UPWINGER

Who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks? I have never heard of or used a "clay" before... But all I can say now is WOW!!!
The paint looks like showroom new now. I'm going to have to use the clay on ALL of my vehicles!
If you have never used a clay before, invest in a kit... you wont be disappointed!
It sure doesn't look 15 years old anymore!!!
Here are some pics of my VTR:

captainchaos

It's fantastic stuff. Requires some time, at least on a car, but no hard work. But I'll break it up a section at a time over different days. Makes/keeps the original paint on my 150k mile Toyota Avalon like glass. Most folks aren't **** enough to care but it lifts out all the fallout (those little specks attached to your paint) that nothing else will. After you do a whole car it probably takes 10 minutes to wax the entire car it's so clean. After that the paint feels like glass-your hand or the towel just glides across it it's awesome.

aja

Be careful when choosing a clay bar and always choose the softest clay. Harder clays will leave mark's on your paint that need to be buffed out. Also make sure to wax after flaying as the clay removes the old wax

smokinjoe73

Ok cool, I will try it. Had it in my hand 2-3 times in the autoparts store but never got it.

7moore7

Yep it's on the list. How long does a bar last?

captainchaos

Pretty long time. You can keep kneading it into itself over and over. Again it does require some time on a car but the results are amazing. Again I'm too A.D.D. to sit and do the whole car all at once so I'll do say a fender one day and the hood another. I currently have it from Meguiars but I like both Mothers and Meguiars products. The keys I've found to keeping paint really nice on a daily driver are to wash it regularly, keep it out of the sun as much as possible (and if it sits in the sun it needs to be clean), and using the clay followed by waxing once a year. Obviously a garage and/or a cover also help alot.

Tsperez

Yeah... like Captain says...
ADD and clay do not mix well but OCD and clay make a wonderful team and stick together as well as the grit and specks on the paint do to the clay bar. The detail spray that comes with the clay bars is very important also.

On the last two cars that I traded in I showed the sales guy that the finish was smoother on my "old" cars that on his new cars. Neither one really cared but I love the stuff and use it on all my cars and bikes (don't really use it on my wife's SUV).

tsp
My Blog: Motorcycle Touring

twist

how long does the finish last when exposed to rain? For example, say you do the whole bike and have it looking perfect. Go on a ride and get caught in a storm. Do you need to repeat or is the finish good for a while?

7moore7

Speaking totally from speculation, but I would imagine it lasts awhile based on what it does. It seems to remove a layer of wax and the dirt particles with it, along with smoothing out the surface. Which is why it seems people wax it afterward to replace the stuff they removed...

So a clean and protected surface should just need a wipe down after a rain I would imagine...

Tsperez

Claying does not protect your finish... if anything it is stripping all the impurities from the painted surface including any wax that you might have had on it. You MUST protect the paint after you clay your bike or car. Once you clay and wax your bike it will remain that way the same as it always has. The difference is that the paint is now clean from specks of gunk or other undesirables.

Try this... wash your bike as well as you can. Now run your hand over any painted surface that you "think" is clean. Unless the paint is fairly new you will feel many tiny bumps or specks of "junk" as you sweep an area with your hand. Now clay that same area. If you want try just a square foot or so. Wipe it dry and now run your hand over the same area. It will be smooth as glass. What you just did is pull or remove all kinds of impurities that have been stuck the painted surface. BTW, you will see the color of the clay bar change as you clay your paint. All that brown gunk on the bar is junk that the clay is pulling away from your paint.

If you are OCD you should follow the claying process with a polishing agent (NOT rubbing compound) and then finally a coat of wax to protect the finish and the work that you have just done. Think of it this way... clay cleans, polish feeds, and wax protects the paint. In real life these functions overlap but this is one way to look at it.

That is school of thought #1. School of thought #2 is just ride the D thing and let the rain clean off the major stuff. But..... if you have the flu or an SO that thinks you spend too much time and money on this hobby the cleaning process can get you points.
Wife opens door to garage and says "I thought you were going for a ride"
Me "No honey. Just here cleaning in the garage"
Wife "Oh ok. Supper is almost ready"
Wax on.... wax off.


HTH,
tsp
My MC Blog: Motorcycle Touring

captainchaos

What ^ he said. Thanks you saved me a bunch of typing Again if you're really OCD and want to get into what it's doing...car brakes, railroads, etc, etc all put little particles into the air and when it rains this crap falls down and sticks to your paint. Washing and waxing don't remove it. Left on long enough, baking in the sun, it will actually eat into the paint and probably even cause rust spots on a metal car. The clay bar actually lifts this stuff and all the other crap that sticks (and causes that sandpaper feeling when you wipe your hand over an even just washed or waxed car). You'll never apply and remove a coat of wax so easily. I'd say even for a daily driver once a year is probably good. But again my car sleeps in a garage, gets washed at least once a week, and get wiped down with a chamois (again we're talking the OCD crowd here) pretty much every day to keep the dirt off. And it's why no one can understand why the paint of my 150k '99 avalon is nicer than the paint on their 6 month old car.

7moore7

I like polishing type activities. And fishing.