Pro Tip for Your Paint: Clay Bar
Available on Amazon
We all know, it is our car’s paint that makes a vehicle “pop.” Let’s look at how professionals get those last bit of impurities out after washing, waxing, buffing… you get the idea. Yet another one of those great professional detailing tricks.
Today, we’ll look at Meguiar’s Clay Bar and associated products (available from Amazon.) We’ll explore how they will help you take that next step to make your paint POP!
Detailed Details
We’ve already shared fully what auto detailing is all about. We’ve also shared 5 easy ways to keep your car fresh. If those were beginning and intermediate topics, today is an advanced class. (But with our help, it will be a walk in the park for you!)
Fall Out: Paint Impurities
First, some background.
There are many bad actors that cause nasty little bits to attach to our paint. Those nasty bits are called “Fall Out.” You won’t notice these bits, nor are you likely to even see them if you look closely. But trust us, they are probably there.
It’s currently Forest Fire Season, and the smoke we see can often contain ash particles. As a result, Forest Fire Season is a great time to remind all of us to take extra care of our paint. But don’t be fooled, Fall Out can attach to your paint’s surface at any time – and does!
You can easily find out if you have these little “clinging bits.” Wash and dry your car thoroughly, then gently run the back of your fingers across the paint. Unless you garage your car and never drive it, there’s a good chance you’ll feel and hear these little “bumps.”
Yes, we encourage diligent, ongoing attention to the exterior of your car. Even when it’s raining, cars get dirty. We even say, “Wash When Wet!” While this ongoing, basic attention to debris is important, advanced concepts should be considered as well.
New Cars Not Exempt: Rail Dust
Even new cars need extra care. You’ve seen the white protective coverings on cars when they are on trains or on tractor/trailers. Practically every single car will see a train, tractor trailer, and/or boat for transport at some point. Rail Dust is the term used when these clinging bits adhere to the paint, caused by transport.
In spite of the white, protective covering, there are plenty of areas that are missed. (Like seeing that ribbon of sunburn where you missed putting on sun screen.)
Clay Bar is the Star
A Clay Bar is a cross between Play Doh and Silly Putty. When lubricated with a special detailing spray, it is wiped across your paint to pick up all those stuck bits.
There’s of course careful techniques that prevent scratching, but after all, isn’t this an advanced class? See how the folks at Meguiar’s UK demonstrate the process:
(You could even consider wet sanding and color sanding as even more advanced. They will be topics for another day!)
Available on Amazon
Get it New Again
Every day, your paint collects tiny particles of road grime, metal dust that’s been cast off your brakes or from your fellow drivers, and even impurities that float through the air and settle on your paint and glass. We even pointed our fingers at new cars for their Rail Dust addiction.
Doing the clay treatment on your paint is the ultimate pampering for your vehicle.
While buffing, polishing, and waxing will remove some of these and help smooth and shine your paint, the Clay Bar takes this to the next level. It will make your paint silky smooth and shine even deeper.
The reason for that deeper, more consistent shine? By removing those nasty little stuck impurities, the wax will bond directly to the paint – not those bits of debris. Since the wax sticks to the paint directly, it naturally helps to protect the paint in a much better way.
And isn’t that how we started?
It’s all about taking care of your vehicle; making it “New Again!”
