New to claying, good starter kit?

So, I've decided to listen to y'all and clay my '09 GTI before I seal and wax it :thumb: It'll be a couple weeks before I get around to doing it, but I figured I'd ask now while I'm thinking about it. I've never clayed anything in my life, but it's obviously very beneficial so I figured now is the time to learn. I don't want to start out with anything too expensive, money is a bit tight now. I'm looking for a good starter kit, preferably OTC. I've heard that the Megs Clay Kit is good, as is the Clay Magic kit. The biggest thing I'm looking for though, is the clay cannot mar my paint. I don't do paint correction, so I'm trying to keep my paint free from marring. There shouldn't be too many contaminants on my GTI, it's only got 7,780ish miles on it, most of those in-town, and I generally keep the car very clean.

Thanks,

Clark

 

Hi Clark,
You will never feel a smoother finish after claying. To be honest, I am still using the same exact Mothers claybar that I bought some 6 years ago. It hasnt marred the finish yet! I am sure there are better clays on the market, but just as long as you use a good amount of QD as a lubricant you will be blown away by the results. The Mothers, Claymagic or Meguires you can buy from either our board sponsers or PEP boys will blow you away. You will run the back of your hand over the car EVERYTIME you walk past it.

By the way, I love your car. What color is it?

Joe D.

 

Go to pepboys and buy the Meguiars kit.

Youre going to kick yourself for asking so many questions once you see how easy it is.

 

A Max405 said, any OTC stuff will work. I prefer the CM Blue. Just use a good amount of lube to keep everything wet and gently rub, dont scrub, the clay across the paint until you can feel it gliding effortlessly.

 

my big tip is to spend the $20 on some optimum No rinse.

Use that as lube as per the dilution ratio it says for clay lubricant on the container. and there you go... unlimited clay lube! much more economical this way. a single 8oz tiny bottle (i'd buy the 16 at least) can give you 16 cars worth of lube.

I use a LOT of it when I clay. With the lube being so cheap this way, I just spray like crazy. if the clay sticks, you mar the paint. Now that I am used to this method, I couldn't handle just a bottle of the kit's quick detailer.

of course, make sure you wash the car really well...get all the bugs and tar off before you clay it...this will extend the life of your claybar quite a bit! and put it in the shade!

After that, just go anal about it...look closely at the finish and get all the iron fallout (brown rust spots) out of the paint with yoru clay. There's very few things that itch my OCD better than a fallout-free white paint job!

 

Anything you can get OTC is going to be pretty mild and safe (unless on the box it does say aggressive). I recommend the claymagic kit.

 

Thanks for all the tips so far! To answer your question Joe...my car is Tornado Red.

Here it is after I cleaned it up for prom, next to my Beetle (currently getting prepped for a cheapo paintjob)
My camera makes it look like it's a slightly different color


Oops, I just realized I posted this in the wrong place...

 

Oh Man, I love it. I'd get one of those in a heartbeat. Eventually i'll need a new car to drive on a daily basis and I think that is perfect. Great color. I like all the colors, as long as the calipers are red. Very Sharp car.

thanks for sharing!
Joe D.

 

Wellll I bought the Meguiar's Smooth Surface Clay Kit, I figure it's a good place to start out. It'll be a couple weeks before I try it out, I'll update y'all on how it goes.

 

Mkay, I clayed it last Saturday...and y'all were right, it's SO easy! I used up most of the Quick Detailer that they gave me in the kit though, I'm gonna order some ONR at some point so I can see how amazing it really is. Maybe I'll post a picture of it later, my camera is nothing special so it doesn't look that different from normal.

 

Just an fyi. Mothers kit is usually cheaper and contains 160grams of clay vs megs 100 grams. Not a big diffderence but hey more is more and I found them both to perform about the same.