Bought a cheap clay bar kit off Amazon just to prove it was all hype...

Three passes on my hood last weekend pulled out so much embedded grime I could actually feel the difference with my bare hand, and now I'm ordering the proper stuff from a real brand - has anyone else had that wake up call with a budget detailing product?

4 comments

4 Comments

owens.anthony1mo ago

Honestly that first cheap kit is a trap but it works as a gateway drug for real. I grabbed a $12 one off Amazon thinking it was all gimmicks too, then after three passes on my driver's side door the white clay was literally brown with grime I never even saw. The smoothness after was unreal, like the paint went from rough sandpaper to glass in one afternoon. Now I'm using the professional grade stuff and the difference is night and day. Once you feel that real slick surface and see how much faster the good clay works, you can never go back to the cheap stuff.

charles6401mo ago

...and the thing is, that first gritty feel is actually sort of a good sign in a way. It means the clay is actually doing its job and dragging contaminants out of the pores, but the cheap kits typically use a much harsher grade of clay that can leave micro-marring in the clear coat if you're not careful. People get excited about the brown grime on the bar and think it's all good, but they don't realize they might be scratching up the paint a little while they're at it. A good-quality medium or fine grade clay from a real brand will still pull out that embedded stuff, but it'll glide smoother and leave less cleanup work behind. Sounds like you're on the right path with the proper order, just make sure you're using plenty of lubricant and folding the bar often to avoid dragging the junk back across the paint.

rileygarcia1mo ago

Nah, that gritty feel is just the clay scratching your clear coat, not cleaning it lol.

carter.joseph1mo ago

Oh man, that exact same thing happened to me like two months ago. I got one of those cheap kits that comes with a brick of clay and a tiny spray bottle of lube, and I figured I'd just prove to my buddy that clay bars were overhyped nonsense. After one pass on my roof I was literally wiping brown sludge off the bar and feeling the paint go from rough to baby butt smooth. I actually texted him a picture of the dirty clay with a "okay I was wrong" caption. But yeah, I noticed after the second car I did that the cheap stuff left some weird hazy spots I had to polish out. The good clay from a real brand just glides so much nicer and doesn't fight you the whole time. It's wild how that $12 lesson ends up costing you more in the long run when you factor in the extra work.