Clay Bar...Friend of Foe?

For those that are not familiar with a clay bar and what it's used for, I'll give a brief explanation. A clay bar is exactly what it sounds like- a bar or lump of finely processed clay and the purpose is to glide it across the surface of the paint, in order to remove any embedded contaminants in the clear coat. These are contaminants that are not removed during the wash process. This sounds like a no-brainer, but I want to bring out both the good and the bad of a clay bar treatment and when you should use it.

THE GOOD

Clay is great at removing those hard to get contaminants such as iron deposits, small residual sap, and VERY small amounts of over spray. It's great because it picks the contamination up and it remains stuck in the clay instead of your clear coat. This is an effective way to create a very smooth finish, which is especially important when you are preparing to apply a paint sealant, such as a ceramic coating.

THE BAD

The only downside to using a clay bar on your paint is that it can leave behind "micro marring". This is a term for very fine swirls / scratches that are caused by slightly abrasive objects being rubbed against the clear coat of your vehicle. This can also happen during the compounding or "cutting" stage of a multiple stage paint correction but these fine scratches are removed by the final polishing step. So, what can you do about the micro marring? Well, the only way to remove it is by a light polishing of the clear coat. This is usually performed by a professional detailer after a clay bar treatment, because in most cases the clay bar is the first step in prepping the paint for a ceramic coating application.

"SHOULD I USE A CLAY BAR?"

If you are asking yourself this question, let me help you as best as I can. If your paint is very rough to the touch, especially the top facing panels (hood, roof and trunk) then it might be time for a clay treatment because that embedded contamination is far worse for your paint than the micro marring of the clay bar. If you are noticing a lot of small orange looking speckles, especially on the back of the car and on lighter colored vehicles, then its probably time for an iron decontamination and clay bar treatment. Another opportunity for clay bar treatment, is when there is light over-spray on your vehicle (probably from your neighbor trying to be the next Joanna Gaines and refurbish an old night stand with a rattle can on the most windy day of the week....come on you know its true). The reason I say light is because when there is a lot of over-spray, it is too much for a clay bar to remove and you end up "clogging" the clay, therefore scrubbing the paint across the clear-coat, leaving some pretty gnarly scratches. In this case, a chemical removal is a safer process- but please call a professional detailer before applying harsh chemicals to your paint finish.

I hope this helps and brings a little more clarity to this topic, and to your paint! If you have any questions about this or any detail-related issues, don't hesitate to reach out at info@armordetailingvb.com and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.