anyone tried this?

[highlander]

instead of clay and have an opinion?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CLAY-CLOT...ssories_Car_Care_Cleaning&hash=item3a8dbeaa04

 

[CatmanV2]

Got very interesting reviews for something similar on one of the detailing forums. I'd already bought some clay, so stuck with it. Found it quite easy. There was not as much crud as I expected on the paintwork. Might give the whole car a proper clear this weekend.

C

 

[FF1078]

I've bought one but not used it yet so can't comment, sorry

 

[Felonious Crud]

Thanks for posting this. Read this review http://www.detailingworld.com/forum/showthread.php?t=318031 and ordered from eBay.

 

[Andyk]

Friends just ordered one so will see how he gets on.

 

[highlander]

Thanks for posting this. Read this review http://www.detailingworld.com/forum/showthread.php?t=318031 and ordered from eBay.

nice find adam. the guys on there seem to know their stuff and seem pretty upbeat about the cloth v clay.

 

[highlander]

just ordered one to use once she comes back from the bodyshop to get the stone chips fixed.

 

[Felonious Crud]

It seems to offer the benefits / finish of clay but with less work. I've also ordered some Swissvax cleaning / conditioning stuff and am quite looking forward to giving it all a spin later this week.

 

[safrane]

Cant believe how much Swisvax prices have gone up...spent about £300 when I got my first 4200, and still have some left...just checked on their site and its over £500 to get the same items now!

 

[highlander]

It seems to offer the benefits / finish of clay but with less work. I've also ordered some Swissvax cleaning / conditioning stuff and am quite looking forward to giving it all a spin later this week.

looked at swissvax but cannot justify the £££ when I still have autoglym left to use.........might not be as good but will think on "better" product when AG is finished.......I am scottish after all!

 

[Felonious Crud]

I use Swissvax Autobahn (which is excellent) for the wheels and have the conditiony stuff on order. Autoglym HD wax seems pretty good. I'm concerned that I might be seduced into expensive detailing products if I'm not careful!

 

[highlander]

I use Swissvax Autobahn (which is excellent) for the wheels and have the conditiony stuff on order. Autoglym HD wax seems pretty good. I'm concerned that I might be seduced into expensive detailing products if I'm not careful!

know what you mean.........could be so easy with all the threads on here on cleaning/detailing...........

 

[Felonious Crud]

Be strong, Greg!

 

[Felonious Crud]

Tried this today and am hugely impressed. I need to state that I have never used clay before so can't offer any kind of direct comparison, but testing the smoothness of the paint using a piece of clingfilm over my finger showed a massive difference. The paint wasn't too mountainous before using the cloth but afterwards it is completely smooth. The car has never looked as clean and shiny as it does now and the (admittedly) faint swirl marks on the bonnet and boot seem to have disappeared.

So what did I do:

- Quick wash (the car only had 30 miles on it since the last wash) with Maguiars gold wash and a wash-mitt
- Dried it with a drying cloth (just to stop the water staining if I let it dry naturally while I did the clay-clothing)
- Used some very dilute Maguiars to wet the car using the microfibre side of the clay-cloth
- Folded the cloth twice and let the weight of the cloth do the work, moving it up and down in straight lines, frequently turning the cloth to use the clean rubberised side and with regular sloshings round in the bucket of water / Maguiars to keep it clean
- With the entire car "clayed" I hosed it off, dried it again and used some Swissvax paint conditioner to give the paint a final clean and condition prior to
- Autoglym HDing the whole thing.

Looks superb. Probably took 3 or 4 hours.

 

[Woody]

I need to take a long look at myself here.....but I'll ask anyway....do you have any before/after shots? I quite enjoy claying my car but really dont get the time at the moment.

 

[Felonious Crud]

For the same reason you hesitated asking, Woody... no. I decided that would be a step too far. But it does look a load better and was so easy and fast to do. I could have saved time by not doing the Swissvax conditioning thing afterwards but I wanted to apply some nourishment to the paint. One of the reviews I read of the cloth on a detailing form (I know! I know! I WILL NOT make a habit of that kind of thing) said that the cloth is faster than clay because you don't have to clean the mess off afterwards. It's also faster because the area in contact with the paint is so much bigger - a 5"x5" square of rubber instead of a smaller lump of clay. Also, if you drop the cloth you just rinse it rather than chuck it in the bin.

I'll give Mrs. N's Verso a go with it. That'll be the real test.

 

[Woody]

Also, if you drop the cloth you just rinse it rather than chuck it in the bin.

Dont ever write that on a detailing forum, they'll hunt you down!

So how does it work re small inclusions? They say never to use a sponge in case a small bit of grit gets caught in the sponge, but what about this? You get a small inclusion in the cloth, doesn't it then scratch the paint?

 

[Contigo]

Ok so I mentioned these to my Detailing pro friend who has been sent some of these to try and this is his response.

"I've been sent a few to try so far, I'd only use one if machine polishing the car - they leave all sorts of marring and micro scratches when you see it under bright lights etc - I'll show you some pics from a focus I did last week"

 

[Felonious Crud]

Dont ever write that on a detailing forum, they'll hunt you down!

So how does it work re small inclusions? They say never to use a sponge in case a small bit of grit gets caught in the sponge, but what about this? You get a small inclusion in the cloth, doesn't it then scratch the paint?

The idea is that by rinsing often any odd bits of grits are simply washed off, same as picking them out of the clay or turning the clay over. I suspect my car wasn't that bad because although there was some "noise" from using the cloth it wasn't quite the alarming roughness I had expected.

Ok so I mentioned these to my Detailing pro friend who has been sent some of these to try and this is his response.

"I've been sent a few to try so far, I'd only use one if machine polishing the car - they leave all sorts of marring and micro scratches when you see it under bright lights etc - I'll show you some pics from a focus I did last week"

Interesting. Mine certainly came up better - the swirl marks were gone, the surface smoother and the wax was far easier to apply than previously. So without shining big bright lights on it the difference was appreciable. I'll go outside in the dark later with an LED torch and have a look, see if I can see any marring. It's quite possible that cloths from different companies differ. Mine was a Magic Clay Cloth - blue microfibre with a vulcanised rubber backing as per the link at the top of the email. It wasn't the one reviewed on Detailing World, which they liked a lot.

Interested to see what others think. I'd be particularly interested to see a comparison between clay and cloth on the same car.

 

[2b1ask1]

Hmm... I'm with Woody here; when you clay a car with heavy contamination, this is often iron filings fuzed on the surface (particularly if you are anywhere near to heavy industry, power stations or inter-city railway lines). When claying these can be heard to detach often with a distinct click! a seasoned pro will immediately lift the clay off and remove said filing before it can cause scratching; With clay, working a smaller area and taking your time is the key to success, get c0cky and try and do half the roof in one go only at your own peril!!!

Don't know about these cloths, I suppose they are going to work a little like a pencil eraser...