New guy clay bar questions

Hi Folks,

I've never clay barred a vehicle before but understand the general concept. I own 4 vehicles, a 98 Ford Escort, 99 Ford Ranger, 05 Honda Civic, and 09 Toyota Tacoma. I've read that clear coats vary by manufacturer so there is no magical brand/grade of clay that's best for all vehicles. The Ford's are black and white, the Asian makes are white and dark green. None of the vehicles have heavy paint contamination just the usual road grime so a less aggressive clay will probably do fine.

With the vehicles listed, are there any prefered clays?

Where would I be able to purchase the products if autogeek doesn't have them?

I've used Meg's body scrub which was good for small stuff but ultimately probably caused swirling on my Ranger. I ended up making more work for myself.

I forgot, I've never read/heard about the 2 bucket wash system until I joined this forum, is simply a clean water and dirty water bucket?

Thanks fellas

 

the best clay is right now on sale - Car Detailing Clay Bar - Sonus Ultra Fine Detail Clay
$5 a bar (3oz), plus if you order over $50, use code ACC08NMD for 20% off. Stock up, otherwise they might raise the price. Sonus green clay is on my favorite list, since Ricardo is not available in USA, and I don't wanna go through all the trouble getting it, Sonus green is the way to go. It works very well on all paints.

 

Fantastic, thanks!

Question on the lube though, do you have to use their proprietary lubricate?

 

Application –a thin film of lubrication (see Detailer’s Clay Lubrication) provides a safety barrier that enables the clay to hydroplane across the surface. In other words, the clay is riding on a micro-thin film of lubrication between it and the paint surface removing the (protruding) surface contaminants by abrasion and encapsulation by the malleable clay. Without lubrication the clay will abrade the paint surface much like a wet-sanding block and will produce significant fine surface marring

For more information see article “Automotive Detailer’s Clay” in the Detailing School section

 

On another thread, I read that most of the clay just comes from one factory so they're almost all the same except for its strength and I don't thinking there is anything like a preferred clay for certain cars.

You don't need to use the proprietary lubricate. So save money by finding a lube that you like and is affordable but provides tons of lubrication.

If you're just claybarring for the first time, you could try using a mild clay (Meguiar's) until you're comfortable and gives you piece of mind.

For my first claybar, I jumped straight to Ricardo and it was easy to use. Its medium I believe. So you could do that if you're brave.

Two bucket is one bucket with clear water with your soap and the other bucket of water for rinsing your mitt/sponge before you grab more soap.

 

That two bucket wash didn't sound to crazy. However, I've been the butt of enough inside jokes, just thought I'd ask :.

 

Damn that's a good deal on Sonus. Come onnnnnn Tax Return!

 

Yeah, I think I'm going to pick up some too. 5 bars should be good to test out.

 

I'm about to order some myself. Comparing the Sonus green clay to CM blue, which is more aggressive?

 

I would think the Clay Magic Blue. So far i've used Megs, Autoglym, Riccardo Yellow and Blue, Blackfire & Bilt Hamber regular. I would say the Blackfire is the closest with the Riccardo Blue and BH a close second.
Hey look! We sell the CM Blue, Blackfire and are getting BH as well. What a coincidence!

 

it depends on how much money you are willing to spend on a clay lube. The very best and slickest clay lube I ever used is Pinnacle clay lube. But it's not cheap - $45 or so for a gallon.
You can also get some Chemical Guys caly luber, or make your own QD, using Optimum No Rinse (2 oz) mixed with 1 gallon of distilled water. Add a few drops of Meguiar's #00 high tech wash for extra lubricity to it.

 

Thanks for all the help fellas, especially the lube reply, there are about as many clay bar options as polishes/sealants/waxes and such. A couple of simple questions saves a lot of grief later on.