newbee to this claying stuff. I have ??

[blau]

Sorry about these dumb questions regarding claying.

1. So this is like a realy clay bar?
2. How many time could you use this clay bar?
3. so the procedure is wash and dry car, spray lub (quick detailer/car wash with spray bottle), and glide the clay bar over the area you want to clay. How much pressure you need to apply when trying to remove bonded contiminated on paint? Or is better to use gental pressure but spray, glide over with the clay bar many times?

Also another question. I read on some of the thread that clay will not reduce the thickness of the paint. But the clay is a fine abrasive won't that reduce the thickness of the paint.


thanks

blau

[suginami]

Yes, it's really like a clay bar, in that it looks and feels like clay, but I wouldn't try using any different kind of clay.

As you glide the clay over the paint, it picks up contaminants, and gets dirty. You can keep folding the clay over and squashing it down to find a clean section, but eventually the clay will get so dirty that you'll no longer want to keep using it.

It's best to use gentle pressure and go over the area many times. The trick is to keep the paint very wet.

I think the clay removes contaminants by not abrading the paint, but by some sort of magnetic action. I'm not a chemist, but I believe that's how it works. The contaminants would rather bond to the clay (like capilary attraction) instead of the paint.

You might go to www.meguiars.com and either e-mail them or call the 800 number for technical advice.

[BrianH]

Suginami is very accurate in his descrpitions, but the clay works more like a moldible micro-scraper. It nicks off contaminants that are above the paint surface and but does not damage the paint. This why it is important to use a lot of spray detailer and light but short back and forth strokes. Read the box it came in you'll be fine.

[rdetoy]

The clay itself is not abrasive. It adheres to surface contaminants and pulls them from the surface of the paint. In doing so, the surface of the clay becomes contaminated so, as you use it, you check the surface and as it becomes dirty you fold the dirty section in on itself. Please note that you don't use the whole bar at one time, as you would a bar of soap. Rather, you pull off a piece of the clay bar that you work into a small pad perhaps 3-4 inches in diameter that you 'work' with the fingertips of your hand. Using very light perssure you can easily feel when the surface is getting smooth by the decreased drag you feel as the clay moves across the surface. Simply go over an area until it feels smooth and the clay is no longer picking up contamination and you're on to the next area. Once you try this process you will not be satisfied with anything less. It takes only a little bit of practice to develop the feel and the results are outstanding.