Do clay wash mitts work ?

[rfuerst911sc]

It has been a long time since I have used a clay bar . I see now there are clay bar mitts . Do they really work ? My dually needs a good clean/paint correction and wax . So thinking about trying these . You guys using them ? Any particular brand or style better than others ?

[onewhippedpuppy]

Yes, I have one that I use on my boat. Works well, just like the clay bar you can feel the difference in surface when completed. I can’t recall the brand, pretty sure I bought it on autogeek.

[vash]

hmmmm...I like this. my new truck isn't looking so new anymore.

[Scott Douglas]

You might want to check out Chemical Guys clay bars as I think they offer differing grades of them.
I used one on our cars before putting on a good coat of Meg's Ultra Wax. I chose it over doing a ceramic coating which sounded a little too 'permanent' to me if I'd screwed it up.
They have a local store and when I took the CR-V over to ask about the ceramic coatings they offered the gal was amazed at the condition of the paint. No swirl marks at all in the clear coat.

[cabmandone]

I like the one I have. It seems to leave the paint clean. I have the Adam's Clay Mitt

https://adamspolishes.com/products/adam-s-clay-mitt?variant=19941491802209&country=US&currency=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&g_acctid=556-536-0373&g_adgroupid=170574821947&g_adid=713831310393&g_adtype=pla_with_promotion&g_campaign=BMG_Google_StandardShopping_AllProducts&g_campaignid=21705242346&g_ifcreative=&g_ifproduct=product&g_keyword=&g_keywordid=aud-856760290557la-294505072980&g_merchantid=103372428&g_network=g&g_partition=294505072980&g_productchannel=online&g_productid=shopify_US_2130342641761_1994149180220 9&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21705242346&gbraid=0AAAAADiMHkGqVAQEhJf7KusfZXqdWaH8p&gclid=CjwKCAjwsZPDBhBWEiwADuO6y9gU_5VYmRzn26hDx998 yLiV-rzlyOV-F6mjEO0eAOqdsv6YWxvd5hoC0CwQAvD_BwE

[masraum]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Yes, I have one that I use on my boat. Works well, just like the clay bar you can feel the difference in surface when completed. I can’t recall the brand, pretty sure I bought it on autogeek.

They're a pretty good source for car hygiene stuff. I got some waterless wash stuff from there.

[ramonesfreak]

yes they work awesome. you need to use a detail spray with them. i seem to go through them quick though, like 3 washings and then ready for a new one. can’t remember which brand i have out in garage

i can tell you my favorite detail spray by far is maguires ceramic detail spray,,,the green stuff.


after using the fake clay sponge thing, no way i would ever go back to using a real clay bar

[ramonesfreak]

checked my amazon orders. here’s what i got. also….those blue towels…woweee are they awesome.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by ramonesfreak

yes they work awesome. you need to use a detail spray with them. i seem to go through them quick though, like 3 washings and then ready for a new one. can’t remember which brand i have out in garage

i can tell you my favorite detail spray by far is maguires ceramic detail spray,,,the green stuff.


after using the fake clay sponge thing, no way i would ever go back to using a real clay bar

I don't trust that method when using clay. If I clay, mitt or bar, I first wash the car to remove all loose dirt. I use the 2 mitt process or I use a car duster that I adapted to a hose so that there is clean water constantly flowing outward wherever I wipe. I can regulate the flow and put car wash soap on it or just rinse.

Then using clay I run a trickle of water just next to it just as if I was wet sanding. These 2 things prevent picking up some debris and rubbing that all over until you lift and rinse your mitt, sponge or whatever you prefer as the medium to spread and scrub. I never go back and forth or round and round. Start at an edge and move to the end of the stroke and lift. The exception is when there is water flowing out of your scrubber (you can stick a hose in a mop style mitt). Then whichever direction you are going you are not transporting the last stroke's dirt across the next section.

I must have been 14 years old when I read in Road and Track about a Ferrari owner that used rolled diapers to clean his windshield. He turned the surface of his roll backwards as he swiped to pick up dirt to keep it from being trapped under the cloth. Maybe glass was softer then but he was concerned about micro scratches that created light refraction at night. I've used his principal for over 65 years. It has always made perfect sense. Don't rub dirt over dirt.

[ramonesfreak]

FYI i only use the fake clay sponge thing with detail spay only immediately AFTER I wash the car. for washing i use an adam’s polish 3.0 pressure washer with their best foam canon along with Adam’s soap, sometimes Chem Bros.

[onewhippedpuppy]

I hit a panel with a typical mit and rinseless wash, then the clay mit, and then I dry. Some of the clay mits are microfiber on one side, clay on the other, so you can flip it and expedite the process.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by ramonesfreak

FYI i only use the fake clay sponge thing with detail spay only immediately AFTER I wash the car. for washing i use an adam’s polish 3.0 pressure washer with their best foam canon along with Adam’s soap, sometimes Chem Bros.

