Clay bar makes your car paint shiny, so it is important for your car paint. It will indeed take time to clay bar, but how long the time is? Definitely, the time depends on your car’s present conditions. If it is a little dirty, then time will be less than a fully dirty car.
If you want to know, then continue your reading to know about that. In this article, you are going to know how long does it take to clay bar a car and more related to it?
Clay bar Definition:
It is an engineered resin mixture used to remove paint, fiberglass, metallic surfaces, and glass contaminants from your car surfaces.
There are two types of detailing clay, natural or synthetic. Nowadays, Synthetic detailing clay is most popular as a detailing clay.
Clay bars are as elastic as clay, that’s why they can be easily stretched. Because of the elasticity of the bars, it is suitable for use in cars that have to pull the clay bar.
How long does it take to clay bar a car?
The clay bar will take about an hour when you clay bars your car for the first time. Once your car has been clay bar a few times, you will be able to complete the process within 30 minutes. That means it will be half of your previous time.
Clay bar takes a little longer than hand washing and drying but less time than waxing. This is the reason why it is different from others. Once you have done it, you will have a few options to move on to the next step.
In the next step, you can either wash your car again or you can polish it. After that, many people re-wash the car because it will ensure that the remaining debris has been removed from your car.
Some people prefer machine polishing because it will assist to make the car surfaces shiny.
Reason To Clay Bar A Car:
A question may come to your mind that, why you should clay bar your car or what are its benefits. Let’s find out the cause of using clay bars.
- If your car’s surface contaminants have not been removed even after washing your car, then you will need to use the clay bar. The clay bar gently lifts the debris and contaminants from the surface of the vehicle.
- Another method of a clay bar is after washing the car when the surface of the paint is wet then you can be done it. Contaminants on the bonded surface of the vehicle need to be removed by a clay bar to retain the shine of the waxed vehicle.
- You should it whenever you clean your car entirely including waxing and polishing.
- If your car surface does not look as clear as glass, you need to clay bar your car. Check if your car needs to be a clay bar. Make sure you not doing clay bar unnecessarily.
How often need to clay bar a car?
Clay bars are an easy way to remove contaminants, dirt, and debris from cars. To know it’s time to clay bar or not, run your hand gently over the paint on your car.
If the paint of the car seems a bit rough and unsmooth, then it is time to clay bars. Clay bars are capable to remove contaminants(Which damages the paint finish) from your car and restoring your car’s surface smoothness.
Now let’s not know how many times you have to do clay bar. Honestly, there is no set number of times you have to bar your car. It depends on different factors. If you drive once a week and the car does not accumulate too much dirt, then you have to clay bars the car two or three times a year.
And if you drive every day, you can do it twice in 6 months. Moreover, the number of clay bars of your car also depends on the location. If you are close to an industrial area, your car will be more polluted and the number of clay bars will be a little higher.
Method: How to clay bar a car?
Clay bar a car is important for remove dust, debris and contamination from the vehicle. You should use a clay bar if your car feels rough after washing. Using a clay bar will increase the shine of your car and make the car paint smooth as like glass.
First, you need to wash your car. After that, take a piece of clay to restore the finish of your car and smooth it like glass and keep it in a safe place.
You can choose a clay Luber of your choice that will clean the surface of your car. Now, spray the surface of the car with clay Luber.
Smoothly rub the sprayed part of your car with a bar and smooth it like glass. Then you need to clean and dry the surface of your car with a microfiber towel.
Make sure you have not missed any areas of your car. It is also useable for car grill taillights, headlights, and windshields. This will work for any vehicle, new or old. A clay bar can be used for cleaning a maximum of 4 cars.
Clay bar a car with water:
Clay bars using water are affordable because you don’t have to buy any soap. It is affordable but there is a fact of awareness. So, what is the fact of awareness? The fact is, when holding the clay bar, hold the clay bar in your hand in such a way that there is no possibility of falling down.
If the clay bar falls to the ground from the hand, it will become unusable. First, wet the section of your car that you want to clay bar with water.
