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  1. #1

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    Clay Bar Question??

    I just bought a 2004 dodge ram, slate gray paint with clearcoat. I want to wax & polish it but I am unsure if I should clay bar it first. What brand wax & polish is the best??

    Thanks
    PGFDRAM

  2. #2
    JeffBruce's Avatar
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    You can do the "bagy" test ....put your hand in the plastic bagu, and rub your hand over the paint..if you feel bumbs...they it is recommend`d to clay.

    Klasse AIO
    http://www.premiumautocare.com/klallinone10.html

    Then the tough choice

    Poorboys EX is very good
    http://www.premiumautocare.com/powodepr.html

    and
    4 Stars Utimate Protectant.
    http://www.premiumautocare.com/fostul.html

    If you choose you can top it with a wax..

    Application and technique are very important...

    :welcome

  3. #3
    JeffBruce's Avatar
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    If you get serious you may want to consider a PC
    http://store.premiumautocare.net/7424.html

  4. #4
    JeffBruce's Avatar
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    If you really really get serious..the Rotary..but you can damage your paint if you don`t use this right
    http://www.premiumautocare.com/ma92hisppo.html

  5. #5
    Owner and Tech. Rep Nickc0844's Avatar
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    Congrats on the new truck!! Dodge ships most out by rail, so it probably isn`t a bad idea to clay it first. My personal favorite is Adam`s Polishes clay. I absolutely dispise Clay Magic, and if you try these side by side, you`ll see why. The Adam`s is elastic and is self cleaning, where as the clay magic (and Mothers) comes off in chunks. The bar is also larger, and there is plenty to split into 2 parts. In the end, it takes me significantly less time to clay with the Adam`s.
    Nick Carberry
    ~Detailing high-end cars with quality products~

  6. #6
    JeffBruce's Avatar
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    I will disagree with Nick (this one time)
    .Clay Magic has been great and many users here have used and use CLay Magic.
    http://store.premiumautocare.net/claymagredgr.html
    Before you choose one, you may want to wait for more input..
    jeff

  7. #7
    Owner and Tech. Rep Nickc0844's Avatar
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    I guess the reason why I say that is because you have to use the both of them to really see, along with the other 3 I`ve used in the past. Elastic is the way to go!! I think Wolfgang`s is also elastic, which I would be tempted to try.
    Nick Carberry
    ~Detailing high-end cars with quality products~

  8. #8
    JeffBruce's Avatar
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    I haven;t tried Adams or Wolfgang`s ..I am due to place an order....
    4 Star i see has there own Clay bar.....so many products...
    I will try Wolfgang`s or 4 Star..but since PAC doesn`t sell Adams I will have to wait on that one
    jef

  9. #9
    Owner and Tech. Rep Nickc0844's Avatar
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    Once you go elastic, you`ll never go back!
    Nick Carberry
    ~Detailing high-end cars with quality products~

  10. #10
    Founder Poorboy's World Poorboy's Avatar
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    :wait :wait....Dwayne just got in a few of mine in today they are also very elastic and good size
    I also have to agree with Nick on the clay magic..I was sent samples and was not impressed:dunno
    one was too hard and didn`t kneed well, the other was too soft and was basically falling apart..
    life is short ..do it while you can

    e-mail info@poorboysworld.com

  11. #11
    JeffBruce's Avatar
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    I think its time for someone or some people to test several clay bars and give a review...

    4 Star Clay Bar
    Poorboys Clay bar
    Clay Magic
    Meguiars Clay bar
    Adams clay bar
    Pinnacle

  12. #12
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    I was able to get two good sized Eagle One clay bars at a car show for $10 once. They clean very well but leave residue sometimes. Worse depending on the lubricant you use.

    Mother`s is one of my favorite. First bar I ever tried and they`re really great. Another plus is you can easily find them.

    I`ve got two brand new clay magic bars sitting in carport that I`m going to try out soon.

    The only bar from PRO that I`ve used is their Clay Away 3 and it`s very agressive. Only use it for the worst overspray, etc. Nothing for a normal car. I have yet to try their Clay Away 4. Possibly one day but it`s expensive compared to other clay bars.

    I`ve got Adam`s Clay Bar and I agree that it is pretty good and doesn`t seem to streak at all. I`ve always used it with car wash though. Some of the others I`ve tried with a quick detailer or spray lubricant.

    I`ve also got the Perfect Shine Clay bar from the autopia store, which I haven`t gotten to try out yet.

  13. #13
    "Beep Beep" awd330's Avatar
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    Originally posted by JeffBruce
    I think its time for someone or some people to test several clay bars and give a review...
    I`ve tried 7 different types of clay bars. Of these, my favorites were the dark gold colored bars from the Kucala (i.e. Erazer/Elasti-Clay) source. The Mother`s California Gold Clay and Poorboy`s clays were included in this group. They seemed to have a good balance between stiffness (easy to knead but didn`t fall apart) and contaminant removal ability (enough grip to lift out debris but didn`t mar paint or leave residue).

    I`ve tried 3 bars from the Auto Wax source. These included the yellow, blue, and gray colored Clay Magic bars. The blue and gray bars seemed fairly similar. Both were a little difficult to knead (very stiff), but did appear to remove contaminants well. The bright yellow bars were quite different as they were so soft that they seemed to just melt in my hand. The yellow bar also seemed to be less effective at contaminant removal, though it was very gentle to the paint surface.

    The first detailing clay bar that I used (about 10 years ago?) was the Meguiar`s greyish-white colored bar that was sold in a kit with a miniature bottle of Quik Detailer lube. I do not know who actually manufactured this bar back then, but it was far inferior to today`s commonly available bars. It was mediocre at removing contaminants and smeared residue all over the paint. Since this first experience was so unsatisfactory, I actually abandoned the use of clay bars for a few years.

    The most unusual clay I`ve tried was a blue colored prototype sample from an Australian manufacturer. It was a solid block which could not be kneaded. After a few attempts to stretch the bar, it started to shred. Cutting the block into smaller slices worked for awhile, but the inability to knead the clay meant that you really only had two sides to work with before you had to throw that slice away.

    Clay is just another detailing product. Different ones will appeal to different people. Pick a couple to try, and learn how to use them correctly.

  14. #14
    Owner and Tech. Rep Nickc0844's Avatar
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    Originally posted by JeffBruce
    I think its time for someone or some people to test several clay bars and give a review...

    4 Star Clay Bar
    Poorboys Clay bar
    Clay Magic
    Meguiars Clay bar
    Adams clay bar
    Pinnacle
    The funny part is that 4 of those bars are MADE by clay magic!
    Nick Carberry
    ~Detailing high-end cars with quality products~

  15. #15
    "Beep Beep" awd330's Avatar
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    Originally posted by Nickc0844
    The funny part is that 4 of those bars are MADE by clay magic!
    Many people probably don`t realize that there are very few clay manufacturers. Most brand names of clay are just private labeled versions from those companies.

 

 
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