Clay Bar - Miracle Car cleaner

[jbnewfreedom]

The other day I washed my P-W Excel and discovered it was covered with tiny dark specks that would not wash off. I ran to the hardware store and picked up a bottle of Turtle Wax Tar and Bug Remover. Nothing. The specks were not budging. I googled "tiny dark specks" and could not determine if they were "brake dust" or "Industrial Fall Out" or what. Unfortunately, I live in the city and have to park outside. There are quite a lot of elm trees in the neighborhood. I found a couple of references to "clay bar", which I had never heard of. Off to the auto parts store. The clerk had no idea what I was asking for, but after searching the cleaning products aisle, I found it. For about $20.00, the box contained 2 bars of clay, two nice microfiber cloths and a bottle of detailing spray cleaner.

It took a couple of days, working a few hours, but the clay removed the specks and left a clean, smooth surface. I applied Carnauba wax, buffed with a microfiber cloth and the paint job looks brand new. Amazing stuff that I will always have on hand. Not sure if the product is available in MX, so I will take a couple extra boxes along.


jb - 2004 Pleasure Way Excel TD

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Dang! And here I thought my clay mine bonanza was going to get boinked!

[96Bounder30E]

At this time I see no evidence of spam.......carry on.......

[Dan_public]

westend wrote:
Oh.oh picked a fight with a Festool owner, this is gonna' be not good.:B

BTW, thanks for your suggestions about detailing and sealants. FWIW, I have a gallon of Parwax that I'll be experimenting with. It's application is very similar to the one you used on the bug.

Westwind,

Ok, that's it! Miter saws at ten paces!!! :B

Regarding Parwax, thanks for the heads up. One of the downsides of the sealant I'm trying now is that it's a bit pricey. That's OK for a car, but could make a non-starter for an RV. I'll take a look at Parwax.

Regards,

Dan.

[Dan_public]

rkentzel wrote:
Please explain how this is spam. Its a heck of alot easier to copy and paste. I see no difference than some one pointing out red max pro or any other product for waxing.

rkentzel,

Hi. No, it's not spam and I did not appreciate his post.

Regarding recommending products for RV maintenance, I'm hesitant to recommend anything for an RV because I don't own one (yet). That said...

I've been detailing my own cars for 45 years. The supposedly good stuff people recommend is amazing. And usually bad. And much of it is very expensive. Some people spend over $100 for a small jar of premium wax! To each his own.

I try for good stuff that is easy to apply, looks good, and lasts a long time. Brand is not relevant. And things are changing - what is good now may be old technology in a year. I used Zaino products for years and considered them the best. In the last couple of years, I've changed sealants three times - each was easier to use than the prior one. There is a lot of hype out there, but some of the new products are very nice. The challenge is separating the wheat from the chaff.

Take what I write with a grain of salt. I could easily be wrong, and even if I'm right, I may change my mind in six months.

Regards,

Dan.

[westend]

Oh.oh picked a fight with a Festool owner, this is gonna' be not good.:B

BTW, thanks for your suggestions about detailing and sealants. FWIW, I have a gallon of Parwax that I'll be experimenting with. It's application is very similar to the one you used on the bug.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Wll I AM IN LATIN AMERICA, and there are plenty of fabriques de barro around that produce excellent clay. The last brick size brick I bought cost me a dollar. It was red and I worked lots of car shine liquid whatever it's called into it and it works like a champ. Been thinking about hauling this stuff to the border and making my fortune on it. It is pure, no grit and a 3-ton load 3' X 4' X 4' costs sixty two dollars.

[Dan_public]

rocmoc wrote:
This is SPAM. I have seen this guy post this same sales speak word for word on a couple of other site I belong to. This thread has nothing to do with RVing let alone in Latin America.
rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

This thread has to do with RV maintenance. I thought it odd that it was in the Latin America section, but I'm new here so who am I to judge.

As far as SPAM, you need to either PROVE IT or apologize, or I'll notify the moderator that you are attacking me personally. I don't take personal attacks lightly.

Since you chose to attack me, I decided to check you out. You don't expose your real name. You don't have a website. You don't even sign your posts with your first name.

My name is Dan Clark. I'm thinking about buying a class A when I retire next year. That's the only reason I'm here - to understand RV'ing better and make a good buying decision.

