A lot of new auto detailers are sometimes afraid to do mechanical paint decontamination because of the fear that the clay bar will scratch the paint and damage the clear coat.
In this post, I’ll show you how clay bar affects car paint, whether it damages the paint, and what you can do about it.
Key Takeaways:
- A clay bar won’t damage the car’s paint or clear coat if it’s used properly.
- Clay bar treatment usually only leaves light marring that’s fixed by polishing a car.
- Not all clay bars are of the same abrasiveness level.
Does Clay Bar Damage The Clear Coat
If you clay your car correctly, the clay bar won’t damage the clear coat. Clay bar is made to mechanically remove contaminants without damaging the car’s paint.
So, with that said, the clay bar does not damage your car’s clear coat.
The clay bar is abrasive, removing contaminants (tar, overspray, rail dust, honey due, tree sap, etc.) from the car’s paint.
There are three grades of clay bars: fine, medium, and heavy-duty. You should always use the least abrasive one. That’s enough to remove all the contaminants from the car’s paint.
When removing contaminants, the clay bar is gentle enough to remove them without damaging the clear coat.
However, clay barring your vehicle may cause some marring on the paint, which are tiny imperfections that you can barely see. But even that won’t happen every time.
If the marring still appears, you can quickly fix it by polishing your vehicle. Even though it’s not necessary to polish your car after claying it, I highly suggest it.
A clay bar can be tricky to use on touched-up paint, and it may remove it if you’re not gentle enough. So, be careful when claying the car that has a lot of touch-ups (it’ usually on the hood and the roof).
Clay Bar Impact on Waxes and Sealants
Even though the clay bar is gentle enough not to damage the car’s clear coat, it’s still an abrasive product.
If your clay bar the car with waxes or sealants applied, using the clay bar will remove them. Actually, many people use clay bars in order to remove sealants, which are a bit harder to remove than natural car waxes.
When claying the car with paint protection on it, you’ll need to re-apply it to keep the paint protected after the clay bar treatment.
So, if you want to keep car waxes and sealants on your car, you shouldn’t use a clay bar on the vehicle.
Using Clay Bar on Ceramic-Coated Vehicles
Even though ceramic coatings are much more resistant than waxes and sealants, clay, barring your vehicle, will still remove them.
Sometimes, claying your vehicle won’t be enough to remove ceramic coatings from the car’s paint altogether, but it will undoubtedly take off most of it.
Honestly, I don’t see a point in claying your car if it has a ceramic coating applied. Ceramic coating is highly hydrophobic, which prevents contaminants from bonding to the paint.
The same situation is with waxes and sealants. They’re made to protect the paint from contaminants and other external factors that may damage the paint. If you regularly wash and protect your vehicle, there’s little chance the contaminants will bond to the paint.
But if you still get some contaminants on the car with ceramic coating, wax, or sealant applied, you should remove them by using an iron remover and a tar remover.
That way, you’ll successfully remove contaminants without physically touching the paint.
Tips To Prevent Paint Damage When Using Clay Bar
As always, I have some fantastic tips for you. I don’t want you to cause any damage when claying your vehicle. So, to prevent paint damage when claying your car, follow the tips below.
1. Only Clay Your Car When Necessary
First things first, never use a clay bar if your car doesn’t really need it. If the paint is not contaminated, there’s no point in claying your vehicle. Remember that clay bars are abrasive, and they may mar the paint if used when not needed or improperly.
To check if your car needs claying, do the baggie test:
- Wrap your fingers in a plastic bag.
- Run with your fingers on the paint.
- If the paint feels rough, it needs claying.
- If the paint feels smooth, you shouldn’t clay the vehicle.
Also, if you want, you can try chemical decontamination first. There are some fantastic products, such as CARPRO IronX Iron Remover: Stops Rust Spots and Pre-Mature Failure of The Clear Coat, Iron..., that’ll chemically remove contamination from your car.
2. Use The Least Abrasive Type of Clay Bar
If you’re a complete beginner, you’ll probably have problems choosing the right clay bar for your vehicle.
Always start with the finest clay bar. Most cars aren’t heavily contaminated, and the fine clay bar will do the job.
But if you have a car with neglected paint, you should go with a medium clay bar that will successfully remove all the contaminants.
A heavy-duty clay bar is used only for highly contaminated vehicles, and you probably won’t need it.
3. Use Lots of Clay Bar Lubricant
One way to ruin your car’s paint when claying is not to use any or enough lubricant.
Whenever you’re claying your vehicle, you should use plenty of clay bar lubricants. That way, the clay bar will smoothly remove contaminants, and the chances of damaging the paint are highly reduced.
If you’re afraid of using too much lubricant, don’t worry. It’s not possible. Using more lubricant may only have some benefits, except that you’ll spend a bit more money.
4. Keep Your Clay Bar Clean
The most common mistake people make is using a dirty clay bar. A dirty clay bar will damage the paint on your vehicle.
If you accidentally drop the clay bar on the ground, throw it away immediately. It’ll probably pick up some debris, and if you continue working with it, you’ll scratch the paint.
Also, when you clay one panel of your car, make sure to fold over the clay bar and knead it. That way, you’ll always have a clean clay bar to work with.
5. Work In Straight Lines
I often see people doing circular motions with clay bars. That’s a recipe for disaster. You should always do straight line moves when claying your car. That way, you’ll prevent scratching the clear coat.
Aside from that, don’t apply too much pressure. Be gentle.
6. Don’t Overuse Clay Bar On The Car
You should only do one pass with a clay bar per car body part. There’s no need to clay the same part more than once.
If the clay bar couldn’t remove some contaminants, that’s a sign that your car needs compounding and polishing to remove them. If you force using a clay bar continuously, you’ll scratch the paint.
Conclusion
As you can see above, the clay bar is safe for your car’s paint and clear coat. Of course, if you use it properly, and only if necessary.
If you’re serious about detailing your car, you’ll always polish it after claying, even if there’s no marring left after the clay bar treatment. And that’s my suggestion.
Just don’t finish like this guy that ruined his car with clay bar.
Clay bar treatment is a fantastic way of bringing your car shine and paint smoothness back. Just make sure to use it properly.
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