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Clay bar my truck

Discussion in 'Detailing' started by Deezy99, May 11, 2019.

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Should I clay bar my truck to restore the paint?

  1. Have it professionally done

    5 vote(s)
    16.1%
  2. Do it myself

    25 vote(s)
    80.6%
  3. Don’t worry about it

    1 vote(s)
    3.2%
  1. May 11, 2019 at 7:28 AM
    #1
    Deezy99

    Deezy99 [OP] New Member

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    After washing and waxing my tundra I noticed water spots. The shine is nice but up close it’s dull. Would clay bar help this situation?6098DD92-31A8-4449-AE93-7610A0A94A0D.jpg 39A73437-CE75-4503-8CCF-E11DBE092426.jpg
     
  2. May 11, 2019 at 7:39 AM
    #2
    Trooper2

    Trooper2 Premium Lone Star Member / SSEM #13

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  3. May 11, 2019 at 7:45 AM
    #3
    ShreveportTSS

    ShreveportTSS Huh?

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    If water spots bother you, Clay, clean, ceramic coat. :thumbsup:
     
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  4. May 11, 2019 at 8:13 AM
    #4
    Trooper2

    Trooper2 Premium Lone Star Member / SSEM #13

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    Thinking if there are spots after waxing, then the clear coat may me etched. A clay bar may help, if not maybe s compound. Then reseal with polish or wax.
     
  5. May 11, 2019 at 3:13 PM
    #5
    Faht Nocker

    Faht Nocker Platinum Member

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    clay bar will remove the water spots and the wax as well. If you do clay bar the truck make sure to wax it again. If you can use a hose hooked up to soft water. or check out the thread about CR spotless from @War Machine
    https://www.tundras.com/threads/cr-...e-spent-the-money-so-you-don’t-have-to.44764/
    What do you think @Notachickmagnet ?
     
  6. May 11, 2019 at 3:39 PM
    #6
    six7zero

    six7zero New Member

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  7. May 11, 2019 at 4:03 PM
    #7
    Faht Nocker

    Faht Nocker Platinum Member

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    if you already have clay bar and you do not have the nano mitt then try this. Get a damp chamois put the clay bar in the middle of it and wipe the whole truck down. No need for detail spray and the chances of dropping the clay bar are minimized.
     
    Deezy99[OP] likes this.
  8. May 12, 2019 at 2:15 PM
    #8
    War Machine

    War Machine SSEM # 5 3MW

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    Yes sir a clay bar or mitt should do the trick. It’s handled all of the ones I’ve had to remove.
     
  9. May 13, 2019 at 4:26 AM
    #9
    briarpatch

    briarpatch New Member

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    the pic looks like your truck is Pyrite Mica....same as mine. It's not an easy color to get to pop. As others have said, the clay will remove the wax you have on there now, so, unless it really bothers you, I'd wait until your current protection is at least degraded before I'd start over. Prep is the key, so if you've the tools and the inclination, a polish step after the clay will help with any swirls or micro-marring from the clay. Some do a panel wipe at this point, before proceeding to either sealant or wax.

    There are a lot of 'one step' products on the market, such as HD Speed, Blackfire AIO, Meguiars D166 and McKees 360, which combine some abrasives with protection. There's also the recently released Meguiars 3 in 1 wax, which may do the trick for you. Just out of curiosity, what wax did you use on your truck?
     
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  10. May 13, 2019 at 6:50 PM
    #10
    owb2gp

    owb2gp New Member

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    I was a novice until I found this site. I've clayed 4 vehicles so far with a mitt and it's very easy. Just use a lube or detail spray. Definitely plan a few hours to do this. Here are my steps from @War Machine and @Pudge.

    Clean wheels and tires.
    2 bucket wash
    Iron x for decontamination
    Clay bar or mitt or both (don't forget lube)
    I usually do a quick wash next
    CarPro Hydro2
    Dry entire vehicle
    Beadmaker or CarPro reload ( haven't used reload yet but I have some coming)
    Polish wheels
    Apply waxaddict Tyre feeder on tires and trim
    Boom

    Shit looks amazing once completed! Co-workers think I spend a ton to have my truck detailed.
     
  11. May 13, 2019 at 7:35 PM
    #11
    Pudge

    Pudge Super Secret Elite Member #7

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    Glad I could help out. It's amazing easy and not nearly as daunting and time consuming as most people think.
    I was a novice too before I learned from @SouthBoundSteve and @driverdog and now learning more from the active detail guys like @War Machine and @briarpatch . So many people (like I once was) are afraid of detailing their cars because of the time, effort, skill, and money it would take to do so. But the products that are available now make things so much easier and quicker than ever, there is no excuse to not get out there and try on your own vehicle. Going from clay bars to clay mits cuts out a good 3 or 4 hours of work. changing out the old paste waxes in favor of a nice spray sealant saves just as many hours and triples the longevity of protection, it's a no brainer. I now laugh when I see amour all, when I once would load up on it when it was on sale.
    Anything that you would ever need to know about detailing your truck can be found right here on tundras.com. I have really enjoyed doing my own detail jobs and people can not believe that I do it all myself and when I tell them what I use, they are blown away. If I had some spare time I would absolutely do some of my friends cars and make some quick cash while getting some practice and testing products
     
  12. May 14, 2019 at 4:31 AM
    #12
    War Machine

    War Machine SSEM # 5 3MW

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    Same here. Didn’t know a thing about detailing until I joined here. Those same guys got me interesting and taught me a ton. I took what they taught me and grew my knowledge from there. My old red Tundra did many runs through automatic washes, I’m sorry to say.
     