Have I posted about detailing before? Absolutely. Were they spam post? No, and no one thought they were. For example, In the TalkFestool forum (a woodworking tools forum where I was a founding member), this is a detailing thread I created: http://www.talkfestool.com/vb/other-projects/1873-polishing-your-car-rotex-part-1-a.html. My user name was "DanClark" there. If you go to several of the detailing forums, and search for user "bookemdano" (the user name I used to use), you'll see posts going back several years - all as nothing more than an enthusiast.

More info about me...

Below is a pic of my garage. Here's my Gallery showing my garage and detailing materials: http://danclark.smugmug.com/Other/Garage-Project/22129149_QTrQ5V

What do I look like? Here's a video I posted about an issue with a miter saw. Yep, that's me in all my (not) glory: http://vimeo.com/7257821

So I've provided some details about me. You expose nothing personal about you, but attack me. You want to apologize or do I report your post to the moderator?

Regards,

Dan.

[rkentzel]

Please explain how this is spam. Its a heck of alot easier to copy and paste. I see no difference than some one pointing out red max pro or any other product for waxing.

[rocmoc]

This is SPAM. I have seen this guy post this same sales speak word for word on a couple of other site I belong to. This thread has nothing to do with RVing let alone in Latin America.
rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

[Dan_public]

Hi. I don't even have an RV yet (but looking). However I've been detailing my cars for years.

IMO, claying the paint is always the first step in detailing if it's not been done for awhile. That said, using Carpro Iron-X first will make the job much easier. The only downsides that I've encountered are that it's a bit pricey and it stinks to high-heaven. Use it outside only.

For claying, don't waste money on the high-priced clay lubricant. Just fill a spray bottle with about 1/4 car wash soap (any decent one will do) and 3/4 water. Then wash car and leave it wet. Finally spray your soapy solution on a section of the vehicle, clay, and finish that section by spraying off with your hose. This is WAY faster than other methods I've tried.

Regarding "wax", there are better options to protecting your paint than a carnauba wax. Carnauba looks great but takes a lot of effort to apply and only lasts a month or so on your daily-driver. The better option is a sealant like Zaino (IMO).

For years, I was a Zaino fanatic. Even now, I can say that it's an excellent product, that lasts a loooooooong time. That said, the downside is that it is time-consuming to apply. Typically, I always spent a weekend in the prep and application.

When I was younger, I didn't mind the hassle. Now, at 66 with a bad back and two bad knees, my priorities have changed - ease of application is top priority.

Now there are new products that provide good protection and are much easier to apply than Zaino. Four Star and Ultima make some nice products that easy to work with. That said, I'm trying out a new product that violates every rule of applying a sealant or wax.

It's called HdryO2. It's also made by CarPro. What's a bit bizarre is the application. You spray down your vehicle and leave it wet. Then you spray on the sealant. Finally, you rinse ALL of the sealant off with a hose or pressure washer. Then you walk off.

When I read a short review of this stuff, my first reaction was, "bovine excrement!" I tried it on my wife's VW Beetle three weeks ago. It went on as advertised and it took me about 20 minute to apply it. How long it will last is an open question, but I figure if it lasts 2-3 months and only takes a few minutes to reapply, it may be worth it. It's a new product, but it looks good so far. Time will tell.

All of this is my opinion based on my experience detailing with these products. I hope it's useful for you.

Regards,

Dan.

P.s. I have no connection to the companies mentioned except as a user. For information from other amateur and pro detailers, you might want to check out the autogeekonline dot net forum. It's connected to a vendor of detailing product. Most of the users give honest feedback about different products, but some of the vendors posts and "reviews" contain over-the-top hype. Good info in the forum, but take some of it with a grain of salt.

P.p.s. Remember rule #1 in detailing - you can never have too many microfiber towels. 🙂

[dan-nickie]

Lots of us Vette owners use it and other products made by Zaino.
They spend a lot of time getting a deep shine as there are 3 steps to the process.
Claybar is the first step to remove small impurities.

[summerhouse]

It is usually referred to as 'rail dust', though it encompasses more then that. The term originated from new cars being transported cross country by railroad. The new cars would have those tiny specks on them from being transported by rail and then transport vehicles. I have always heard the dust is metallic in nature and as it oxidizes (rusts), it becomes visible to the eye. I had a white car that about drove me crazy. I had that car four years and 'clay balled' it every spring and fall. Not too bad a job done frequently.
I haven't heard of anything else that works as effectively.