What Is Car Detailing Clay?
When you go to get your car detailed or look up detailing services online, you might see something about how detailers will use a clay bar on your car. In fact, detailing clay is one of the most important tools that is available to car detailers and they use it almost every time they detail a car.
But, what is car detailing clay and what is it used for? A lot of people, especially those unfamiliar with cars, probably do not know what the purpose of clay is. If you are one of those people who are curious about why car detailers use clay, then this short post should help you understand just how important clay is for the detailing process.
What is Car Detailing Clay?
We all know what clay is, it’s that material you can build and shape into little sculptures. But, what exactly does it have to do with car detailing?
Well, clay bars, which are made either from naturally clay or synthetic clay (more and more body shops are switching to synthetic clay), are blocks of hardened clay that have been designed to pick up various kinds of particles, specifically dirt, rocks, dust, and the remains of bugs.
What is it Used For?
So, when a detailer washes your car they get much of the contaminants off the car. But, much of the time, simply washing a car with soap and water is not enough to get rid of all the dirt and debris on the car.
Before a detailer can move on, they need to get rid of the dirt and debris. If they do not get rid of it, when they go to the buff and polish the car, they risk grinding pieces of dirt and debris into the car’s finish. Very often, this dirt is so small that it is actually difficult to see with your eyes.
There is a test you can do at home that will show you just how much small debris is on your car’s finish. Take a medium sized sandwich bag and put it over your hand, then run your hand across the car, you will likely feel small bumps on your car’s finish; that is microscopic dirt that the clay will get rid of.
So, what a detailer will do is take the clay bar and use it much like you would use any other cleaning tool. They will slowly glide the clay bar across the surface of the car and will pick up any leftover debris that they did not get when they first cleaned the car.
The clay bar will be given some lubricant first, to enhance its ability to pick up debris and to help glide across the car easier.
Why Clay?
You may be wondering why they use clay instead of just blasting it with more water or wiping it with a towel. Well, clay is useful because it is not very abrasive. Which means that it is unlikely to scratch or otherwise damage the car’s finish.
For more info on clay bar treatments and full service detailing fell free to check us out at https://detailingsyndicate.com/nm/mobile-auto-detailing-albuquerque/
via The Detailing Syndicate https://detailingsyndicate.com/what-is-car-detailing-clay/
