After months of driving, your vehicle often accumulates grit and grime that embeds in the paint. These deep-seated contaminants might even withstand most car washes and soaps. Ignoring the contamination can lead to serious problems like corrosion and damage to the paint job and the metal surface underneath.
Fortunately, you can remove contaminants with a clay bar kit. Let’s take a closer look at what goes into the detailing kit.
What Is a Clay Bar?
A clay bar kit is a set of detailing materials and equipment for removing contaminants like brake dust, tree sap, and tar that have embedded into the paint.
The most important part of any clay bar kit is its namesake. A clay bar is a synthetic clay that can abrade contaminants clinging to the surface of the paint job.
Made from a mixture of natural and artificial materials, the synthetic clay is soft to avoid damaging the paint layer or the surface of the body panel. The clay is also malleable to facilitate easier removal of contaminants.
Traditional clay bars are usually shaped like short bars of soap. Newer products have ergonomic shapes like air-hockey handholds, mitts, sponges, and gloves. These modern cleaning clay products are more ergonomic and easy to use than an old-fashioned bar.
Despite their relative softness, clay bars can still damage the vehicle’s paint. You can prevent this by spraying a clay lubricant on the grimy surface before applying the clay bar to the paint.
The best times to use the clay bar are after you wash and dry your vehicle and before waxing its surfaces to ensure the best possible finish. After removing the contaminants from your vehicle’s surfaces, you can apply car polish, car wax, or both to protect the paint job and metal.
Other Items in a Clay Bar Kit
While many clay bars are sold alone, others are offered as a part of a detailing kit. A clay bar kit has everything you need to remove embedded contaminants without leaving a scratch on your car’s paint job.
Clay bar kits usually include a clay lubricant. Also called detailing spray, it lubes surfaces to prepare for claying and prevent damage.
Additionally, a clay bar kit will have a microfiber towel for wiping surfaces clean.
Choosing the Right Clay Bar or Clay Bar Kit
Here are the main factors that you should know and consider when picking a clay bar or kit for your vehicle:
Brand
There are various clay bar brands on the market today. Each brand offers special features and capabilities. Some brands use gentler formulas that have even less risk of damaging the paint job. Others perform better at removing deep-seated contaminants.
Generally, you want to choose a brand that meets your requirements. Always read a product description thoroughly.
Two of the most popular brands are The Chemical Guys and Meguiars. They’re known for reliability and performance.
Grade
Clay bars come in fine, medium, and heavy grades. Each grade removes embedded contaminants at a different level of performance and has a corresponding cost.
Fine clay bars are also called professional-grade clay bars. They have the least coarseness and are easier to work with your hands.
When used correctly to clean harder paints alongside enough high-quality clay lubricant, a fine clay bar will barely leave a mark on the finish. However, it abrades contaminants more slowly than the coarser grades of clay bars. Furthermore, the fine clay bar can still damage sensitive paint, forcing you to polish the marred surface after the detailing job.
Medium clay bars occupy the middle ground. They’re coarser than fine clay bars, allowing them to remove contaminants faster. But they’re less coarse than heavy clay bars, so they’re not as rough on the paint job.
Last but not least are heavy clay bars. Their high abrasiveness removes contaminants much faster than their fine and medium counterparts. In exchange for their effectiveness, they’ll leave significant markings on the paint job that might require more than one round of polishing to fix. Thus, heavy clay bars are recommended for rough paints with plenty of contaminants embedded into the paint after several years.
Size
The clay bar’s size doesn’t just determine how many times you can use it. It also sets how much of the vehicle you can clean.
Small clay bars will suffice for cleaning small surface areas. However, they’ll run out long before they can finish going over every square inch of your vehicle, especially if you own a large SUV or truck.
In comparison, large clay bars can clean an entire vehicle. Understandably, they cost more than smaller products.
Price
Everything has a price. This rule applies to clay bars as well. The bigger the clay bar, the higher the cost of the item. Similarly, higher performance usually means a bigger price tag attached to the product.
When you choose a clay bar or clay bar kit, consider your budget and the level of performance you need.
Clay Lubricant
A clay lubricant is required for safe use of the clay bar. However, not all clay bars come with lube. If you don’t have clay lube at home, either get a lubricant separately or choose a clay bar with lube included. Avoid using the clay bar on an unlubricated surface, even when using a high-grade cleaning clay.
Fortunately, clay bar kits usually include a clay lubricant as part of the package.
Recommended Clay Bar Kits
Here are our recommended clay bar kits:
If you don’t have a clay bar in your garage, now’s a good time to get one. When used alongside protective methods like car washing, polishing, and waxing, the clay bar helps your vehicle clean and maintains the vibrancy of the paint.
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Any information provided on this Website is for informational purposes only and is not intended to replace consultation with a professional mechanic. The accuracy and timeliness of the information may change from the time of publication.
