# Clay bar recommendations



## Imran (May 6, 2017)

Any recommendations for a clay bar kit? Was looking at the autoglym and the meguairs. Which one is better? Are there any other ones? Thanks.


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## WPL (Sep 24, 2004)

Bilt hamber......only water is needed


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## TREG (May 20, 2004)

Pm Evo Geof on here


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## Simonh (May 24, 2002)

Second built hamber


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## Imran (May 6, 2017)

Thanks guys just read the reviews on the bilt hamber and looks like decent stuff. Which one would you go for? There seems to be a soft version and a regular version. 

Also how do i pm a member on here I here without finding one of their posts? 

Thanks.


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## Alan (Jul 1, 2001)

PM Alex at seriousperformance 


He is on here and has supplied most of us with some sort of detailing stuff over the years. 

Very knowledgably and not over priced :thumbsup:

Best regards Alan


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## MS33 (Jun 27, 2007)

Built Hamber :thumbsup:


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## mark_scenemedia (Jul 20, 2014)

Can recommend the Meguiar's 'Quik Clay Starter Kit' - used it on my RX7, comes with everything needed (including quik detailer which is handy even after the claying) and a single bar easily did the whole car. I think it's around £20.


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## stokegtrlad (Apr 30, 2017)

Bilt hamber is what I use i tend to clean the car do the chemical Decontamination then snow foam the car again and so the clay using the foam as a lubricant then onto the polishing stages 


Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk


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## evogeof (Aug 3, 2014)

TREG said:


> Pm Evo Geof on here


I think the dodo juice one is pretty good but they all do the same thing. As for a lube just use a neat dilute of Car shampoo no need buying expensive stuff. 

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/112798225639


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## Imran (May 6, 2017)

Thanks guys for all the comments which are helpful. This is my first time using a clay bar, an I better of flowing for the soft version or the regular version?

Also, I was planning to use autoglym ultra deep shine afterwards. Is that decent? My car is grey. Thanks.


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## Kadir (Mar 23, 2008)

Have a read of this (step by step guide to safely clay paint..);

Decontaminating Paint | Car Care Advice | Polished Bliss


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## Imran (May 6, 2017)

Thanks Kadir, that's useful. 

I have ordered the bilt hamber clay bar and went for the soft version. 

I went to buy a snow foam lance and ended up buy these too:


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## GTRZOOM (Aug 30, 2013)

I've found Meguiars to be the best...Bilt Hamber left streaks on mine, then when I asked a detailer he said to move to meguiars... no complaints now!


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## Imran (May 6, 2017)

Great, now you tell me! The bilt hamber arrived yesterday! May try it on my other ace first!

Is it recommended to use clay bar on areas which are already smooth or just rough areas? I only have a couple of rough areas.


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## gtr mart (Mar 29, 2004)

bilt hamber is a rated brand so it should be good. And you chose the right one (soft) as the GT-R paint is (unacceptably) delicate and you shouldn't have that much contamination as to warrant the medium or hard (I would imagine the hard could leave swirls?).

I also find the valet pro soft and super soft clays great value and do the job nicely.

Similar to Geof I also tend to just use dilute shampoo with a bit of citrus pre cleaner thrown in to help wax stripping.

I only clay once or twice a year as part of a bigger deep clean and protect.


Only use a 1/4 or 1/3rd of the clay at a time. When you drop it on the floor, throw it in the bin and start a new piece


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## MS33 (Jun 27, 2007)

Bilt Hamber is fine, I've used it for years, if it leaves streaks it because your not using enough lubricant (water) That's the beauty of Bilt Hamber, you don't have to use detailing spray and waste your money.


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## PaulH0070 (Oct 19, 2017)

gtr mart said:


> Only use a 1/4 or 1/3rd of the clay at a time. When you drop it on the floor, throw it in the bin and start a new piece


Good advice, because it will likely happen! 

As we're on a clay bar discussion, I used to have a white STI that I clayed regulalry but moved on to using an iron fallout remover. Being white, you wouldn't belived the ammount of 'bleed out' that happens with this stuff!! 

After using the remover the car had that perfect smooth feel and going over it with a clay after there wasn't much for the clay to remove. 

Not saying a fallout cleaner will remove all that a clay does, but I did find very little advantage in claying after that. Although a clay does have other characteristics you might be looking for.

I would guess there are contaminants a clay bar will get that a remover won't, but I struggled to find any. But if you're purely after cleaning power, I'd go with the fallout remover first.

Given the time to clay versus using a spray on/wash off product it might be worth thinking about?


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## Imran (May 6, 2017)

Thanks guys. I have my car booked in with nissan next week to sort out the paint bubbling under the mirrors. So I will use the clay bar in due course.


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## Imran (May 6, 2017)

Used the clay bar today. Really pleased with the results.


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## Japfan75 (May 8, 2017)

Tbh I've always had great success with a clay bar mitt and soapy water .


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## Cal3533 (Sep 12, 2015)

Each to their own really. Good to try different products over the years and you'll get the best idea of which ones you like.

My personal choice at the minute would be the Auto Finesse clay. it's a nice soft clay so not too harsh on the paintwork.

For badly decontaminated area's I have Bilt hamber & Autobrite clay as they're more a medium grade.


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## Evosnipe (Jul 31, 2016)

I'm a big fan of anything Mothers or Meguiars


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## IanJ (Aug 9, 2018)

Meguires quick clay, just keep washing the bar in hot' ish water to keep it clean and soft - works a treat and the best I have used, the mitts are ok but I still find the bars easier to use in tricky areas


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## Blobbish (May 20, 2019)

This is an old thread, but I agree with what you're saying here. I have both and find the mitt works OK but still leaves quite a lot behind. But if time is limited its better than nothing.


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## SKNAM (Nov 30, 2018)

I use Zymol Lehm Klay followed by their HD Cleanse. Produces superb results but getting harder and harder to buy the Zymol products in the UK. I have also used Auto Finesse on alloy wheels and was quite surprised by how good a job it did - wouldn't trust it on the paintwork though.


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## gtrintoon (Nov 16, 2014)

I've tried a few different clay bars but I keep coming back to Meguiars in combination with their detailer spray. Works a treat every time.


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