Clay Bars & Lubricants

Using a clay bar or tool such as a clay mitt, cloth or block is very simple.

We like to incorporate the clay bar treatment and decontamination process into the washing stage, so here's a step-by-step guide you can follow when looking to get into clay bar detailing.

1. Wash your car - Here we want to perform our standard washing process, but before we dry the car, we can get stuck into our clay bar detailing.
2. Apply your lubricant - So, the car is clean and still wet, which is fine, and we can now begin to spray our clay lubricant onto the panel we're working on. If you're using a clay lubricant that's been infused with iron removers such as Nv PURIFY, then you want to wait a few minutes before getting stuck in with your clay bar.
3. Use your clay bar or tool - Washed, cleaned and lubricated, we can now begin to use our clay bar. Break off a little part from that bar and mould it into a flat surface with your hands, then begin gently rubbing the clay bar over the panel. Short, small back and forth motions with minimal pressure is perfect for contamination removal. If you're using a clay mitt, block or cloth then you'll want to follow the same procedure, using short, small, back and forth motions. However, you may want to spray a little lubricant onto the tool itself.
4. Repeat for all other panels - Now that you've got your process sorted and you know what you're doing, repeat the process for the rest of the car.
5. Wash the car again - A clay bar treatment will often produce residue, from the lubricant or the contaminants themselves. To remove anything left over we tend to give the car another quick wash, either a quick foam and rinse, or another hand wash.

Cheaper clay bars tend to use a lower quality, or cheaper grade of clay. What this does is impair performance, reducing its capability to remove more stubborn, embedded contaminants, but it can also cause more marring and scratching in the paintwork. It'll be a lot less durable too, deteriorating as you use it.

Beyond quality, the real difference across a decent range is grade. A milder clay is what you want on a car that's washed regularly and only lightly contaminated, since it does the job with the least risk of marring. A heavier grade is for a neglected car with tar, overspray or heavy fallout bonded to it, where a mild bar simply won't shift it. Koch Chemie split theirs exactly that way, mild and heavy.

The other thing worth weighing is cost over time. A clay bar is a consumable, you break a piece off and eventually it's spent. A synthetic clay mitt or cloth costs more upfront but washes out and gets used dozens of times, so it usually works out cheaper if you're detailing regularly.

Here at Waxit we only stock clay bars and tools we'd use ourselves, across both grades and both formats.

It depends which format you're using.

Clay bars are more of a consumable. You buy a block and break a little off each time you decontaminate, so one bar lasts a while, but the piece you've used is generally done once it's picked up a load of contamination. If the car was only lightly contaminated you can knead it over and get another use out of it.

Synthetic clay mitts, cloths and blocks are properly reusable. You simply wash them out after use and go again. They do wear down slowly and will need replacing eventually, but they're fantastic for maintenance work and lighter contamination removal, and they work out cheaper over time.

The one rule that applies to both: if you drop it, bin it. A bar or mitt that's touched the ground has picked up grit, and the next panel you touch with it is where the scratches come from. It isn't worth the risk over the price of a new bar.