how long to clay a clio?

[AlexG]

recieved my bilt hamber clay from ebay yesturday so i started to clay the car. the contamination is really bad so i used ag intensive tar remover on the panel left for about five minutes then set about claying it with warm water in a spray bottle.
took me about 1hour and 45 minutes just to do the front wing, is this correct and is there any way to speed up the process?

 

[BIFCAIDS]

it takes as long as you take mate, but it only took me about 25mins do a front wing, n really you shouldnt be doing it with warm water (unless it states), should be like a special spray, eg. meg's detailer spray + meg's clay bar = jobs a gooden

 

[clvs2222]

i did my mates ZS the other day, took me half hour to do the whole car.
warm water is fine, its only there to keep the bar lubricated. just remember to keep the bar clean as a dirrty bar will cause damage

 

[BIFCAIDS]

i thought using un-filtered water could cause damage?... Proberly wrong always am lol

 

[clvs2222]

"un-filtered" water has iron in it, which will cause water marks. but you dont filter your tap water do you?
anyway, wether using detailer or any other lube, the panel should always be wiped afterwards with a microfibre cloth

 

[clvs2222]

in reply to alex's first question, and hour and 45 mintues to do the front wing is way to long. make sure the car is well washed before hand. nead (play) with the clay in your hand for a while to get it soft and pliable, lube the bar and panel and then use. you should be able to feel the resistance, when its nice and smooth, move on.

 

[AlexG]

yeh the bilt hamber clay is designed to be used with water as the lubricant and i thought warm water was better as the clay was quite hard and when softened up it seemed to work better.
it is working and removed all the contamination but it just seemed to take a very long time

so tips i can use when i try next time:
-make sure the car is really really clean
-nead the clay often
-keep well lubricated

any more tips you can give me?

 

[clvs2222]

get some muscles?!?

 

[aceface]

I know Bilt Hamber do a really mild clay so this could be the problem if it is taking ages to do its job. As said 1 hour and 45 minutes on just a wing is too long really.

After every panel or whenever you feel necessary fold the clay over to a clean side.

 

[The Big Yin]

Should only take an hour max to clay a full car - Try keeping the clay in a cup of hot water ths will keep it plyable andeasier to use


the bilt clay is designed specifically to work with just water as the lube - im interested to see how you get on as i was thinking of ordering some

 

[AlexG]

yes it was on ebay i got it and i purchased the stronger more aggressive of two available from bilt hamber. it seems to be working but just slowly:S

 

[AlexG]

get some muscles?!?

have you ever clayed a car?

 

[clvs2222]

get some muscles?!?

have you ever clayed a car?

yea, pritty much do a different car every week.

i find the agressive sonus bars to be the best. i generally use the agressive bars on the front bumper, wings and bottom of the car and then use the fine bars on the rest.

once you've clayed a car properly, and if you keep the paint maintained then it should have to be done again for around a year.

 

[AlexG]

yep thats why i want to do it properly first time round so i can polish it egp it then get a good wax on and keep topping it up every week or so

 

[Brand86]

How long is a piece of string?? Can't really give an exact answer, but when I have done my own Clio has taken me about an hour roughly for the paint, then about another 20 minutes or so for wheels and glass (which are also worth doing).

Never used water alone, I tend to use a mixture of warm water and shampoo and/or QD depending on what I have nearby, both seem to work well. I thought it was only the Bilt Hamber clay specifically ok to use just with water but I guess they are all similar.