Honda Car Forum

Why is detailing spray recommended for the lubrication of a clay bar?
It is very watery and not very slippery. Zaino suggests that you can
also use car wash in a more concentrated form. I've tried this, and it
feels much better. There are only two reasons that I can think of why
you would use detailing spray. One is that you are "supposed" to clay
the car after it has been washed and dried. The detail spray wipes
right off, whereas I think a soapy solution needs to be rinsed off.
Second, maybe the detailing spray leaves a thinner layer of lube between
the clay and the car, thus letting you scrub off more stuff.

How about doing things this way:

Wash the car, but leave the suds on. Get another spray bottle with a
more concentrated wash solution, and spray the area you are about to
clay bar (spray enough that you get a rinsing effect for any dirt
remaining). Then clay bar that area. When you are done, THEN rinse and
dry the car.

I might have to use a bit of cleaner wax after the treatment because
even though you can scrub off the little lumps, they sometimes still
leave a tiny stain flush with the surface. Is it OK to use a
carnauba-based cleaner wax if you are going to apply a polymer wax over it?

"alan" <acfang@yahoo.do_not_spam_me.com> wrote in message
news:bdttt2$ihu$1@news.Stanford.EDU...
> Why is detailing spray recommended for the lubrication of a clay bar?

I think detailing spray is suppose to be slippery enough, but not too
slippery. Otherwise the clay would just glide over the fluid and not "grip"
any of the contaminant.

"alan" <acfang@yahoo.do_not_spam_me.com> wrote in message
news:bdttt2$ihu$1@news.Stanford.EDU...
> Why is detailing spray recommended for the lubrication of a clay bar?
> It is very watery and not very slippery.

Depends on the detailing spray I guess. The one that comes with ClayMagic
(from AutoZone) is actually very nice and slippery. Unfortunately, I use a
lot of it so after I run out, I just mix up a pretty concentrated solution
of car soap and water for the rest of the process. Doesn't feel as slick as
ClayMagic spray, but it'll do.

> How about doing things this way:
>
> Wash the car, but leave the suds on. Get another spray bottle with a
> more concentrated wash solution, and spray the area you are about to
> clay bar (spray enough that you get a rinsing effect for any dirt
> remaining). Then clay bar that area. When you are done, THEN rinse and
> dry the car.

The only problem I can see with this is that by leaving the suds on for too
long may cause soap/water spots to develop on the paint which can be hard to
get rid of, depending on the water quality in your area. I usually just
wash the car, then rinse it, and then start spraying the concentrated soap
one area at a time and clay bar that area. Then I rinse that area off, and
go onto the next area.


> I might have to use a bit of cleaner wax after the treatment because
> even though you can scrub off the little lumps, they sometimes still
> leave a tiny stain flush with the surface. Is it OK to use a
> carnauba-based cleaner wax if you are going to apply a polymer wax over
it?

Well, as you know, Zaino advises you to wash the car with Dawn dish soap to
get rid of all previous carnauba waxes before applying Z-1/Z-2. Otherwise,
the polymer may not stick to the paint too well. So, you'll just have to do
another wash with Dawn in your case.

Cheers,

Pete