Rub the section with a little bit of pressure using a clay bar. Rub it on straight-line motion because there is a chance of circular scratches if you rub the car surface on circularly.
Clay bars are more effective when it is a little bit dirty in the car. So try to do this job when there is a little bit of dirt in the car.
Clay Bars Alternative:
Clay bars are applied to the car to prepare the paint for the wax or sealant, which is a time-consuming process. There are also alternative processes that take relatively less time than this process. Let’s see what the Clay Bar alternatives. They are –
- Mothers 07240 California Gold Clay Bar
- Autoscrub Fine Grade Towel
- Nanoskin Autoscrub Fine Grade Wash Mitt
1. Mothers 07240 California Gold Clay Bar:
Mothers 07240 California Gold Clay Bar is a clay bar alternative where you get all the necessary ingredients together. In this clay bar you will get an instant detailer spray, microfiber towels, with two clay bars.
After washing your car, you can remove the remaining hard dirt and debris using this clay bar which will prepare your car surface for polishing and waxing.
This clay bars kit will remove dirt from your car surface without scratching your car even if it is difficult to remove. This clay bar kit has a 16 “x 16” microfiber towel to wipe off extra instant detail.
Many people recommend this kit to get a shiny car surface. So, buy one and try it on your car to see the result.
2. Autoscrub Fine Grade Towel:
Clay bars remove the dirt from the paint, but the biggest problem is that if they somehow fall out of hand, everything on the ground gets stuck on it. On the other hand, drop off the Autoscrub towel on the ground won’t be as problematic as a clay bar, you only have to rinse the towel.
Autoscrub fine Grade Towel is made of special rubber perforated towels. As an alternative of the clay bar, you need this towel to solve this problem. To remove the dirt and debris from your car, wipe your car’s surface by applying some lubricant to the towel.
It is four times longer than a clay bar and can be used in a maximum number of cars than a clay bar.
3. Nanoskin Autoscrub Fine Grade Wash Mitt:
Autoscrub fine grade wash mitt is a system that works quickly and is a good one as an alternative to the clay bar. It easily removes water stains, rail dust, mold, and other contaminants from car surfaces.
Contaminants in it can be easily cleaned and washed off with water whereas it is difficult for the clay bar.
You do not need to be a professional car detailer for your car detailing using this wash mitt. It is enough if you are interested in taking care of your car. If you are a professional car detailer then this wash mitt will make your job easier.
There is no problem if you leave the Autoscrub fine grade wash mitt on the ground, you can just reuse it by cleaning the sponge pad.
You can’t reuse the clay bar if you leave it on the ground. So, I think this wash mitt is the best alternative to the traditional clay bar.
Frequently Asked Question – FAQs:
Ans: There is a chance of swirls on your car surface if you use a clay bar to clean your car but if the clay bar is lubricated then there is no chance of swirls on your car surface.
Ans: No, it is not. Too much clay bar can swirl or scratch on your car paint. How do you know it’s time to clay bar your car?
To understand that run your hand over the paint of your car whenever you wash and dry your car. If you see that your car paint is rough and bristly then you need to clay bar your car.
Q: How many times do I clay bar within a year?
Ans: You can clay bar your car a maximum of 3-4 times within a year. However, a car does not need to clay bar more than twice within a year.
Ans: You can use a clay bar to smooth out any painted surface. You can also clay bar plastic bumpers, exterior glass, and chrome.
Ans: If your clay bar is 4 oz and you use it in the same car, it will last a maximum of two years. A clay bar can be used to clean a maximum of 4 cars to get the best results.
In Conclusion:
Clay bar is something that is used to remove paint, fiberglass, and glass contaminants from your car surfaces.
Even after washing your car properly when the dirt and debris from your car surface do not remove, then you have to clay your car.
It takes a little longer than hand washing and drying, but less time than waxing. However, now you know in detail how long does it take to clay bar a car?
Have you ever used a clay bar in your car? How much good is it?
