E30 Zone

hi anyone used this/rate it? how easy is it toi use, any tips be appreciated or any problems with it?

I've heard very good things about this stuff, it's supposed to get rid of swirls and really clean up the paint work. I've been thinking of getting it myself.

It is very very very important that your car is very very very clean before using it. It picks p small particles but anything bigger ends up getting dragged along your paint not doing it any good at all.

I use it though and I am very happy with it as a whole, haven't found anything I'd rather use anyway, but I'm sure theres better it would probably just hurt my pocket more!

Agreed the car must be clean to start with.
Liberally use the quick detailer spray which comes in the box making sure you have plenty of fluid on the area being cleaned with the clay. Regularly 'turn' the clay - the results are impressive.

so probably better to use it after a good wash and dry and start the clay after that? then would the best bet be to wax it with goldclass wax to seal the finish?

clay bars remove things like oxidisation and contamination that lies on the paint, it is NON-abrasive and does not remove swirls

wash the car well first, this removes all teh loose and large particles stuck on the paint and reduces the chances of scratching anything

then mix up a fresh bucket of water with some car shampoo in to use as lubricant, use as much as what you would when washing the car

then wet a small section of panel, about 1-2ft sqaure, then rub back and forth, up and down with the clay over a small lubricated section, keep checking the claybars surface for any contaminats (will look like black specs/dots/smears etc) keep folding and moulding the caly to reveal a new surface (a bit like you would with blutack to get it sticky) you may also see some colour transfering onto the caly surface, this can be either coloured polish and/or oxidisation form the paint surface its self, don't worry about it, if you run your hand over the clayed surface and then over a non clayed surface you will notice how much smoother then paint work is, it should feel like glass, if your not sure if you've rubbed enough, keep going untill you notice no more improvement in the "glassy-ness" of the paint, once your happy, move onto another small section untill itts the same as the last section, and repeat unitll the car is finished

you must keep the section being woked on wet with the lubricant soloution otherwise the clay will stick to the work and smear its self everywhere, if this happens, don't worry, just put some more water/lube on the area and then go over the debris with the clay again and it will pick its self back up form the paint surface

remember to keep on playing with that clay to reveal a new fresh side to rub against your paint, if you get to the point where no matter how much folding and tearing and remoulding you do reveals a new surface, then chuck it in the bin and carry on with a new bar, using a clay bar with contaminates in will do dmaage to you paint and will introduce swirls as all your doing is rubbing tiny bits of grit/dust over your paint, keep the surface fresh and clean and you'll have no problems

and most importantly.......clay bars will remove averything from your paint work..............that includes all wax and sealants, once properly calyed, your paintwork will have no additional protection and will need to have new wax/sealant applied to carry on protection your paint

if theres anyhting more you need to know, just ask

cheers m8

spot on chris

all id add is that you dont need to use the whole clay bar

just break a piece off use it till its full of contaminants and then break another bit off

as said by chris it will not remove swirls and keep panel really wet

jon

Chris (Bill), After claying what wax would you recomend to keep the paintwork protected?

depends on how much you want to spend really

zaino is the nuts, but will take a bit mroe time, money and paitence than meguiers

if you on a budget then get the meguiers 3 step one (think its called NXT) as its supposed to be very good and exceptional value for money

if you can afford to spend a little more then go for the zaino

you can only get it form here in the UK LINK

for plain white i would get the z1, z5 pro, and then the z8 finale spray, if you wish to remove swirls etc then get a bottle of ZPC fusion as well, this is an abrasive product and can get rid of small sewirls and micro marring, but i would say its only really worth it if you have a machine to buff with as it will take ages by hand unless you have arms like popeye

i would also invest in a bottle of proper cara shampoo too preferably made by the same people as the wax your gonna put on the car be it either meguiers or zaino

also i would recommend you use some micro fibre cloths/pads for application/removal and some microfibre mitts and drying towels when washing/drying

billgatese30 wrote: also i would recommend you use some micro fibre cloths/pads for application/removal and some microfibre mitts and drying towels when washing/drying

This one is the key...

People spend £Â£Ã‚£ on polish then try and apply it with an old shirt (well, maybe not that extreme, but you get my point).

on the money

wash,dry apply and take off all with microfibre

sponges,chamois and old t shirts do more damage than anything else

jon

If you run out of the lubricant just dilute washing up liquid.In fact im almost sure in the care and detailing section there is a post that says wash car first with this first as it removes all the old wax.Check first though mate,id hate all the paint to come of your car cos i got it wrong

Chris, What brand of clay do you use, The Z18 is expensive for the amount you get. I was looking at this earlier: http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/shop/deta ... /p_37.html

2 x 3oz bars for £14 instead of 2 x 2oz bars for £21 for the Z18.

Be interested to hear your views, Sonus is supposed to be reasonable quality.

d6dph wrote:Chris, What brand of clay do you use, The Z18 is expensive for the amount you get. I was looking at this earlier: http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/shop/deta ... /p_37.html

2 x 3oz bars for £14 instead of 2 x 2oz bars for £21 for the Z18.

