Which clay kit to use

CIP4

I have never clayed a car before but I think it's time to learn how to. I'm a little nervous as I've heard that you can scratch the paintwork quite easy not sure how true that is ? Also when claying you just do straight lines applying light pressure not a circular motion ?

From these two which would be the best for a beginner I know in absolute terms they are far from the best clay you can buy but out of halfords as I want to try it tomorrow hopefully.

Here's the first a clay mitt do you need to use a quick detailer as a lubricant with that ?
http://www.halfords.ie/motoring/car-cleaning/wheel-tyre-cleaning/farecla-g3-body-prep-clay-mitt

Or this one which comes with the quick detailer and all but is a bar harder to use than the mitt ?
http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductMobileDisplay?catalogId=15551&langId=-1&categoryId=318462&productId=922503&storeId=11101

shietpilot

I used this for the first time last weekend: http://www.detailingshed.com/detailing-clay/423-bilt-hamber-auto-clay-regular.html

They say you can use water as a lubricant but I mixed some washing up liquid with water into a spray bottle (as suggested by YbFocus) and the clay was fairly slippery so it worked very well (so slippery I dropped my first slice of clay onto the ground and had to bin it )

You use it in straight lines with light pressure, have a look at some videos on YouTube with claying. A good idea would also be to de-tar and de-iron the car before because it will mean the paint surface is cleaner and there's less chance of getting big dirt caught in the claybar which could cause scratches, plus the claybar will last longer with less stuff getting caught on the surface.

Curran

Cant fault that advice above!

A little bit of lubrication will help the clay slide, versus water alone - even a drop of car shampoo just to give it a bit of slickness.
Definitely a de-tar would be needed, and a de-iron would be strongly advised - other than that, its spot on!

CIP4

Do you de-iron before or after de tariff and how do you actually de iron spray it all over the body of the car and alloys to ? Do you just rinse it off or agitate it or what ? As you can see I literally know nothing about de-ironing I thought it was just for alloys. And would you wash it inbetween so wash de- tar wash de-iron wash clay wash or how would you do it ?

shietpilot

The nice thing about CarPro stuff is the labels have very good instructions. I washed the car, de-tarred first and then de-ironed. I agitated both with my wash mitt and then rinsed the car, claybarred it and washed it again.

It's crazy how little of both you need, a misting is really enough. You will see it working in about a minute after spraying just make sure the car is dry before you use TarX or IronX.

Curran

Process would be....
Wash
Rinse, and let it drip dry
Spray on Tar Remover, let it dwell, rinse off, let it drip dry
Spray on Fallout Remover (de-iron), let it dwell, rinse off, let it drip dry
Clay
Wash
Rinse
Dry

At this point the car's paintwork is decontaminated and should be protected with a wax or sealant for appearance enhancement and protection, making it stay cleaner for longer and easier to wash.

ronnie3585

I'm a newb to claying like yourself. I used the clay mitt last weekend and found it fantastic. I soaked the mitt in warm soapy water (used AG shampoo) and then put a higher concentration into a spray bottle to use as lubricant. I found using plenty of lubricant and light pressure was very effective. Overall, it was a doddle to use, was a good intro into claying and at 15 bucks worth a punt.