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  13. Jul 11, 2019 at 5:19 PM
    #13
    Kyk1e

    Kyk1e New Member

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    What type of “lube” would you recommend if I’m going to use a nanoskin mitt? I’m a novice when it comes to the clay bar. I’m doing as much research as I can before I do.

    Last wash I did the following:
    -2 bucket method with Adams mega foam
    -hand dry
    -Jesper powerlock sealant
    -wax
    -beadmaker

    Hope I’m doing it right. Any input would be appreciated.

    Thanks
     
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  14. Jul 11, 2019 at 6:00 PM
    #14
    Twinky

    Twinky Keep the shinny side up!

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    From my limited experience, i was happy with the Mothers synthetic(?) clay bar thingie...
     
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  15. Jul 11, 2019 at 6:20 PM
    #15
    birdman076

    birdman076 Bird, bird, bird...bird is the word

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    I’ve used mothers and chemical guys medium. I like the chemical guys a lot more, just seems like it lifted a lot more. I used mother’s quick retailer to lube the clay bar. Spray in front of the clay bar as you go, plenty of lube and wipe over a few times until it feels slick. As far as water spots, if clay bar doesn’t get rid of it try white vinegar. It’s what I use on mine whenever I go to wax it as I have tons of iron in my sprinkler system being on well water and the cars get it at least 2 times a week. For really tough water spots I use the chemical guys water spot remover but sparingly.
     
  16. Jul 11, 2019 at 6:43 PM
    #16
    War Machine

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    You can buy a dedicated clay lube, or just get some detail spray from Walmart. That Nanoskin mitt is pretty easy to use, so don’t stress about it.

    As for the process you listed, cut the wax out altogether. It’s completely unnecessary with Beadmaker. If you really want to use wax though, put it on last.
    Also, I love Jescar Powerlock, but in my experience doesn’t bond very well with Beadmaker. Either Hydro2 or Gyeon Wetcoat work much better with it in my opinion.

    Powerlock is a fantastic product, but in my opinion works best when on it’s own, no wax or other sealant on top of it.
     
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  17. Jul 11, 2019 at 8:06 PM
    #17
    Pudge

    Pudge Super Secret Elite Member #7

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    I for clay lube I have used mothers detail spray, Carprol ech20, soap and water, Griots speed shine. Everything worked fine in my opinion, this last time I used ech2o and some carpro immolube and I really liked the immolube, I also used it on my pads when I was buffing some scratches out. It's hard to describe how the immolube makes a difference but it is a petty cool product.
     
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  18. Jul 11, 2019 at 8:24 PM
    #18
    Hbjeff

    Hbjeff New Member

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    Wash with blue dawn

    Clay bar

    Wash with blue dawn again

    Dry

    Wax
     
  19. Aug 8, 2019 at 12:20 AM
    #19
    Bust

    Bust New Member

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    So I'm planning on doing a full detail this weekend and have been doing a lot of reading on the forums. I don't have quite the detailing arsenal yet, but will in the future. As far as I know, my truck had never been fully detailed, do with what I got, here is my process. Let me know if I need to add or change anything.

    Wash with Dawn - two bucket
    Iron X
    Clay bar with lube
    Wash again
    Dry
    Meg's M0316 glaze
    Meg's black wax.

    I'm hoping to get Shine Supply Wise Guy, waxaddict Tyre feeder (if it comes back in stock), CG Mr pink, hydro2 and beadmaker.

    Hopefully my process will initially work until I get more stuff, thoughts?
     
  20. Aug 8, 2019 at 4:29 AM
    #20
    Trunk Monkey

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    You should never use dish soap for washing your car.
     
  21. Aug 8, 2019 at 4:51 AM
    #21
    Hbjeff

    Hbjeff New Member

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    It does a good job stripping wax off. When you clay and rewax you want all the old junk off
     
  22. Aug 8, 2019 at 6:14 AM
    #22
    briarpatch

    briarpatch New Member

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    There are people who believe that, and people who don't. Typically, the water behavior you see after you wash with Dawn is a result of the surfactants in the soap more than it's ability to strip wax. There are 'strip' washes out there...Chemical Guys sells one (Clean Slate) and Adams sells one....neither do a very good job. You're better off buying something like Purple Power Vehicle and Boat Wash to help strip off old waxes/sealants. The clay bar will take care of anything that's left.
     
    Last edited: Sep 30, 2019
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  23. Aug 8, 2019 at 8:00 AM
    #23
    Bust

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    Yes sorry, I forgot to mention that part. First initial wash with Dawn, then I would wash again with my megs shampoo. Other than that, does everything sound in place?
     
  24. Sep 30, 2019 at 6:08 AM
    #24
    josef

    josef Babe Magnet

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  25. Sep 30, 2019 at 7:26 AM
    #25
    Hbjeff

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    ive had good luck with mothers and adams clay
     
  26. Sep 30, 2019 at 10:05 AM
    #26
    briarpatch

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  27. Sep 30, 2019 at 10:34 AM
    #27
    War Machine

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    Any from a known brand like Mothers's, Meguair’s, etc is going to be good. I use a mitt instead. Makes the job a whole lot easier and it’s reusable.

    Nanoskin (AS-016) AutoScrub Fine Grade Wash Mitt https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DOS0LH2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_EXJKDb26RPVJM
     
  28. Sep 30, 2019 at 11:33 AM
    #28
    Pudge

    Pudge Super Secret Elite Member #7

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    I would recommend a good name brand clay like mothers, griot's, carpro, or meguiars if you wanna use real clay. But the new rage is synthetic clay mits or clay towels, or a pad like mothers speed clay. They are cheap and work just as good as clay and are much easier to use and faster.
     
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