Comprehensive Product Recommendation Guide

[charlietuna]

Originally Posted by ItsBroke

Thanks all. She just got her Dawn bath and all towels are in the wash now. Clay massage next.

Have fun I think claying is a pain in the a$$ but you can't beat the results. I almost purchased the speedy prep towel today.

[ec1990]

Originally Posted by charlietuna

Have fun I think claying is a pain in the a$$ but you can't beat the results. I almost purchased the speedy prep towel today.

I used the nanoskin for the first time Thursday. It's definitely different and the lack of feel makes me think it's not getting cleaned and it's much harder to see contaminants building up in the towel. But noticeably faster to do. And for $33? It's worth it.

[chicagobulls]

Nice post.

[rich3fan]

I'm almost certain clay bars used to be color-coded and blue bars were the ones that should be used on new cars. Has that system been tossed aside? I just picked up a Mother's kit for the short term, and as was mentioned in another thread, the bar is yellow.

[CamaroDreams07]

Originally Posted by ItsBroke

I'm almost certain clay bars used to be color-coded and blue bars were the ones that should be used on new cars. Has that system been tossed aside? I just picked up a Mother's kit for the short term, and as was mentioned in another thread, the bar is yellow.

I've never heard of that. May have been before my time. Color doesn't mean anything now.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[flyinlow89]

Originally Posted by ItsBroke

I'm almost certain clay bars used to be color-coded and blue bars were the ones that should be used on new cars. Has that system been tossed aside? I just picked up a Mother's kit for the short term, and as was mentioned in another thread, the bar is yellow.

Not sure but I think that was in the past. Now clay bars are synthetic and I believe color coding for abrasiveness is exclusive to each manufacturer. One company may use blue for fine and red for abrasive while another may do the opposite

[Tecca]

Originally Posted by ItsBroke

I'm almost certain clay bars used to be color-coded and blue bars were the ones that should be used on new cars. Has that system been tossed aside? I just picked up a Mother's kit for the short term, and as was mentioned in another thread, the bar is yellow.

Never heard of that. However the only coding I have heard was that a dark blue is medium aggressive, red was aggressive and yellow/grey/light blue/white are synthetic polymers which are a lot easier to use than the original two as far as plyability and which they re-labeled to fine and ultra fine. I don't even think you can buy the aggressive one/red one anymore. Now bring in some imported clay then it gets real confusing.

[nUcLeArEnVoY]

The only color scheme I've ever noticed w/ clay bars is that blue ones are generally "normal use" clay bars that will not mar the paint if used properly and red ones are aggressive clay bars that pick up heavy contamination but are essentially like a super fine sandpaper in that they will mar the paint and require a followup polish.

I know a few websites that sell an "ultra fine" claybar that is usually white or yellow, but I don't see the point in getting it since a blue "fine" claybar will presumably remove more contamination and will not scratch if used properly.

Tecca, Clay Magic and Meg's still sell the red ones. They call it "medium grade." I actually have Clay Magic's red claybar... it's the only thing that I use to remove contamination on the notorious flat horizontal ledge at the bottom of the rear license plate opening. God, the contamination that builds there is terrible.

[rich3fan]

Good input guys. Thanks. My memory on this was sketchy. nUcLeArEnVoY (Good grief man!!!) do you still purchase Clay Magic? Autozone has it on the shelf, but it now has the Simonize logo on the box. I'm assuming the patent ran out and now the product name is theirs. It also read "made in Japan" on the box.

Next question: My Adams deep wheel cleaner arrives today; I have the Wheel Woollies, but I neglected to buy a Boar's hair brush for use as an "agitator". I've put the 8" handled Montana brush in my cart @ Autopia but I want to clean the wheels tomorrow or Saturday morning. Are synthetic ones okay to use just as a one time thing, and if so what brand should I go with? I'm thinking another stop at Autozone right up the street.

[nUcLeArEnVoY]

Originally Posted by ItsBroke

Good input guys. Thanks. My memory on this was sketchy. nUcLeArEnVoY (Good grief man!!!) do you still purchase Clay Magic? Autozone has it on the shelf, but it now has the Simonize logo on the box. I'm assuming the patent ran out and now the product name is theirs. It also read "made in Japan" on the box.

Next question: My Adams deep wheel cleaner arrives today; I have the Wheel Woollies, but I neglected to buy a Boar's hair brush for use as an "agitator". I've put the 8" handled Montana brush in my cart @ Autopia but I want to clean the wheels tomorrow or Saturday morning. Are synthetic ones okay to use just as a one time thing, and if so what brand should I go with? I'm thinking another stop at Autozone right up the street.

I guess Simonize is the new patent holder? No big deal, Clay Magic is a dependable brand and most of the detailing stores that sell their own claybars (i.e. Detailers Domain, Autogeek, Detailed Image) derive them from the same source that Clay Magic makes theirs from known as "Auto Magic," or I guess now; Simonize.

Oh, and Japan is where most claybars are made. In fact, I wouldn't trust claybars made anywhere else. I'm all for America, but in light of the dependability of their cars (even if they may be soulless and bland), Japan is not quite the same as China.

As for your second question, I find brushes hard use use when it comes to cleaning wheels, particularly wheels with a large lip. However, since you have no mods yet, it shouldn't be as bad for you. For wheels, I use an actual washing mitt - a very small one to get in the nooks and crannies. If it's small enough, you can even sneak it under the brake rotors to clean the inner barrel. And then I use a Daytona Speed Master wheel brush to get behind the caliper and to scrub the caliper itself, though it looks like your investment in wheel woolies has that covered.

Good luck!

[CamaroDreams07]

Updated

[charlietuna]

The list helps all of us. Thank you Matt.

[lscamaro]

Matt, under the waterless wash towel, I think one of your links may have malfunctioned

[CamaroDreams07]

Originally Posted by lscamaro

Matt, under the waterless wash towel, I think one of your links may have malfunctioned

Thanks. Damn brackets