the roadster. Its not like I didn't see it comeing I haqve been overspraying cars for about 30 years and it still pisses me off when it happens.

 

I've tried clay bar on my o/t car just to see if it lived up to all the hype and I was disappointed. Good old rubbing/polishing compound still gets the job done for me.

 

One of my sons introduced me to the clay bar a few years ago. Newest Snake Oil I figured. Damn, was I ever wrong. It just flat works. Used it on his OT (pipeline) welding truck (black). Fine metal dust (from grinding) embedded into the paint. I figured it was history. The clay bar brought it back to WAY better than I ever expected, and on black to boot. I'm a believer. After a light buff & a coat of wax it was damnear like new.

 

Just remember to slather the area in detail spray at the same time to avoid scratches, detail spray is a must, as is turning and reshaping the bar regularly.

 

I brought a storage unit a few years ago with lots of car parts and supplies in it and had a box with clay bars in it. I wasn't sure what they were, did suspect they were used in polishing by what else was in that box. Thanks guys, now I know what they are for sure, now if I can remember where I put them?

 

This is what a new clay bar looks like and another thats getting pretty used up. I used the Simoniz kit only because its a little cheaper than the Meguir's or Mothers kits.

The grill took about a half hour. The drivers fender took me about 1.5 hours. However the overspray came from the passenger side of the truck so the passenger fender is much worse. I expect I'll end up using 2 bars just to do that fender alone.

 

The overspray was some single stage red paint. As it was on there when I bought the truck I have no idea how long it was there or how old the green paint is. I'm suspecting though its at least 20 years old.

 

Have used the clay bar a few times and just waxed as habit afterwards , but yes you are probably quite right in it removing wax also as in effect wax is a contaminant . Good spotting.

 

I have found that the ones from japan in light blue work better than the whitish color ones. I never use the spray they have just do it while washing the car, wash a section with johnsons normal car wash, then while still wet use the claybar adding more soap and water if you get it dry and it works perfect.

One caution nobody is mentioning is DO NOT use if you drop it EVER the five second rule for food dropped does not apply.

 

On the truck, did you try a bit of wax n grease remover 1st? PPG has 2 variants of WG remover and the slower version (higher #) can actually remove overspray with a little scrubbing and a very soft cloth. Sounds counter-intuitive but it's worked for me a few times. Might reduce the effort required with the clay bar for a small investment. If you have tried it already, sorry, carry on...

 

Clay bars work great, plus on paint you think looks ok, if you run your hand across it and it feels rough, clay it an it feels nice and slick againn. I notice more contaminants on the top surface than the sides. I've used the Mothers kits and Clay Magic which is even more money, but is a bigger bar and lasts longer. Now that you have parts of the grill shell done, you have to do the rest of the truck haha, looks great though.

 

I haven't tried a clay bar, but isn't is essentially the same as using various grades of rubbing compounds down to swirl remover? Sort of like a bar of soap vs. liquid soap to wash your hands?

I'd be scared that a grain of dirt, etc. would be kneaded into the clay, then reintroduced later in the polishing process causing scratches. Almost like sandpaper that keeps loading and doesn't get cleaned. It seems that the clay bar progressively gets more contaminated to the point that it gets tossed, vs. a new rag or pad being brought in when using rubbing compounds.

 

Very good opening the eyes of others w/this process. Now finish your new found finish w/this: http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...w-car-finish-antique-single-stage-paints.html

 

My first go-round was very good, but the second was outstanding. Keep kneading the claybar and use the detail solution--better results the more you use it (the claybar.)