New guy question to clay bar

[cubsfaninsc]

Sorry guys if this something obvious, but I just got a 2019 Laramie Crew Cab, and have ordered a ton of cleaning supplies to keep this beauty shining. I have the Chemical Guys OG clay bar and lube, but I have never clay barred a vehicle before. The bar seems pretty small, I know I need to tear off a piece and knead it into a disc to do the truck, but how many uses can I get out of the whole clay bar? I need to do my wife's 2015 Impala LTZ also, I just think that I am not going to be able to do the whole truck and have any left for her car.

 

[Moparian]

Sorry guys if this something obvious, but I just got a 2019 Laramie Crew Cab, and have ordered a ton of cleaning supplies to keep this beauty shining. I have the Chemical Guys OG clay bar and lube, but I have never clay barred a vehicle before. The bar seems pretty small, I know I need to tear off a piece and knead it into a disc to do the truck, but how many uses can I get out of the whole clay bar? I need to do my wife's 2015 Impala LTZ also, I just think that I am not going to be able to do the whole truck and have any left for her car.

Claybar is good for multiple uses on multiple cars but if you drop it on the ground it is worthless. I normally use the whole bar but recently I got a clay sponge which has a hand grip and is much easier to use. Regardless keep the area you are claying well lubed, fold the clay over when it starts to look dirty and don't do it in the sun. Then you can wash and wax. Personally I would use something like Iron-X or similar to remove most of the rail dust and brake dust from the surface, then clay and finally wash and wax.

 

[IceStormz]

Sorry guys if this something obvious, but I just got a 2019 Laramie Crew Cab, and have ordered a ton of cleaning supplies to keep this beauty shining. I have the Chemical Guys OG clay bar and lube, but I have never clay barred a vehicle before. The bar seems pretty small, I know I need to tear off a piece and knead it into a disc to do the truck, but how many uses can I get out of the whole clay bar? I need to do my wife's 2015 Impala LTZ also, I just think that I am not going to be able to do the whole truck and have any left for her car.

I would start practicing on the Impala to get a better feel of how much lubricant and how quickly the bar gets degraded. I would watch a video by ChrisFix on super detailing your car which is posted below if permitted...

It's how I learned how to claybar and no regrets. I would also pick up a "clay mitt". Not as detailed, but quick way to detail the entire truck.

 

[badpewterz]

You'd be surprised how far it'll go if the truck isn't to bad. Just fold and knead as it gets dirty
I used 1/2 a adams bar on this mess for reference
this was just from one door. Needed front brakes bad!

 

[z0n3]

I used this product when claying my truck to prep it for applying Gtechniq ceramic coating. Worked great and so much easier than typical clay.

 

[Rototerrier]

I use Georgia Red Clay. Truck gets covered in it. Good stuff. Really makes my truck look like a truck.

 

[agjr85]

just make sure to get a very light clay bar. You don't want an aggressive one if you aren't going to follow up with polishing.

 

[cubsfaninsc]

I got the truck done, but man, getting the entire roof done was a task! I'm 6'1" and still had troubles reaching the entire roof!

But the wife's Impala looks amazing! It is a 2015 LTZ and has never been clay barred. After I completely detailed and put a few coats of wax on, it looks like it just came off the showroom when we bought it!

 

[scottmoyer]

I remember back in the late 90s and early 2000s, everybody was raving about how wonderful Zaino was. The car community was raving over how it made the car shine. I argued that Zaino didn't make the car shine as much as the fact that their process required clayying the car first and that was what brought out the shine. I had just as good a shine, or better using Meguiar's and 3M products.

When I clay my cars, I wash it first, then use the wash mitt to keep the area lubricated while I clay. I never understood the process of washing the car, drying the car, using detail spray and clayying each panel, washing the car agin to remove clay residue, drying the car again, then compounding, washing, drying again.

My process is wash, clay, dry, compound, wash, dry and polish. That's only if it needs compound. Otherwise, it's wash, clay, dry and polish.