how do you guys use a clay bar? after you have washed your ride while its still wet or upon drying with some type of lubricant one section @ time? i do it when it is still wet all at once with turtle wax ice liquid clay bar, but i am thinking of switching to an actual clay bar.

I've used a regular clay bar while still washing and using "detailing" liquid (Mothers) it seems to work just as well both ways. It really gets the surface contaminants off.

If you are going to use a regular clay bar remember 3 things:

LUBE - LUBE - LUBE

with claybar lube or detailing spray, else you will end up with a mess !!

The Liquid Ice works OK if the surface is not too bad & has the lube built in.

I have been thinking about doing this to see if it takes out some of my scratches but it kinda intimidates me a little. I have always been the mechanical type not the detailing type

After washing when it's still wet and use the lube that it came with. I have used mothers and it's not bad for 20 bucks. After you clay bar the truck wash the truck again, dry, and apply polish and or wax. If you do all these steps you will not be disappointed.

i used the mothers clay bar kit with the provided lubricant spray.....it worked excellent, the bar was all dirty afterwards and you could definitly feel a difference in the paint

You can get the kit..either mothers or meguiars..normally wash the truck on a shade area..dry the truck..then spray the detailer and apply the clay bar..when finish rinse or wash the truck and apply your desire detail products..

I have been thinking about doing this to see if it takes out some of my scratches but it kinda intimidates me a little. I have always been the mechanical type not the detailing type

It will not remove scratches, it just removes surface contamination & 'smooths' the finish.

i have detailed cars and trucks for years and have clayed many vehicles.if you want your paint to look and feel its best clay,polish,then wax.do not let this itimidate you it is very very simple and safe.star by washing your truck,then get you the maguires clay kit(one of the best kits..imo),some good polish to remove scratches and swirls,and a good quality wax(some comes in the kit).lube and clay the truck one small section at a time.after doing entire truck then go over with the polish again one section at a time.then of caurse go over entire vehicle with a thin layer wax(you can wax the whole truck then wipe down).to do this rrite it will take around 3hrs just on the paint but you will be amazed at the results.if anyone lives near me i will do this for $100.just remember paint has to be cool and washed.if you drop the bar throw it away,and only use good quality microfibers with new terry cloth applicaters for the polish and wax.and always wax after claying because it will strip off any wax or protectent that you have on your paint(common sense).oh and be sure to take extra time on the roof and hood as they collect more cotaminants than the sides.

heres a few pics of mine just done.also installed the 2" prg leveling kit.it was getting dark,ill try to get some better pics when sunny.secend pic is probubly the best.

what is a good polish?

man i dont have the dedication to do that, Ive washed my truck once since I bought it 2 months ago and I gave up half way through cuz it was taking forever. I just take it somewhere.

there are a few good polishes out there. i used maguiers scratch-x polish.its like $8 for a tube.as long as you stick to a name brand you should be ok.the reason for polishing is to remove the swirls and surface scratches.cuz alot of cleaner waxes claim to do this but many just do not remove the swirls which i cannot stand having in my paint.the scartch-x worked really well.

man i dont have the dedication to do that, Ive washed my truck once since I bought it 2 months ago and I gave up half way through cuz it was taking forever. I just take it somewhere.LOL....thats funny..im pretty lazy when it comes to doing work around the house and such but not when it comes to my vehicles.its something i love doing to help me relieve stress from life.just grab a few beers and start detailing.

hey street, those pics look really good. after i get done with the liquid clay bar, i'm going to switch back to the actual clay bar and try it after washing and drying my truck

what is a good polish?

i use meguiars stuff....i have the show car glaze, the swirl remover, and the pure polish.

i dont know much about the liquid clay but im pretty sure the actual bar will always be the best way to go.the liquid is probubly just a faster way for those you dont want to spend the extra time with a bar.

i use meguiars stuff....i have the show car glaze, the swirl remover, and the pure polish.



just did some hi tec yellow #26 wax and it looks pretty good. a lot better than the liquid ice polish. i am still a diehard zaino guy.

So what is the best way to remove the scratches that have accumulated on my truck

So what is the best way to remove the scratches that have accumulated on my truckgo over the whole truck with maguiers scratch-x then go over the truck with a good cleaner wax(i also used maguiers) .this will work very well.the best way is with a high speed buffer and some liquid cleaner wax but if you dont know how to work a high speed buffer then dont try it on your truck,use someone elses to practice first..lol.. :thumbsup-big:

if you dont know how to work a high speed buffer then dont try it on your truck,use someone elses to practice first..lol..

A high speed buffer can do 10x as much damage as you are trying to fix if you are not experienced with it. You would be much better off using a dual action (DA) buffer like the PorterCable 7424 on medium speed (5 or 6). Once you've 'mastered' the DA, you can THINK about the high speed buffer, but it does take a lot of skill to use these correctly.

thats what im saying.it is very easy to burn paint along edges and cause swirls if your not careful.it took me a long time to get comfortable with the high speed buffer.even with the foam finishing pads you can still burn,but if you know how to work one or know someone who does(and you trust them)this is the best way to remove scratches as it heats up the paint.i detailed in a retirement community called the villages here in florida and have removed some very severe scratches with the buffer.you would be amazed how many of these old people use steel wool on there paint to remove bugs and such,then come to me to fix it.........oh yeah and when i was saying to use the scratch-x and cleaner wax i meant to do this by hand or use a small buffer/orbitor.i only mentioned the high speed as it is the best way but doing it by hand will work just fine...sorry for any confusion..:duh:

^^^ The Villages are not far from me !!

yeah i was wondering.i saw you live in inverness and that sounds so familiar but i cant think of where it is exactly.i know i have been there before.

where are the the villages.....if they are fairly close, maybe i'll take you up on your offer to detail a truck for $100....and once i see how you do it, then i can do it lol

yeah i was wondering.i saw you live in inverness and that sounds so familiar but i cant think of where it is exactly.i know i have been there before.

