MichelleJD

I've been clay barring my car this afternoon (3M clay bar) and it isn't even taking all the bugs out. Am I doing something wrong? I'm using 3M Gloss Enhancer as a lubricant. Do I have to remove the wax first? Help!

Manning

Bugs? Did you was the car first?

You do have to stretch and turn and knead the clay bar to get to a clean part pretty frequently. If you don't the stuff clogs up and doesn't clean anymore crud off the paint.

MichelleJD

Washed it with Zymol auto wash. The bugs are just stuck to the paint (not the whole bugs, just the mess they leave behind after being squished at 70 mph )

Randy_J

Use New Dawn dishwashing detergent with hot water and thoroughly wash the car first

Read about it here http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/...C&Store_Code=Z

I found that the basic paint has to be in pretty good shape before clay bar. Claying is NOT cut polishing.... if your paint is badly oxidized, has runs, cracks, etc. the clay bar will NOT do anything. What it is really good for is to prep a basically good paint condition back to factory delivered EXCEPT for the shine. It doesn't take too long either - I did each P Car in basically 1.5 hours using clay bar and soapy water. I did my ML320 in 2 hours and that had a LOT of tree sap, crap, road grime, etc. on it.

The ML is pretty good, but the Porsche paint is now awesome - smooth as glass.

Hope that helps.

If the paint finish on your car is not too good to begin with, then I would really consider 1) New Dawn wash in any case, 2) cut polish with a fine compound by machine or hand 3) then clay bar the whole thing 4) hand application of a good glazing compound 5) wax. Or substitute 4 & 5 with Zymol (the Wal-Mart Zymol is pretty decent) or ZAINO. You'll be impressed.

MichelleJD

I waxed the car about a month ago. The paint is good. I think the problem is that I need to strip the wax first. It's okay to use the Dawn (with water) as a lube?

AndyK

Isn't using a clay bar for bug removal like using a crow bar to open the door? If you wax the car regularly, I would figure you could use a good bug/tar/wax remover to get the remains off the paint.

For serious ground-in stains, I have used P21s finish restorer, mixed with 3m hand glaze. With a white car, EVERY little stain shows!

Clay bars eventually remove the clear coat if used too much, according to carecareonline.com:

Anti-Claybar article

Randy_J

Yes, use New Dawn to strip the wax and crap off the car - no danger to use it either. And don't worry about the clear coat thickness - it's very thick on the P Cars - unfortunately, I've dinged a P Car bad enough that the clear coat came off in sheets and I was amazed it was so thick. The clay bar is FAR LESS aggressive than any cutting compound, so don't worry too much about using it.

Look at the PRODUCTS / tips and technigues at the ZAINO site. There's a lot of good tips there that apply to any brand of good car care products.

I just won my class at the recent PCA-CWR concours with a 100,000 mile 951S - clay bar the original paint, then ZAINO (tried Zymol, and traditional Meguirs glaze / Show Car carnuba wax before that). The paint finish is AMAZING now - really as smooth and reflective as a sheet of glass - top and side panels (there's a photo in my Rennlilst Gallery - link below). So from experience I know it works, and apparently, so do the PCA judges.

Jfrahm

You can also use Tide or a similar laundry detergent to remove the wax, bugs etc. Car wash liquids are designed to leave the wax on, while dish and laundry detergent dissolves it. However you should avoid soaps that are gentle on your skin, if it cannot dissolve skin oils I doubt it will deal with the wax.

-Joel.

Manning

those Edit laundry detergents and dish soaps work great for taking oil spots off the driveway as well. Pour some on, scrub it in and let it sit over night. Rinse it off in the morning and the oil spots are usually totally removed.

Matt Sheppard

Michelle

I've used clay bar (Mothers) over 1 month old wax (Zymol) and it cut really well. All clay is not created equal. Ive heard Griots isnt as good as some out there and I know first hand that Meguires was a total disapointment. For $15 w/ detailing spray/lubricant it's a hard game to beat.

IceShark

I don't know about "New Dawn" but old Dawn has a worldwide reputation as the best for cutting oil and wax. I assume the "New Dawn" is similar. I don't know what is added to the formulation but can attest that it works like gangbusters.

Manning

Oh yeah, I forgot, Dawn is wonderful at pulling oil and grease stains out of clothing too. Just squirt some on the stain and rub it in. Let it pre-soak and then toss in the regular was. I used to have to wash bike chain marks and such out of my cloths when I worked in a bicycle shop and Dawn wash the best thing to do it. Nothing washed out Georgia clay though.

MichelleJD

Thanx for the help everyone. I washed the car again after posting this last night and I'm going to wash it again this morning to see if that gets it all done. Has anyone ever used 3M clay before? It may just be bad stuff. I'll let you know later.

Michael - you worked as a bike mech? My parents owned a bike shop in the mid-70's. My brothers and I were required to work there after school and on weekends. I learned basic mechanics there

Manning

Yeah, with all the good tools too. Full set of Campy tools, Phil Wood spoke cutter, etc. I used to do a lot of wheel building, and we would do a little bit of frame customizing, like adding braze-ons and brake bosses, etc. Only thing we didn't have was a good alignment table.

We were also the first dedicated mtn bike shop in the southeast.

MichelleJD

Didn't do anything nearly that sophisticated. My dad was in charge of all of the wheel building (he had the patience of Job!), the rest of us tended to lose our religion over it We were in the southeast though