Clay

E

Ewazix

Veteran
 Somerset
I have a confession, I'm a recovering detailing-slob and only discovered two-buckets, a mitt, micro-fibre drying and clay through the forum a decade ago, I have been 'clean' ever since but still need help :P

I was about to re-stock with clay but noticed people mentioning clay mitts recently, are they worth bothering with or is it best to stick to bar? (which I actually find quite therapeutic to use) :)

Also since the Z4 paintwork is fairly cosseted under cover in a garage, rarely seeing rain, does less than 2k miles a year and gets a wax and seal every few washes, which grade clay should I be investing in?

Thanks
 
yes i agree with Rob and Stu clay mitt or cloth much better than a bar unless you are doing wheels

you just need to look after them a bit better than a bar so you can reuse rather than chuck them as they are more expensive
 
Agreed on the clay mitt front takes about 20 mins to do a whole car, need to make sure you dry it out carefully and keep it in the plastic sleeve it comes in otherwise stuff will stick to it.
 
Another vote for the mitt. Did my whole car with AG Quick Detailing spray in less than half an hour. You do feel a surprising amount through the mitt so progress can still be measured.
 
Mitt for me for all of the above reasons, plus it's a lot more difficult to drop the mitt than the clay bar, not that I would know! :oops:
 
jock156 said:
So I've bought a clay mitt do I just use that to wash the car? Or am I missing the clay part????
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I wash the car first in the normal way.

Then I get a new bucket of soapy water, wet a panel at a time and go over the panel with the mitt, ensuring that the panel stays wet. You can tell when there's a lot of tar etc. on the panel just by the feel through the mitt. Keep going until you can't feel anything and then lightly rub your fingers over to double-check.

I then wash the car again to make sure that all of the contaminants have gone. Then you're ready to start polishing.

There is no clay part!

Good luck.
 
Clay all the way for me. Different grades for different circumstances but clay.
I feel a mitt can get dirt trapped and scratch the paint whereas clay won't
Never damaged a car with clay as yet.

Just my opinion though.
 
Anmarube said:
Clay all the way for me. Different grades for different circumstances but clay.
I feel a mitt can get dirt trapped and scratch the paint whereas clay won't
Never damaged a car with clay as yet.

Just my opinion though.
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Might sound sad but I like the fingertips on paint connection too :oops:
 
mr wilks said:
Anmarube said:
Clay all the way for me. Different grades for different circumstances but clay.
I feel a mitt can get dirt trapped and scratch the paint whereas clay won't
Never damaged a car with clay as yet.

Just my opinion though.
Click to expand...

Might sound sad but I like the fingertips on paint connection too :oops:
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Absolutely. That's how I lay the Swissvax Chrystal Rock...bloody lovely.
 
I used to use clay then tried a mitt. The mitt was quicker but you cannot tell how much contamination you are lifting (mitt had a grey clay on it) and if you have something stuck in it scratching the car. I have gone back to clay. It doesn't take too much longer, I quite enjoy the process and you have a lot more control as to what is going on.
 
scooobydont said:
I used to use clay then tried a mitt. The mitt was quicker but you cannot tell how much contamination you are lifting (mitt had a grey clay on it) and if you have something stuck in it scratching the car. I have gone back to clay. It doesn't take too much longer, I quite enjoy the process and you have a lot more control as to what is going on.
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Exactly that. I rubbed my fingers over the mitt and felt stuff on it which could scratch the paint. Never scratched paint with a clay bar. Plus like you say it's so satisfying.
 
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