With all the new products coming to the market last few years, it seems as though clay bars are becoming used less and less, especially with the enthusiasts and weekend warriors.\u00a0 Some have asked about their use and I wanted to quickly touch on it in this article.<\/p>\n
Some of the new products that are making decontamination easier come in chemical form whereas others simply make the mechanical removal of contamination easier.<\/p>\n
One of the most popular and my favorite chemical product is CarPro Iron X<\/a> (also available in Cherry Scent<\/a>).\u00a0 It is an iron remover that is very effective but also safe for the vehicle’s finish.\u00a0 Aside from really cleaning up the paintwork, it’s great to use on wheels to eliminate embedded brake dust.\u00a0 Iron X is extremely easy to use and it makes any further decontamination a breeze.\u00a0 Other great products include CarPro Tar X<\/a> and Stoner Tarminator<\/a>, which make removing tar a breeze.\u00a0 Even old, dried up tar that has been sitting on the paint for months will be removed completely or for the most part utilizing these products.\u00a0 My go-to tar remover is Tarminator, but I have enjoyed using Tar X many times.\u00a0 CarPro TRIX<\/a> is also a good product for someone who doesn’t want to buy both Iron X and something like Tar X, but I find the individual products perform better and give quicker results.<\/p>\n The other products I mentioned are used by hand to mechanically remove contamination.\u00a0 Such products include the SM Arnold Speedy Surface Prep Towe<\/a>l and Pad<\/a>, Optimum Opti-Eraser<\/a> and NanoSkin AutoScrub Fine Wash Mitt<\/a>.\u00a0 My favorite product however is the NanoSkin AutoScrub Fine Foam Pad<\/a> used with the NanoSkin Glide<\/a> lubricant.\u00a0 All of these products are meant to remove contamination much faster and easier than a clay bar.\u00a0 As mentioned, I prefer the pads instead of towels as I find they are much easier to hold and control whereas the towels can start folding over as you’re wiping a panel and that gets quite annoying after a while.\u00a0 The pads are also usable with a polisher such as the PC 7424 XP<\/a> or the Griot’s Garage 6″ polisher<\/a>.\u00a0 While I always use the pads by hand, the option to use with machine can make the process much easier and quicker for some individuals.<\/p>\n So, with all these products (some I haven’t even mentioned because they are very similar to the ones above), can we realistically say goodbye to the old, trusty clay bars?\u00a0 In my opinion, no.\u00a0 Reason being, many times we encounter contamination that is either too much for the newer methods to handle or simply takes too long compared to using a clay bar.\u00a0 One example is when some larger contaminants (dried up tar, tree sap, etc) really get into the paint and require quite a bit of scrubbing with something like the AutoScrub pads.\u00a0 This tends to take a while, but my main concern is always that it starts to really take a toll on my $50 investment!\u00a0 In such cases, I will reach for my trusty Clay Magic Blue<\/a> or Red<\/a> clay bar and eliminate the contamination rather quickly.\u00a0 This allows me to preserve my pads for the lighter contamination where it is much quicker than using a clay bar.\u00a0 Other situations where a clay bar has come in handy is removing paint transfer, usually from scuffs on a vehicle’s bumpers.\u00a0 Here I find that the newer prep pads and towels can’t do much work and not nearly as quick as a clay bar, so it’s surely a must having a few bars around.<\/p>\n