Be interested to hear your views, Sonus is supposed to be reasonable quality.

its top notch clay.

jon

Sorry Jon, Which one the Z18? Would a mere mortal like me notice the difference in quality over the sonus one?

no the sonus is top notch

john

Great. I'll order the sonus one then, Thanks again Jon.

what about the meguiars leather 16.99 is that not good then?

Use the microfibre towel mate, Its quite good for the money.

Jon supplied me with a couple of waffle drying towels and they are fantastic, the meguiars seems to be a very similar construction.

The natural chamois leathers seem hard work to me.

i suppose im the old guard when it comes to leather off the car just cant get on with idea of drying car with a cloth...guess ill have a go though n test it out, i may by the meguirs water magnet?

you will be amazed at the micofibre drying towel

so many people feel the same way and then they use one

i wipe my car down after washing with waffle drying towel and i dont have to wring it out once

john

Clay bars are fab,but it took me 5hrs to do my M5 before Gaydon in August but well worth it.....

Got the E30 to do next week - end like billgates30 says it feels like glass afterwards and the comments you
get makes it well worth while

billgatese30 wrote:clay bars remove things like oxidisation and contamination that lies on the paint, it is NON-abrasive and does not remove swirls

Are you sure? It has to be abrasive to work. Its clay!!!!

With regards to the towels i have found that they work really well when you have approx 6" of wax over the paint work as the water just runs off the pannels leaving only a few drops which a towel can easily handle drying a whole car. Try the same on a non waxed/treated car and you're looking at two or more towels to dry the car to a relatively good standard.

Andrew

in fact its not actually clay

what chris means if used correctly it wont damage your paint surface and it certainly wont remove swirls

to do that you need an abrasive product that will reduce paint/laquer around swirl to the same level as to make the swirl ,which in essence is a scratch and therefore a removal of top coat,disappear

jon

Demlotcrew wrote:

billgatese30 wrote:clay bars remove things like oxidisation and contamination that lies on the paint, it is NON-abrasive and does not remove swirls

Are you sure? It has to be abrasive to work. Its clay!!!!

i was always lead to believe that they were non-abrasive, and they relied on the crap sticking to them

see here

however after some further reading from here then i'm in two minds, although i am leaning towards sonus' opinion

either way i know that they are not abrasive enough to cause damage to the paint

Demlotcrew wrote:

billgatese30 wrote:clay bars remove things like oxidisation and contamination that lies on the paint, it is NON-abrasive and does not remove swirls

Are you sure? It has to be abrasive to work. Its clay!!!!

With regards to the towels i have found that they work really well when you have approx 6" of wax over the paint work as the water just runs off the pannels leaving only a few drops which a towel can easily handle drying a whole car. Try the same on a non waxed/treated car and you're looking at two or more towels to dry the car to a relatively good standard.

Andrew

a waxed car will naturally bead more and thus tend to have more water on surface

an untreated one will tend to sheet

which towel/towels are you using??

jon

I managed to dry the car (unwaxed, and indeed un-anything since it was post-clay) with one waffle-weave. Not sure of the size, somewhere between a tea-towel and a beach-towel.

Have to say I'm dead impressed with clay. Did my car for the first time last weekend, then polished it with Meguiars deep crystal and finished with their Carnauba wax. I dunno if it's psychological, but the car seems to stay cleaner now. It's Alpine White, and I used to get a nice shade of 'British Winter Grey' at the front and behind the wheels after 2-3 days of driving to work. It's been over a week now and it's still pretty much white. Gave it a rinse and a once over with Quick Detail and it looks like I've just waxed it again!

Also impressed with the way clay cleans glass, the water and crud you get on motorways slides of the windscreen so much more easily now. Silly as it may seem, I'm actually using alot less screenwash too!

I gonna do the clay bar treatment on my cab this weekend after reading this should be interesting

im after a clay bar too! i got the meguiars 3 stage paint treatment for xmas, so i want to add the clay bar and the tech wax and give my beauty a real treat!!

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... guiars.htm

good shout steve!

doesnt mention in there about the NXT Tech wax, but im sure its not brain surgery!!

Stu, If you have the three stage stuff, You wont need the Tech wax.

As for Clay, I'm using this one at the moment http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/shop/deta ... /p_37.html

i think i will dave

the tech wax is for removing swirl marks, etc whilst the three stage is for paint care and protection... so im told anyway. is this right?

Not as far as i'm aware.

The stage one is paint prep, a mild abrasive that removes the scratches and swirls. The longer you take on this section, the better the results. All about the prep.

The stage two is polish, this gives the paint its deep gloss and contains the oils the paint needs to keep it in good condition.

Stage three is the carnuba wax which is a hard protective layer, this will prolong the life of the finish.


I normally do the full three stage every other month when the weather is good enough, then keep the carnuba topped up between doing the three stages.


I'm fairly sure that tech wax is only a gloss enhancer and does not contain any abrasives.