clay bar-ing

[shadrack]

so im new to this whole extreme cleaning malarky i got a clay bar kit recently to do the rrs to try for the first time, anyway ive read the instructions but it took me nearly 4 hrs to do one side including polishing, i have to admit though it has come up excellent and the paint feels like glass to touch its so smooth, it especially took along time on the bottoms of the doors, so my questions are-

how long should it take to do a car

how often should it be done to maintain the smooth as glass paint

how long will it stop like this

does it damage the surface in anyway as you are almost sanding it with ultra fine by the sound it makes even with loads of lube

[X5Sport]

A couple of days at least.

Only when really necessary.

Depends if you put a decent sealant on it.  Summat like GTechniq might extend the finish life.

It's really fine abrasive, but still abrasive.

[shadrack]

[quote="X5Sport"]
A couple of days at least.

Only when really necessary.

Depends if you put a decent sealant on it.  Summat like GTechniq might extend the finish life.

It's really fine abrasive, but still abrasive.
[/quote]

arrrr as i thought im ok then too have done rear quarter, two doors and a wing in 4 hours, i will hope it lasts over winter, i sealed it with polish nothing fancier, and i thaught it felt like wet sanding with say 4000 grit etc, all the hard going places were lower down where the shit goes,

thanks

[graemeX5]

Hi what you need to look up detailing world and you will be amazed about how much there is to it.

One of the guys I met in the Vxr club took a new car an ended up doing all of the clay barring etc and then 50 odd costs of wax on his car unbelievable but true at that time it was his hobby but he now does it professionally.

They do explain the diffs between polishes, sealants, and waxes. They also recommend lots of diff products esp for wheels to avoid damaging their surfaces. I am still not too sure but I think polishes are for the shine and waxes to protect it after not ure about sealants though.

I never knew there was so much to cleaning a car, but the best tip was 2 bucket method even without grit guards you wil be amazed at the water in the bucket you rinse the hand mitts in.

[Rusty]

You wash the car first
Rinse
Clay
Wash
Rinse
Polish
Wash
Rinse
Seal
Seal
Wax
Wax
Wax
Wax
And so on.

And that's just the bodywork

Hope that helps



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[Nat]

Hi,

I may be wrong and again not looking to be executed here, but I don't believe a clay bar is an abrasive.
For sure its part of my regular cleaning and I've had my 5 series 10 years and its not got any signs of wear on the paint . Just use plenty of lube on the bar and turn it regularly as the bits that come off your car may well scratch it if they stay on the clay bar surface.
As for taking 4 hrs to clay bar an X5, seems a lot to me, but of course it depends just how dirty it was in the first place. Maybe as it was your first time and you were unfamiliar with the process it took you longer. It takes me no more than 2 hrs to rinse , snowfoam , scrub , rinse dry , clay and polish the X5 .Obviouly the flat surfaces will be dirtier than the other surfaces.
I am a big fan of clay bars, have used them for the last 10 years and they give great results and get all the crap off the car.
Clay  frequency, as necessary............
Sealants...........im not 100 % convinced they work , maybe I just havent found the right one. I spent a load of money on Nanolex products, thought they were a pile of crap to be honest . I wont bother again. I use Zymol titanium polish on it afterwards, easy on , easy off, no white mess and looks great.
Regards,
Nat.

[X5Sport]

We don't execute people on here, but Pope might excommunicate you....... )

Richard 

[shadrack]

[quote="Nat"]
Hi,

I may be wrong and again not looking to be executed here, but I don't believe a clay bar is an abrasive.
For sure its part of my regular cleaning and I've had my 5 series 10 years and its not got any signs of wear on the paint . Just use plenty of lube on the bar and turn it regularly as the bits that come off your car may well scratch it if they stay on the clay bar surface.
As for taking 4 hrs to clay bar an X5, seems a lot to me, but of course it depends just how dirty it was in the first place. Maybe as it was your first time and you were unfamiliar with the process it took you longer. It takes me no more than 2 hrs to rinse , snowfoam , scrub , rinse dry , clay and polish the X5 .Obviouly the flat surfaces will be dirtier than the other surfaces.
I am a big fan of clay bars, have used them for the last 10 years and they give great results and get all the crap off the car.
Clay  frequency, as necessary............
Sealants...........im not 100 % convinced they work , maybe I just havent found the right one. I spent a load of money on Nanolex products, thought they were a pile of crap to be honest . I wont bother again. I use Zymol titanium polish on it afterwards, easy on , easy off, no white mess and looks great.
Regards,
Nat.
[/quote]

it was the thing you most hate i was claying lol, it took me forever as i dont know i might be wrong as said ive never done this before!  but it seemed to take a long time as when first started i could hear an abraisive sort of sound so i went over each bit until this sound could no longer be heard, i also, after doing one panel noticed i could easily tell the difference when rubbing my hand from one panel to the next, i'm holing that it took so long as this may be the first time its ever been done and also first time ive ever done it, as for 50 coats of wax well ive better things to do, but so far impressed if a little bored!

[Drpellypo]

It might have been worth your while to use a TFR on the paintwork first to get as much of the rubbish off as you can chemically. Even with this it will still feel abrasive if the car is really bad. I've spent that long doing big 4x4's before that have had a heap of bonded contaminates on them.