Sounds good but you have to physically dislodge every bit that you can before the clay medium goes after the accumulation of micro environment on your paint. I don't mean to criticize your method.

I have never used a foam anything. I think I can understand the science behind foam being that it lubricates the surface as you lightly apply a microfiber mitt to agitate the dirt and get it in suspension. I see people power wash, apply foam and rinse w/o any agitation. To me that's a system developed for the lazy man.

If someone is using a foam system with no contact, you will end up moving around what's left on the surface with your drying towel. Which is another thing. I never dry in a circular motion. I often spread the drying towel out over as much area as it will cover and drag off in one motion. Flip it to do that again and use it after that for lower stuff and wheels. Not again on the paint.

I have seen what seems to be the "sacrificial" method of cloth washing in which many cloths are use in succession to be tossed in the to-be-washed bucket and using a fresh uncontaminated micro fiber wash cloth; maybe up to a dozen per small car and never bringing a cloth from a lower position to a higher one. Work down with gravity.

The last car I had that lived in the garage and was double covered first with very soft material, then soft rugs on the hood and deck for protection, and finally with a car cover. It did not get entirely washed for years at a time. I would wash the wheels and sometimes the valances if driven through a puddle. I didn't mind a light rain if it was already clean. I have been known to wash a car during a rain just to let rainwater do the rinse. But it doesn't rain here for 8 months a year. It's very dusty.

Anything left outside for hours gets dusty. I'm reluctant to use a duster but if the wax or ceramic is in great shape, a very light touch using a duster doesn't seem to do any harm. I follow that with a light detail spray and the aforementioned method of drying very carefully in one direction. I clean glass regularly (with foam!). It gets filmy no matter what. Our air quality is some of the poorest in the nation. It's full of sea salt, vehicle pollution and especially aircraft pollution living a mile from a major airport with up to 100 flights an hour. Nowadays I try to get outside work done by noon and then stay indoors where I have HEPA filter fans running 24/7.

[onewhippedpuppy]

I sometimes use a foam cannon but wash each panel with a mit after spraying the soap. Rinsing the mit in a 5 gallon bucket after each panel.

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

I sometimes use a foam cannon but wash each panel with a mit after spraying the soap. Rinsing the mit in a 5 gallon bucket after each panel.

You heathen! You're supposed to use a two bucket method where mitt goes into bucket one, to get dirt off, then into bucket two to rinse, then back to the car.

OH! And if you don't have a grit guard in the bottom of both buckets..... God help us all!

[rfuerst911sc]

Clay mitt it is . But a little confused on what slippery solution to use with it . Some say use regular car wash soap while others say use detailing wax spray . Big difference there . I would have assumed a soapy solution then rinse . Thoughts ?

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by cabmandone

You heathen! You're supposed to use a two bucket method where mitt goes into bucket one, to get dirt off, then into bucket two to rinse, then back to the car.

OH! And if you don't have a grit guard in the bottom of both buckets..... God help us all!

Take my man card! I do have a grit guard, so I’m 50% of the way there. Maybe if I was washing a GT3 instead of a Ram 1500…

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

Clay mitt it is . But a little confused on what slippery solution to use with it . Some say use regular car wash soap while others say use detailing wax spray . Big difference there . I would have assumed a soapy solution then rinse . Thoughts ?

I’m not sure you’d want to use it with a quick wax detailing type spray. Either a detail spray or car wash soap should give you plenty of lubrication. Most of the clay kits come with detail spray, I use it with rinseless wash.

[rfuerst911sc]

Shows you how far I am out of the loop , I don't know what detail spray is . Soapy water it is . Thanks everyone

[Cairo94507]

I have been using a clay-mitt for a long time. They work great. I always clean the car first to remove surface dirt/dust. I use the clay-mitt with PS Detail spray. I do one panel at a time then spray the panel with detail spray again and wipe it dry. The surface feels like glass when done. Now, full disclosure, I don't generally let my cars get that dirty and none of them sit outside.

[ramonesfreak]

i do not use it with a soapy solution unless i’m planning on washing/rinsing again otherwise you now have dried soap all over the car

i use the clay sponge thing as my last step…unless i am waxing/polishing

i’m not alone in using my favorite detail spray as the lubricant during this clay sponge step. i basically use the clay sponge to apply my detail spray and when i dry/wipe off the detail spray i’m done and it feels perfect

you can easily feel the clay sponge knock off little contaminants

you will go through a bottle of detail spray pretty quick though but soap? nope

[ramonesfreak]

btw, there is no right or wrong way to do it..only the way you think is best

I basically do what this woman is doing at 10:40....except I do a small area and dry/wipe off lube before moving on...and I prefer my ceramic green stuff