How to use Car Detailing Clay

There's a new car cleaning product in town and it is about to become one of the staple weapons in the car owners arsenal in the fight against the dirt found on the car.


I am talking about detailing clay. Detailing clay is used for removing what's known as bonded contaminants from your paintwork.

You might find that after washing your car, although it looks all clean and shiny, it actually feels kind of rough or bubbly to the touch. The next time you wash your car, once it is dry, try running your hand gently over the paintwork. Does it feel a bit rough to the touch? Those are the contaminants left behind after the washing process that have bonded to your car's paintwork. They could come from anywhere and include things such as break dust and other airborne contaminants encountered while driving, tree sap or bird droppings etc.

Detailing clay has been developed to remove the above contaminants from your car's bodywork to leave it as smooth as glass. In fact, you can also use detailing clay on your glass work and wheels. One word of caution though, use a different one for each, the last thing you want is for the brake dust that has been removed from your wheels and transferred to the clay to then scratch your paintwork.

So how do you go about using detailing clay?

Well, just to re-iterate, a detailing clay is all about removing dirt that ordinary washing leaves behind. It should leave you with a smooth to the touch finish that can then be polished, waxed and sealed. Simply waxing your car straight after waxing will simply wax over those hard to remove contaminants.

If you are new to using detailing clay, you need to ensure that you start off with a gentle one, as they are available in different grades depending on how stubborn the contaminants are on your paintwork. The least aggressive clays should be adequate enough for most people. Only move onto a more aggressive grade if you have demonstrated your current clay is not up to the task.

The detailing clay works by simply pulling off the dirt particles which are then held onto by the clay. It is important to note here that you use detailing clay along with a suitable lubricant. It is also necessary to knead the clay to move the contaminants that have been removed from your car from the surface of the clay. If you don't do this, or you don't use enough lubricant then you could cause marring on the surface of your paintwork. If after properly kneading the clay you can no longer see a clean surface to use then the clay should be discarded and a new piece used.

Examples of lubricants that you may want to consider can be found by manufacturers such as Autoglym, Meguiars, Clearkote and Pinnacle, and there are others.

You should constantly knead the clay while you are using it to ensure that it remains soft and warm. When it goes cold, it may become brittle and it will not be effective in lifting off the contaminants from the paintwork. This could also leave surface marring.

Work on small areas of the car body at a time, say one panel at a time. Wet the surface thoroughly with your lubricant and then gently work the clay over the surface. Use only light finger pressure. Don't press on too hard. Let the clay do the work.

Don't use the clay on dry panels, if the lubricant dries before you get to a bit, spray on some more. Once you are happy that the surface is smooth, wipe off any clay left behind with a soft cloth.

Finally remember that the claying process will also remove any previously applied layers of wax, so you should always follow the claying process with polishing, waxing and sealing.

A number of manufacturers are starting to produce detailing clays along with their corresponding lubricants. They vary in grades and price.