A Brief Guide to Clay Bars

When you take your car out for a drive, you expose it to particulates that can bond to or get embedded in its paint job. Some of these embedded paint contaminants–also called bonded paint contaminants–come from natural sources, while others have artificial origins. But no matter where they came from, the impurities can mar your car’s appearance as they accumulate on the exterior. Some contaminants might even damage the paint layer, opening the way to much more harmful corrosion.

It takes more than a simple car wash to remove impurities embedded in the paint job. You require a clay bar that can lift embedded paint contaminants without damaging your car’s coat of paint. But what is a clay bar, and how do you use it properly?

What Is a Clay Bar?

A clay bar is an auto detailing tool that removes embedded paint contaminants. It uses a material that’s soft enough to avoid damaging the paint job and malleable enough to change its shape to fit the contours of the surface. The material is also slightly sticky, and its adhesive quality plays a role in its ability to clean impurities.

Older clay bar products came in rectangular or oval blocks. You can tear off part of these bars and shape the piece into whatever form you prefer with your bare hands.

Modern clay bars come in more ergonomic forms. Some manufacturers offer products that resemble hand sponges. Others came up with a clay bar mitt that you can put on and use like a glove. While you must wash these products after using them, they work the same way as their simpler predecessors.

Despite their name, clay bars don’t have a single bit of natural clay. Instead, they use synthetic polymers such as polyethylene and polyurethane. Some manufacturers combine different polymers for their products, but clay bars generally share the same properties and do the same thing.

What Is a Clay Bar Used For?

A clay bar can lift embedded paint contaminants from the surface of your car’s body. When you move the bar over the dirty body panel, it attracts and captures the impurities.

Want to know what the clay bar can get rid of? Some of the contaminants it can remove are the following:

• Brake dust
• Industrial pollutants
• Overspray of airborne particulate material that don’t dissolve in water
• Train rail gust
• Sap from nearby trees and plants

What Is a Clay Bar Treatment?

Also called clay barring or claying, clay bar treatment refers to removing the embedded paint contaminants from your car’s exterior with a clay bar. You can do this process yourself. Clay your vehicle before applying polish, wax, or both for best effect.

How to Clay Bar a Car

To perform a clay bar treatment, you’ll need the following:

• Clar bar or clay mitt
• Several microfiber towels
• Clay lubricant or quick detailer
• Car soap
• Clean water for washing the car
• Nitrile gloves
• Safety glasses

Park your car in a well-lit area to ensure you can see the contaminants more easily. If there isn’t enough illumination, bring a bright light source.

Wash your car to get rid of the ordinary dirt and grime. Otherwise, they might get in the way of clay barring. After the car wash, use a fresh microfiber towel to dry your vehicle.

Next, prepare the clay bar. If it’s a traditional block, break off a part of the bar and knead it like dough until it feels elastic. In contrast, a clay mitt or clay sponge is usually ready to go and doesn’t need kneading.

Apply clay lubricant or quick detailer on the body panel you intend to clean. These lubricating products reduce friction between the clay bar and the coat of paint.

Gently move the clay bar back and forth across the lubricated surface of the paint job. Minimize the pressure you apply on the bar. The clay’s sticky material can lift embedded paint contaminants by itself, so you don’t have to scrub. Besides, excessive pressure on the clay bar might damage the paint job or body panel.

You can usually feel the clay bar lifting bonded paint contaminants from the paint job. Once the bar has collected enough contaminants, clean it. If you’re using a traditional bar, fold it onto itself and knead it until its surface looks clean. clay bar mitts and sponges require washing before you can continue using them.

Keep repeating this until you finish cleaning every square inch of your car’s paint job. Briefly wash your vehicle before drying it with a fresh microfiber towel.

Now you can apply car polish, car wax, or both to the squeaky clean paint job. Learn more about the benefits of polishing and waxing your car.

When Should You Use a Clay Bar?

A clay bar treatment isn’t a replacement for a car wash. Instead, it works with conventional washing to give your vehicle a deeper and more thorough cleaning.

You can determine if your car needs clay barring by checking the paint job’s appearance and texture. Does the color of the paint look less vivid? Are contaminants visible on the surface? If you touch it, does it feel rougher than usual?

If you answered yes to any of the questions, your vehicle probably needs a clay bar treatment. Clay barring will restore the clean appearance and smoothness of the paint job’s surface.

When Should You Avoid Clay Bar Treatment?

While clay bar treatments usually benefit your vehicle, there are instances when you shouldn’t do it.

Avoid using a clay bar on an unwashed vehicle. Ordinary dirt can interfere with the bar’s ability to lift embedded paint contaminants, preventing the detailing tool from removing the impurities.

Similarly, don’t use a clay bar on an unlubricated vehicle. Ordinary water doesn’t count as a lubricant. If you insist on claying a wet car, you might damage the paint. Always use a dedicated clay lubricant or quick detailer.

Do you see visible signs of damage to the surface of the paint job? If you do, refrain from using the clay bar because it might aggravate the problem. Watch out for clear coat peels, flakes of paint, or rust.

Is this your first time doing a clay bar treatment? Practice on a small patch of paint. Some paint jobs cannot handle clay barring. You can minimize damage if you test it beforehand.

Clay bars can only hold so many contaminants. When a bar looks dirty, fold and knead it repeatedly until it looks clean again. If the dirt remains, dispose of the bar. While you can wash a clay mitt, it also has a limit before the impurities stick to it. You will eventually need to get rid of dirty mitts.

How Much Does a Clay Bar Cost?

A clay bar can cost anywhere between $20 and $40. You can get plenty of use out of a single block.

Whether you plan on regularly performing DIY auto detailing or wish to clean your car thoroughly, a clay bar is always welcome.

Where to Get Clay Bars for Your Vehicle’s Paint Job

Cleaning your vehicle is a crucial step to maintain its luster and shine. And as mentioned, barring is one of the most effective ways to do it yourself. Luckily, you can get the best deals on clay bars at CarParts.com!

We have different bars available that vary in terms of price points. You can even get them for as low as $16, while we also have ones that cost over $30. Regardless of what you get, you can expect them to be high in quality since we source these bars from the most trusted manufacturers.

Shop now and get the best deals on clay bars today!