Tippy

My friend bought me a Pinnacle clay bar kit with the bar and lubricant for my birthday, he says this stuff is the best from what he has read on his M3/bimmer forum. Is it?

The bar says ultra fine detailing poly clay on it, the lubricant says Pinnacle natural brilliance.

The clay bar is around a credit card in size and about a 1/2" thick.

Another question, is the bar only good for one use?

I am a total noobie to detailing and I have a lot to read up on and search but is this bar too fine for a first time detailing job? TIA Cory

Ranger

The claybar will probably be fine. The thing that I would focus on with clay bars is that once they get some grit in them, they can do a lot of damage. So take your clay bar and pull it in half. Store one half in a ziplock bag for use next fall.

With the half that you are planning to use, just keep a watchful eye for what kind of contamination gets into it, by rubbing it on various things that seem to be adhering to your paint. At some point you are going to say to yourself, I think I just got some dirt in it. Then you have to have the discipline to throw it away and go get the other half of the bar from the ziplock bag. If you don't throw away a claybar that has gotten some dirt in it, you'll have cause to regret it for as long as you own that car.

DFC

Also, may want to mist some of the lubricant in the bag to keep it moist when not in use. If you see any large particles or drop the clay you're using, you can just pinch off that part and throw it away. Any question on the clay - pitch it and get a new piece. There is a free downloadable manual at www.griotsgarage.com which has some good info - and you can find more at http://www.autopia-carcare.com/detailingclay.html - no affiliation, just use some of the products.

Ranger

+1 for Autopia. I've bought enough of their products to put their kids thru college. Site is a great "How-to" resource. Would not have had the courage to try machine polishing without the detailed guidance that is on their site.

Tippy

Well Autotopia answered my questions, most clay's come from Japan so I guess they are all pretty much the same quality.

Seems I need to spend a lot of time figuring out the polish side more than the claying and waxing since my car has 93k miles and I have never detailed the car, just washed.

Thanks for the tips guys, lots of Autotopia to read.