Clay bar use from a previously virgin user

[Rich Z]

I got my Zaino package a while back and have been reading up on the voodoo I need to do to get these magic potions making my EB '02 Z06 really sparkle. Prior to looking into this product I have NEVER EVER heard of claying a finish before. I actually thought someone was pulling my leg. You know "Let's see is we can get the newbies to fall for this one and ruin their cars!" sort of thing. But it seemed like there were too many people in on this for it to be that kind of joke.

So I washed down the Z with Dawn to get whatever layers of wax and stuff might have been on the finish. Then I broke out the clay bar, with some significant amount of trepidation, I might add. I mean, let's face it, RUBBING a bar of clay on a painted surface just does not sound logical at all!

So I picked the front bumper area (it kills me that the nose of a vette is called a "bumper" btw) I figured this would be the best place to start because of all the stone dings and stuff, I'm probably going to be spending some time there with the PC (yeah, got one of those too) and I could probably fix any disaster that came about from this clay bar joke. I ran my hand over both sides to get a feel for the finish, then went to work on one side. Now I have heard everything from using the bar lightly to using it "moderately". I have no idea what those terms mean, since it is all relative. So I used the Z7 rinse as Zaino suggested as a lubricant, and applied pressure to the clay bar about as much as I would do rubbing off a layer of wax after it had dried.

When I finished on that one side, I ran my hand over to feel the difference. Holy smoke! There wasn't just a LITTLE difference, there was a WORLD of difference! I mean, I could even see the difference in the way my reflection was on that newly clayed surface. To say I was amazed is a bleak understatement. So heck, I figured I had a good thing here, and went to work to finish the whole car. Which was about an hour or so later. But dang it looked good afterwards! It looked better then, then it had previously right after waxing it. Matter of fact, I think ANYTHING on top of the finish now will just look awesome. I think I could smear Crisco on it and it would look just FINE. Guess I'd better stick with the Zaino regimen, however, as the stuff was not cheap and the wife needs the Crisco for baking.

Anyway, a couple of comments about the clay bar thing.

(1) If you haven't already, DO IT. My finish had probably never had it done before and it made one hell of a difference.

(2) I have to admit I was scared somewhat about the admonition about dropping the clay bar. The instructions say that if your drop it, it is toast and you need to just throw it away. Sheesh. I can't take a shower without dropping the bar of soap at least four times! And sure enough, I did drop the clay bar once. It's a slippery little devil with the lubricant on it, and after rubbing for a while, your fingers do get aching and a little numb feeling. But you know what? All I did was take the hose to it and spray it soundly and as far as I could tell anything that got on it from the ground was blown completely off. I think the trick is to not touch that surface that hit the ground so you don't press the dirt and grit into the clay. Anyway, I continued using the clay bar without a lick of trouble.

(3) I got to the point where I could FEEL the difference in the surface when I started with the clay bar. Surprisingly, the rocker panel areas under the doors felt super slick already and hardly needed any work with the clay bar at all. I guess that means that most of the gunk that the clay bar was pulling off was likely from damage from sunlight on the paint's surface. I guess. I suppose stuff falling from the sky would likely be hitting the same surfaces.... Highly unlikely I will ever find bird poop on those areas below the doors.

Oh well, just a mini report on my first experience using the clay bar. If anyone is feeling the trepidation that I felt beforehand, don't sweat it. It's pretty much a magic wand kind of thing. If your finish is a few years old, try it. I think you'll be impressed......