This past weekend, it was time for a little TLC for the car. So I broke out all the car cleaning goodies and went to work. Now, I've been scared of the clay bar for quite some time now as I've only heard bad things and how bad things can go really bad if done incorrectly. Well, I broke out hte instructions and read them like 3 times to make sure they were burned into my head, and I went to work...

About an hour or so later ... WOO HOO! Damn, the car is so smooth now. If your car is over a year old and it sits outside constantly (like mine does at work), you should do this. I thought that hte harshness I felt on the car was just the paint breaking down... no, it was all the contaminents on the paint that didn't want to come off with regular washing.

After going over the car with a clay bar, the car feels silky silky smooth again... like it did when it was new. I'm so happy now. After clay baring the entire car, I applied 3 layers of Zaino Z2 wax and the car looks absolutely fantastic.

On a side note, I did drop the clay bar, so I had to toss it and grab another one (don't use the dropped one, bad things happen -- so I'm told).

Oh yeah, I used to be scared of the clay bar too until I used it. As long as your are smart about it (i.e. keeping the surface lubed and always folding the clay) you're good to go. I was amazed at how absolutely SMOOTH the surface was. I used P21 cleansing lotion and then Klasse AIO and topped it off with P21. Good stuff!!!! So absolutely deep.

I used the clay bar on my friend's 323is and he is pretty diligent about washing his car. He was surprised at how much gunk the clay bar pulled out.

Kevin-

Depending on how bad the contamination was, you should've saved the bar you dropped for claying the windows or claying the wheels (unless you dropped in a pile of glass or gravel). That's what I do with my older clay bars after 3 cars worth of usage.

I actually prefer my old (ancient-years old) Clay Magic to the Zaino bar ... but when it comes to car polishes... Zaino is awesome.

Claying is one of the most satisfying detailing activities!! The silky smooth feel of the paint is enough to make drop my loa.. never mind, lol!

Regular washing can never do what clay does. Claying 2x a year is an absolute must if you are serious about paint care.

David.

On a side note, I did drop the clay bar, so I had to toss it and grab another one (don't use the dropped one, bad things happen -- so I'm told).

I like to take the clay bar and cut it into strips (like 7 or 8 strips for a full size clay magic bar). This way you use a strip of the bar for each part of the car. When a piece becomes difficult to clean, or you just want to start fresh on a certain panel (like the hood), just toss it and grab a new strip.

Also, if you drop one of the strips, you can just toss it and grab a new one. It is very easy to drop a clay bar, so this minimizes the chance of wasting the clay.

It's amazing what a clay bar can do for your paint. Once you get the technique down, and as long as you keep it clean, there is very little chance of scratching the paint.

I didn't know Zaino made clay bars
Now, I've been scared of the clay bar for quite some time now as I've only heard bad things and how bad things can go really bad if done incorrectly
Not really...claying is such a safe process...it's hard to mess it up. Tha being said, it looks like you did a nice job on your beautiful car.

Now try polishing your car with a DeWalt rotary tool, ready to brun holes in your paint at the drop of a hat...now that's scary.