Clay bar fail?

[SteveB]

So today I finally had a nice overcast day to where I could start working on my car. I had a Meguiar's Clay Bar kit that I had purchased before I learned of Adams. I washed the car as usual with foam gun and Adam's Car Shampoo and did the baggie test and could feel a little grit so I decided to give the clay a try. The kit came with Meguiar's Quick Detailer spray so I thought I would just use it up.

Anyway, it seemed to take a lot of the spray to keep the clay from dragging on the paint. I did get residue on the clay so I know it was doing it's job but when I finished I did the baggie test again and I could still feel about the same amount of roughness as I did before the clay. If it matters the clay was white.

Did I do something wrong? I felt that while I was doing it if I applied any more pressure the clay would just drag, or leave clay, on the paint. I've watched the videos and my process looked the same as the Junkmans or Adams. Should the paint be perfectly smooth after claying? Am I just expecting too much?

I hope the weather holds for me tomorrow because I plan on waxing with FMP and if time allows a coat of Americana.

[lawson4450]

well go out and do one panel and see if you can feel a difference if you can then you have your answer if not then I would do it again in a couple of months myself but thats just me.

[SteveB]

Should I do the clay again before I wax? I do have the Adam's clay, I just wanted to use the Meguiar's rather than waste the money. It's looking like rain do I may not get to do anything today.

[dipolley]

i never liked that one, and make sure the paint is not hot!

 

 

Pre-Adam's, I loved Turtle Wax Ice on my blue car. Horrible on black cars. Black cars are never not hot.

[GTO Guy]

i never liked that one, and make sure the paint is not hot!

[dipolley]

The first time I ever used a clay bar was the one I recieved from Adams. Great results. Tested it with the bag test. I have used several other clay bars since to see the difference and there is a difference. The biggest difference may also be the lubricant. I used the Adam's bar with the detail spray and with the Turtle wax Ice spray. While I do enjoy the smell of both products, (the Ice products smell better than they work, especially on black vehicles) the detail spray seems to be best.

[GerryC]

the paint should be perfectly smooth after claying if it was done properly. I have used the white meguiars clay bar with their quik detailer and found it to be useless...it doesn't grab everything and it is very gummy which makes it hard to use it while applying pressure.

 

If I were you I'd get Adam's Detail Spray/Clay Bay kit if you want to achieve the best results