[james330x]

Hi All,

It's getting to that time where I'm thinking about waxing the car for the first time. My car's around 4 months old. I'm going to go with 3M Imperial Hand Glaze followed by Blitz Wax. My question is this: Should I use a clay bar on it or not? It seems there's much disagreement about this one. Some have said not on a finish this young, others are all for it. Your opinion would be appreciated.

--James

 

[johnlew]

Yes.

My car was very clean before claying.

 

[LilEccentricJ]

I wouldn't unless I could feel impurities / fallout but I'm not like Rip when it comes to the finish on my car. I did use a claybar after I got my car back from the bodyshop / repairs but mostly to remove little rust specks from the welding grinding equipment. There wasn't a spec of overspary on the paint since they taped it off properly but they don't seem to protect the finish from other fallout.

My .02 on the subject anyway.



John!!! what is that? unbelievable you got all that off your car, I only used 1 to do mine and I had less than 1/2 as much filth after. You sure you didn't drop those a few times? lol j/k

 

[Nat Brown]

Yes

I pulled off a bunch of gunk when I clayed my new car. By the time it gets to you, it's been exposed to mucho contaminants. Using a clay bar is remarkably safe and easy and I can't think of a reason why you shouldn't use one regularly.

--gary

 

[SONET]

I would suggest using clay if your car spends lots of time outside or if you can feel/see contaminants on the paint. As for the difficulty/work involved, it is only painful to use clay if you have waited too long to do it. Otherwise it should only take a couple hours. I did my car today and it only took me a little more than two hours. It feels like glass again.

Good luck!

--SONET

 

[Cabriolet]

You might want to check this web site to see what they say.
http://www.carcareonline.com/

 

[The HACK]

Hi All,

It's getting to that time where I'm thinking about waxing the car for the first time. My car's around 4 months old. I'm going to go with 3M Imperial Hand Glaze followed by Blitz Wax. My question is this: Should I use a clay bar on it or not? It seems there's much disagreement about this one. Some have said not on a finish this young, others are all for it. Your opinion would be appreciated.

--James

If you are going to 3M IHG it you don't need to clay bar it. Basically, you'll need to do one of two things after you wash and before you wax: Polish the surface or clay bar the surface to eliminate surface contaminants before you apply wax. 3M IHG is a very mild polish with a paint enriching oil. If you clay, don't IHG. If you IHG, don't clay. Keep in mind every time you polish or clay you are stripping microscopic layer of clearcoat, hence if you clay AND IHG it you're stripping double layers of clearcoat.

My suggestion would be to alternate the use of claybar and IHG...Next time you wax use a clay bar instead of the polish.

 

[TD330ci]

Hi All,

It's getting to that time where I'm thinking about waxing the car for the first time. My car's around 4 months old. I'm going to go with 3M Imperial Hand Glaze followed by Blitz Wax. My question is this: Should I use a clay bar on it or not? It seems there's much disagreement about this one. Some have said not on a finish this young, others are all for it. Your opinion would be appreciated.

--James

AHHH my favorite duo!! 3M IHG and BLITZ!! Can't go wrong!!

Great choice!! :thumb:

 

[Nat Brown]

Totally disagree

If you are going to 3M IHG it you don't need to clay bar it. Basically, you'll need to do one of two things after you wash and before you wax: Polish the surface or clay bar the surface to eliminate surface contaminants before you apply wax. 3M IHG is a very mild polish with a paint enriching oil. If you clay, don't IHG. If you IHG, don't clay. Keep in mind every time you polish or clay you are stripping microscopic layer of clearcoat, hence if you clay AND IHG it you're stripping double layers of clearcoat.

I have to disagree with you here. 3M Imperial Hand Glaze is non-abrasive and won't clean or polish the paint. Instead, it's a filler, which works great to hide your scratches, but does nothing to remove contaminants. It makes your lows high, not your highs low. It's often called a polish, which implies some abrasive qualities, but like the name says, it's a glaze, which only hides imperfections rather than eliminating them.

You also can't use 3M IHG with a polymer, like Zaino, since these products need to bond to a clean clear coat.

My advice for carnauba fans: clay bar (clean paint), 3M IHG (fill scratches), Blitz Wax (protect paint).

--gary

 

[johnlew]

I

John!!! what is that? unbelievable you got all that off your car, I only used 1 to do mine and I had less than 1/2 as much filth after. You sure you didn't drop those a few times? lol j/k

That is only one piece of clay, it's folded over. My car had never been clayed in 11,500 miles. Don't forget, we have winter and road work here. I was amazed. Can't see how claying the car hurts if it's done properly. I even did the windows with great results.

 

[LilEccentricJ]

Don't forget, we have winter and road work here. I was amazed. Can't see how claying the car hurts if it's done properly. I even did the windows with great results.

Yea I did the windows too. And you are absoluteley correct about doing it "properly". I guess, atleast for me, it is better to not clay (white car / hard to see stuff wrong) than to chance picking up something like sand and scrapeing it down the finish. I did think later last night about your road and winter conditions and I agree you have far more need to clay.

Let me just say that I don't see harm in claying when well lubricated and special attention is made to insure that there are no abrasives on the surface of the clay being used. It does make the paint as smooth as glass!

 

[Guest84]

You might want to check this web site to see what they say.
http://www.carcareonline.com/

The key to this article, which I've read before, is "The trick to properly using a clay is use copious amounts of lubricant and "float" the clay over the surface. The clay works best when it hydroplanes over the paint surface. You must continually refold the clay to expose a fresh clean surface. If contaminants lodge in the clay, simply tear off the section and discard. Once you
have ground off all the surface contaminants, wash with a car wash, dry thoroughly, apply a quality polish to add emollient oils into the paint and finally wax"

Todays clays, the higher end ones like Griots, Mothers, are very mild clays. You'd have to work the clay very hard, without lub, to cause any surface anomolies.

I say clay it at the LEAST once a year.

 

[doubletee]

What 'lubricant' do you use with your clay bar? I've got Griot's clay and used their Speed Shine as lube. Unfortunately, I have to park near an iron foundry and the fallout is terrible. The clay didn't begin to take the surface contaminants off.

Could the Speed Shine be too slippery? Will something else work better?

 

[johnlew]

What 'lubricant' do you use with your clay bar? I've got Griot's clay and used their Speed Shine as lube. Unfortunately, I have to park near an iron foundry and the fallout is terrible. The clay didn't begin to take the surface contaminants off.

Could the Speed Shine be too slippery? Will something else work better?

I used Speedshine on a wet car (after washing) but :dunno:

I really think you want to avoid any dragging feeling.