Does clay brand matter?

Other than personal preference and maybe some being a little bit rougher or softer, is there any reason to be really worried about what brand of clay I purchase?

For example, maybe the riccardo/clay magic and whatever else may be higher quality than Megs, but if the Megs were cheaper, would you buy it?

I was just wondering as I am getting together a wish list of stuff I want to try, and after looking around remembered how many different brands of clay there are and for such varying prices.

Are there any brands or types you would just completely stay away from?

Thanks!

 

Personal experience I liked the meguiars over Adams.

 

Not really. Not to mention the price doesn't deviate a whole lot from bar to bar.

 

Try the nanoskin autoscrub that phil sells. It's amazing! You get many uses out of one (I think the claimed is like 30-40 cars but don't count me on it) and if you drop it on the floor you just rinse off! It's much more cost efficient in the long run if you think about it, plus I think it's on sale right now. Plus you can "clay" a whole car in half the time you would with traditional clay :thumb:. This is considering you have a DA polisher. If not, even the three inch autoscrub by hand would be more efficient than clay.

 

Check this video out for reference! Have no fear, Fine Grade Autoscrub pad is here.......Bye bye clay bars, hello Autoscrub! - YouTube

It is the fine grade and usually gets the job done for a clean surface after I use af iron out or iron x (which are also great decontaminate products).

 

I was under the impression all clay bars sold in the USA are controlled under patent licensing and most of them come from a single manufacturer. So I believe everyone is basically using the same thing and just putting their name on it. I could be wrong though.

Regardless, I've moved on to Autoscrub and haven't looked back at all. I do keep a couple Adam's clay bars on hand if needed for any reason

 

I've heard the same thing as well. I usually use mother's clay for hard to reach areas that my 6 inch autoscrub pad can't reach.

 

I have used Zaino, Sonus, megs, and with exception to some stuff from canada, I will tell you from experience its more the grade then brand that is important. But that is my opinion, some people are so hung up on names its silly.

 

I agree

 

I would not buy anything more aggressive them medium though, I have never had any issues in 12 years using zaino clay. I just started using sonus due to it was on sale a while ago, but it is comprable to zaino.

I used diluted dawn too as my lubricant.

 

Well,I do plan on getting an Auto Scrub, but I still want to keep clay on hand...

I did notice most bars are around $20/200g, but I saw a few for more and a few for less...that plus I was unsure and hadn't researched them, figured I would ask...

Basically what I expected to hear though.

Sounds good though, thanks!

 

The Megs clay bar kit you can find at Walmart works just fine, and I heard the Mothers kit is pretty good also. It's easily attainable and around $17 for the box, so I've no reason to pay more for clay.

 

The Riccardo clay is a bit different - those are not made by Clay Magic (and hence cannot be sold in the US). There are also some clays in UK (such as Bilt Hamber) which are formulated to use only water as lube. As mentioned though, the clay sold in the US are pretty similar to one another.

 

Yup. Clay Magic holds the patent for now. It will be up very soon.

Love Riccardo Clay, its "elastic"! To bad there TONS of decontamination options.

 

For normal use, brands really don't matter. The McGuire's kit works great. But I'll break out the Riccardo if I'm working on a really nice car, just because it works awesome and is nice to use. Haven't tried the Autoscrub stuff. Yet.

 

I've tried Mother's, Meguiar's, Griot's Garage, DP, Riccardo and possibly 1 or 2 others that I can't remember right now, and I can say that the Riccardo (blue) was my favorite. It has a good amount of grit/decontamination capabilities, it's "elasticky" and doesn't crumble, and it doesn't mar the paint much, if at all. As for the autoscrub, I haven't tried it and likely won't any time soon because it's not more cost effective than Riccardo blue clay, for me anyways.



If we take a look at the price vs. how many cars are done, the clay costs less for me. (cannot emphasize that enough)

1 x 6" Autoscrub pad = $50 on DD
2 x 8oz boxes of Riccardo blue = $44 on eShine (I buy them in 6-packs so it actually comes out to 3 x 8oz boxes for $50)

I would first like to tell you that I generally throw out the piece of clay I used on a car once I'm done, so I don't re-use clay on another car. I do however keep the pieces sometimes when they are very clean and the car was pretty much contaminant free (after Iron-X).

If I calculate that I can get 30-40 cars done with 1 6" autoscrub (using Phil's claim - based on what's written in this thread, not an actual quote) that ends up being $1.25 to $1.67 per car.

If we go with the "single-use per clay piece" only (worst case scenario) I get about 15-20 cars done per 8oz box. This comes out to about $1.10 to $1.45 per car, and I'm always using "new" clay, whereas the autoscrub degrades over time. Also note that this is with Riccardo clay, one of the "middle-priced" clays. There are some cheaper and some more expensive.

Now, I understand that time can also be a factor for some, and that the small cost difference between both options becomes negligible when saving a potential 15 minutes of work, but this is not the case for me. I am not over-booked and looking to save 15 minutes here and there (although appreciated some times) and I like claying a car and "feeling" the contaminants come off. Based on this, I am planning to stick with Riccardo blue for now.



Disclaimer: this is in no way shape or form an attack on Autoscrub and/or other types of decontamination and not a promotion for Riccardo. This is my personal opinion based on personal experience and observation. Your results may vary.

 

Have also used Claybars for years, before there were so many options even.

The only things I find that I do not like about some claybars is that they are "sticky" and will stick to the paint and leave residue that has to be removed. I like to claybar quickly and efficiently and not have to go back and remove anything, whether it be embedded gunk or sticky clay residue.

I have used a lot of Zaino red claybars and they probably have the best formula for all around good residue removal, a nice, flexible, easy to mold and shape bar. A very consistent quality claybar.
The Zaino red claybar to me, would be considered on the "Mild" side of agressiveness. it will probably never mar the surface when used with a good lube and common sense.

I have used a lot of ClayMagic claybars as well, way, way, back when claybars were first getting any "press" anywhere. The Blue ClayMagic claybar for me, has always been a good, more of a mild to medium in terms of aggressiveness, and it has always been for me a very good, non-sticky, great remover of embedded gunk in paint. It is more of a harder claybar compared to Zaino, but it it still easy to use compared to other brands that are in some cases, has hard as a rock, and need to be warmed up in hot water to get them to be flexible.

Also have used the SM Arnold Fine Grade rubberized towel and absolutely love that I can use more sides before I have to rinse it off and there is not cleaning more than this to get it going again.
I have, however, also found that, it takes more attention to Detail to use it, because you cannot see the embedded gunk coming off like in a claybar, and adjust your technique, etc..
I think that this product will be a timesaver and once you get used to it, this important process is so much easier to do. The square if easily adjusted to even a finger width to get in those little tiny places, and then can be folded to remove probably more embedded gunk than the size of the claybar most people use, unless you can afford to take the entire rectangle and have at it.

Good luck with your research !
DanF