Detailing a car appearance properly means you need to do a little more than the typical wash and wax job. A clay bar treatment is a good help for taking car shiny to a higher level or restore an old car’s paint.  But what is a clay car treatment? Did the clay bar can remove scratches from your car’s paint?

What is clay bar treatment ?

There’s a lot of dirt and dust that have a handy way of sticking to your car’s paint as you drive around, although you might not be able to see all of the contaminants with your naked eye. A clay bar treatment is when a piece of clay bar is used to remove contaminants from the surface of your paint and keep your paint looking a lot cleaner afterward.

How does the clay bar process work?

There are plenty of clay bar treatments in the market today, however, they all follow the same basic process when it comes to their application. Most clay bar kits will come with a clay bar and some kind of synthetic lubricant to move it around your car’s paint.

As far as the actual clay bar process, here are the basic steps:

• Wash and dry your car thoroughly
• Remove the clay bar and separate it into halves or quarters (you won’t need all of it,a little piece like palm size is enough for a time)
• Work the clay with your fingers and make a small, flat disc out of it
• Pick out a small section of your car to work on first (hood, fender, etc.)
• Spray the section liberally with a clear water or clay lube
• Lightly glide the clay over the lubricated surface in a back-and-forth motion
• Wipe off the excess detail spray with a microfiber towel
• Fold the clay over itself and work it with your hand to flatten it out and reveal a cleaner portion of it
• Continue the same process until the rest of the car is completely clayed
• Be sure to wax, polish, or ceramic coat your car’s paint afterward for extra protection

Just remember that if you end up dropping the clay on the ground or setting it down in a dirty area, you’ll have to throw it out and use a new, clean piece. The dirt that can stick to the clay could end up scratching your car.

Clay bar Luber

While there are many clay bar treatments to choose from online or at your local auto parts store, there is also the option for using a clay bar luber. One specific alternative is the NORTH WOLF clay bar luber, which uses a special polymer blend that can be used with a quick detailer lubricant or even just soapy water. It’s also more ergonomic and larger than the pieces of clay that you would normally use, which makes claying your car a lot easier and quicker.

Can a clay bar treatment remove scratches from your car’s paint?

While a clay bar treatment can remove contaminants like bird droppings, tree sap, paint overspray, and brake dust, it cannot remove actual scratches in the paint because it doesn’t contain any abrasives. In order to remove scratches, you would need to use a scratch remover or some type of rubbing compound.  

When should you clay bar your car ?

A clay bar is used primarily when your decontaminating the car, truck, SUV, or other vehicle. It’s intended to remove embedded debris that is stuck in those tiny imperfections found in all materials that are porous in nature (meaning has tiny peaks and valleys). While you should clay bar your car before applying any sort of paint protection coating, you should consider doing it for other reasons as well.