It's on the east side of Citrus county, about 20 miles west off I-75 on SR44 (Wildwood exit where the Turnpike merges with I-75).

where are the the villages.....if they are fairly close, maybe i'll take you up on your offer to detail a truck for $100....and once i see how you do it, then i can do it lol

He's in Coleman, just south of Wildwood off the Turnpike - prob. 60 minutes or so from you.

He's in Coleman, just south of Wildwood off the Turnpike - prob. 60 minutes or so from you.

wow thats not too bad....hmmmm may have to try to hook up with him sometime, i got some light scratches and would like it to get detailed, plus i could watch the process and learn...sounds like he has some experience doing this

hey o-fivecc i would love to give the beast a detail.i think you are about 60 min from me.i know longer work in the villages so you would just come by the house here in colemam or i also have a house in the villages whichever is closer.whenever your ready just let me know.you will have to give me around 3-4hrs if you want it done right.after one good full detail you will only need to do minor wax jobs to maintain it but you should do a full detail every 6 months(4x a yr at the most).im not going to use a high speed unless it really needs it,most of my work is all done by hand(i like working with my hands).minor scratches shouldnt be a problem and i can lighten up the deeper ones.you will be happy with the look of your paint i promise.the end result is amazing and this will provide the best possible protection for your paint,which is very important with this florida sun.just so you know what i will do i will clay it,polish it,wax it,and dress up all the black plastic and tires with a protectent to prevent fading and cracking.ohh and also i will have to give it a quick wash first to get off all the dirt(pls dont bring it covered in mud or something.lol).allright buddy well just let me know when you want to do this and we will get her fixed up.

So meguiars scratch x and then wax it? that should be good to remove some of my scratches?

i use meguiars stuff....i have the show car glaze, the swirl remover, and the pure polish. X2 i love meguiars products!

So meguiars scratch x and then wax it? that should be good to remove some of my scratches?

Depends entirely on how bad (deep/#) the scratches are, but if it's not in horrible shape, that should help out a lot.

What about water spots on the paint? Will the Mequiers clay bar remove those? Or would I have to use some other type of product? Thanks.

What about water spots on the paint? Will the Mequiers clay bar remove those? Or would I have to use some other type of product? Thanks.

Claybars do not typically remove water spots, may make them a bit less noticable since the bar will round off the sharp edges a little.

To get rid of the water spots, you will need to machine (with a DA polisher + proper pads & polish/compound etc.) them off. If they are to deep for the DA, then they will need to be professionally detailed out (with a circular machine).

Claybars do not typically remove water spots, may make them a bit less noticable since the bar will round off the sharp edges a little.

To get rid of the water spots, you will need to machine (with a DA polisher + proper pads & polish/compound etc.) them off. If they are to deep for the DA, then they will need to be professionally detailed out (with a circular machine).

Thanks Mike. That's what I was afraid of. I don't have many, but the one's I do have I would really like to be gone. Looks like I'll be paying a detailer to remove as there is NO WAY in hell I'll use a DA or anything like that.

Thanks Mike. That's what I was afraid of. I don't have many, but the one's I do have I would really like to be gone. Looks like I'll be paying a detailer to remove as there is NO WAY in hell I'll use a DA or anything like that.

You would have to mess up pretty bad to hurt your finish with a good DA (I like the Porter Cable 7424, but there are others).

Just keep the speed low, your pads clean, be sure to wash the truck really good before you start & use good quality/fresh supplies. There are a lot of cheap DVD's (from the same places selling the DA's) out there that show you how to do it - it's really not that hard.

Now, the professional CIRCULAR machines can cut thru the paint in a heartbeat. Best to fined a trusted, highly recommended pro if you need to take it to that stage !

You would have to mess up pretty bad to hurt your finish with a good DA (I like the Porter Cable 7424, but there are others).

Just keep the speed low, your pads clean, be sure to wash the truck really good before you start & use good quality/fresh supplies. There are a lot of cheap DVD's (from the same places selling the DA's) out there that show you how to do it - it's really not that hard.

Now, the professional CIRCULAR machines can cut thru the paint in a heartbeat. Best to fined a trusted, highly recommended pro if you need to take it to that stage !

Got it! That makes me feel alot better then. I appreciate your help man!

- Duke

clayed my baby today and used the meguiar's kit. surprisingly the clay bar did not turn that dirty (its white). i was expecting the bar to be a dark gray or something. came out really clean. the only thing is, when lubing the truck how should the clay bar feel when you move it across the surface. did not really feel like it was cleaning when the truck surface was fully lubed?

Well, a great many factors can affect how dirty the clay bar appears when you are done. Age & general condition of the truck, amount of wax buildup on it, it it exposed to a lot of contaminates/industrial fallout where you live/work, etc. etc.

The bar should slide across the surface, if it's dragging at all, there is not enough lube & it could haze the paint (dispite it's smooth feel, it is mildly abrasive). Remember, it is just collecting & removing the surface contaminates, it's not like a cutting or rubbing compound !

Paint should feel very smooth when you are done, a terrycloth or microfiber towel should glide easily & not 'grab' at the surface. Don't forget to wax - claybar will remove any wax you had on the truck !!!

thanks for the tips. yeah i did wax also.