Wax and paint?

[road rage]

I usually use NXT and the car comes out great. My question is what does a clay bar do and does it harm the paint?

 

['03GTinFLA]

A clay bar removes surface contaminants and will remove the wax, so clay bar first then wax. It won't harm the paint, as long as you use the supplied lubricant and don't get any dirt in the clay to scratch the pain, like if you dropped it on the ground or something.
I had a 95 Taurus SHO and the clay bar did wonders for that. Now I have an '03 GT and I didn't notice that much of a difference, obviously because the paint was still in good shape. It takes a long time to do, the worse the paint the longer it takes, and you have to work in small sections, continually lubricating it with the supplied spray stuff.
I say give it a shot. The worst thing that will happen is you will have a clean car.

 

[durknutz01GT]

the more lube the better..... better be safe than sorry. too little lube you'll take the wax off, then the paint = obviously, not good.

 

[RedDaemon]

i tried the bar last weekend with a lot of lubricant..scratched my paint

 

[Kilgore Trout]

I had great results with the clay bar, you can really feel the surface getting smoother under it as you use it.

 

[forpit2000gt]

i tried the bar last weekend with a lot of lubricant..scratched my paint

I claybared my black car about once a year, never had any scratches.

 

[comatose]

I used Zaino's claybar that was with the detailing package I bought off of their website on my wife's '04 Explorer. It had never been waxed or polished, but the hood felt like sandpaper right after being washed, plus it looked like she drove through a friggin tarpit. The claybar pulled the tar & contaminants off of the paint & left it smooth as glass. The only problem is that it took me about 3 hours just to wash, clay, & then wash again.

 

[forpit2000gt]

3 hours is fast.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

You have to keep kneading the clay to capture the grit and prevent it from being on the clay's surface and scratching the paint...

 

[comatose]

3 hours is fast.

Really? Well, the only parts that felt rough under the clay were the hood & the top of the truck, so the rest of the truck wasn't too bad, plus I didn't have any wax buildup. I guess in hindsight 3 hours isn't so bad but it is pretty boring

 

[Kilgore Trout]

I actually think it is pretty quick to claybar. You do not have to rub very hard and since I did not have a roof to do mine went pretty fast. However, since I had to wash it thoroughly first, then washed it again after claybar, then waxed it the total process WAS time consuming. But the actual claybar step was not really that bad.

 

[road rage]

Thanks for the info guys Ill try it when I get back from vacation.

 

[Mustang T]

I clayed mine with Zaino's claybar a couple of months ago. Made my black paint smooth as glass. No scratches or anything. I plan on doing it again before winter. Like they said, USE LOTS OF LUBE. I put some car wash soap in a spray bottle and added water to it. Kept the surface wet where I was working. No probs at all.