whats this thing called a clay bar do?? would it really make my car look better close up as i have HUGE waterspotting problems? whats good brand, and where do i get one? price and how long would it take to do the whole car with one?
Claybars work great for removing paint contamination. If sliding your fingertips across the paint you hear a 'gritty sound' a clay bar would help. In any case if your paint is beginning to show some age (like my 99 is) it'd be a good idea. My best combo has been a Porter Cable DAP + Meguiars #9/#7/#26 to bring the paint back to life. Thanks much to rjstaaf ..
Glad I can help Always make sure you wash the car first before using any clay bar on your paint. After washing and drying run your hand over the finish. If it doesn't feel smooth as a babies behind then claying would be a good idea. Clay bars use a shearing force to remove bonded contaminates from your paint. They are for removing things like brake dust, rail dust and other pollutants that bond to your paint. Water spots should come off when you wash the car. If they don't then likely the paint is etched and claying will not remove etching or swirl marks. If I could only say one thing to someone before they use a clay bar it would be to make sure you use plenty of spray lube. Clay bars can be dangerous in that you can scratch the heck out of your paint very quickly if you are not careful. Make sure you frequently check the clay bar surface and fold it over frequently. There is a good article on using clay bars at http://www.autopia-carcare.com/inf-clay.html. I am a big Meguiars fan but, I don't particularly like their clay bar kits. It is more expensive but, I think the Mothers clay bar kit is much better. One of the things I have noticed and have also heard from others is that the Meguiars clay bars leave behind clay residue. Can you clarify your water spot problem? Do you mean after washing your car or after a rain????
Thanks alot for the help and guess thats not what i need to do. But the spots appear not only after washing but rain too. The spots are taken away to some extent by hand drying but there are ALWAYS very small spots all over the car you can see when looking close up. The car was just painted in September so unless it was a bad paintjob, it shouldnt be anything with the paint. (i hope) The spots are white too and its obviously from water because one spot on my wing holds water and it shows white around it when i sweep the water away. BTW it spots the car even from a carwash in town so i dont think its the water doing it.......sounds crazy but it really seems like it has something to do with the paint. Waxing usually takes alot of the spots away too but looking very close you can still see them.
Can you feel them on the surface with the palm of your hand or with your fingernail? It is possible they are water spots that have etched the paint or worse yet a paint problem from when it was painted. When you wax it is possible that the wax is just temporarily hiding them.
Have you tried a quick detailer to remove them? You can find Meguiars Quik Detailer at any auto parts store or WalMart. If they spots are not etched into the paint then you should be able to remove them with a QD.
