Meguiar's makes many great products, but does the Meguiars clay bar
really stack up against the competition?
When it comes to detailing clay or surface preparation bars for your cars paint, it is an area that does not have to be over-thought.
Just like every other area of life, not all things are created equal, and clay bars are no exception.
Endless Voices, Endless Choices
Choosing the best clay bar will have your brain on sensory overload due to the endless choices available.
The good news is that when choosing from the endless choices in detailing clay, you really don't have to over-think this choice.
Information is KING!
As I said at the beginning, detailing clay is not an area of the detailing process that needs to be over-thought so long as you understand that it is a critical part of the detailing process and car paint care specifically. For a comprehensive Q and A session on detailing clay, you can see my clay bar car page.
Does Meguiars Clay Bar Really Work
The simple answer is Yes! The more complex answer is also answered if you dig deeper into this page.
Despite what I have said about detailing clay not needing to be
over-thought, I am going to apply some additional tips that will help
you in making the best decision when it comes to detailing clay for you
and your world.
While searching for hours for the best detailing clay is
not required, the actual detailing clay itself is only part
of the equation when it comes to the actual process of prepping your
car for wax or polish by removing the contaminants from your car paint.
Let's Simply The Moment....
Preparing the surface of your car paint is a critical part of keeping your car's paint healthy and beautiful.
Every car will have some form or level of surface contaminants that will diminish the look and feel of your car paint; yes, even that brand new car you just drove home from the dealer with!
Normal
washing and waxing will not remove these airborne pollutants that
attach to the surface of your car and begin to embed themselves into the
paint, glass, or chrome the longer they remain around.
Use of
detailing clay will not only be required initially as a first time
process, but as ongoing maintenance of your cars paint. Air is filled
with pollution so your car's paint will constantly be under attack and
will accumulate levels of pollutants as time goes on. Fear not though as
once you have removed all traces of fall-out (pollution) from your
car's paint, maintaining it will be very minimal. Depending on the area
you live and the condition you maintain your car, using detailing clay
may be as frequent as every other month to once a year and will be a
very straight-forward process.
Whether you choose the Meguiars
clay bar or any other form of detailing clay you will need to use on a
freshly washed car and the surface will require some form of clay
lubricant to keep lubrication between the car paint and the clay bar as
you rub the detailing clay back and forth across the car paint.
Welcome to Clay Bar Kits...
Due
to the fact that every clay bar including Meguiars clay bar will
require some form of lubricant during use, I recommend
shopping one of the clay bar kits below as it is a convenient and
economical way to accomplish what you are going to have to do and get
anyways:
If you get the Clay Magic clay bar by itself you
will still be required to get some form of lubricant in order to use the
detailing clay.
We have concluded that unless you are a
professional detailer (which you would not be reading this anyways), the
actual clay bar choice is not that critical. But if you are going to be
getting some version of detailing clay, you might as well do it in a
way that makes sense...and this is where clay bar kits come into the picture.
Chemical Guy's is consider by most professionals as enthusiast grade to professional grade.
Chemical Guy's is preferred by many as the next level of performance with what is called enthusiast grade.
Excellent reviews just like the Meguiars clay bar
Meguiars Clay Bar Tips
Let's recap what you should be taking away from the info I have laid out for you on this page:
Using detailing clay to prepare your cars paint prior to waxing or polishing is not an option; your end results will be either better or worse depending on whether you choose to ignore this step or not.
Unless you are a professional detailer and you plan on doing hundreds of cars, you don't need to over-think which clay bar choice you actually make.
Since you will need to use some form of lubricant in order to use the detailing clay, you might as well choose among the clay bar kits.
Any of the kits above will deliver exceptional results and only you can ultimately decide for yourself which is the best fit for you.
If you have never tried detailing clay and therefore have never experienced the end results of a car that has been freshly clayed and wax, you are in for a real treat!
Follow the manufacturers instructions whether you choose Meguiars clay bar or not.
I hope you are now a more informed car owner and consumer.
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Using these links does not cost you anything. All reviews found on this website are based on real-world experience and are not affected by any commissions I get paid as an Amazon affiliate.