I have clayed my vehicles for years before waxing them, and also use clay bars at work. The main thing is to keep any grit off of them and keep it clean. Keep the paint well lubricated while sliding it along the paint surface with either soapy water, or other lubricants like spot delivery made by Ardex. The only way a clay bar can do any damage to the paint is if there is any kind of grit on it, or if it is not well lubricated, it can smear the clay on the paint. Make sure the vehicle is clean too, obviously.

 

Industry (ICAR) practices, OEM written directives and written maintenance protocals by every oem auto paint supplier...if you pm me I will send you a couple of docs on it, one published in 1997 & 2006 (IIRR). Though I will say this, if the paint really needs to be wet sanded, then use claybar since the better claybars are rated at around 5000-6000 grit whereas the retail crap is rated at around 3500.

 

Zaino Fan too!, this isn't my 91 F150, but the car get Zaino. Best stuff I have ever used. And it lasts!!!

 

DWG Dry wash & Guard been using it since the early 90's. You simply have to use it to understand! I want the results and durability without the hard work. This product delivers for me.

 

How does this work, since most all paint is clearcoated. How does the claybar remove clearcoat and paint? I find it hard to believe that statement.

 

Megs (as an example) is rated by the mfg at 3500 grit (just like sandpaper; Megs clay bar was rated at this prior to the 3M buyout)- all products have a grit or compound rating. The better clay bars are rated at 5000-6000 grit.

Now to put this in perspective....all polishes (including waxes & paint sealants that have polish in them), etc do remove a very slight amount of paint (clear coat)- the key point here IMHO is to only use the most aggressive product that you have to to get the job done...leaving as much paint on the car as possible.The paint mfgs spec that there must be at least 3 mil thickness of clear to remain to provide shine.....depending on the car mfg, it is not unusual to see clear coats as thin as 4-5 mil, that doesn't leave a lot room for error. As paint ages (as we all know), it also becomes thinner...all of these factors must be considered when selecting paint maintenance products.

Many claim that claybar cleans the paint, this is only partially true- yes it does remove (just like wet sanding with very fine grit) oxidized paiint particles etc, but it does not and cannot reach into the pores of the paint which is where the residual environmental contaminents rest, many time not visable to the human eye. There are specific liquid products available that dissolve, remove and neutralize these environmental contaminents including industrial fallout, etc. It is very safe to use and does not remove any paint. What I typically use for vehicles that have none of these issues is just prior to polishing/waxing I wipe the car with a soft sponge using denatured alcohol & water (about a 30/70 mix), denatured has no oil and leaves no residue. 99% of the time, this is highly effective in ensuring the paint surface is clean and void of all contaminents.....you will actually even see an enhanced shine (even with oxidized paint), far beyond the capabilities of clay bar since we are now cleaning deep into the pores of the paint.

If you pm me, I will send you a copy of the OEM directives for environmental contamination removal...these procedures date back to 1990 and continue in todays oem & paint mfg publications. The docs I will send include graphics showing the cause/effect relationship of using correct/incorrect methods including the effects of clay bar.