Clay Bars

[crofts]

Good comparison of 12 different Clay bars in this weeks Auto Express.
Best buy based on performance and value for money was Auto-Clay Soft (not Original) by Bilt-Hamber
Price £10.95 for 200g. Prices ranged from £0.47 to £2.90 per 10g
www.bilthamber.com Available from:- Rubbish Boys 0787-6563547 & The Ultimate Finish 0845-8381200.
Recommended was Sonus SFX-£17.95 and Zymol Lehm-Klay - £29.00
Surprisingly Maguiars was one of the most expensive and did not perform very well.

[deano78]

whilst the bilt hamber is a good clay i would take any review by auto express with a pinch of salt. they call wax "polish" when it isnt, and generally the reviews are guided by who is paying for advertising at the time. did tey say why the megs didnt perform well? they are essentially all the same grade of abrasive so should work more or less all the same.

[deano78]

also, the zymol lehm clay is 30 quid just for the clay, one bar at that, for 23 quid with megs you get 2 clay bars, quick detailer, paint cleanser and a cloth! auto express get a regular slagging on detailing world for not knowing what they are talking about.

[majedm75]

I use Meguiar's clay bar and it worked fine for my car. I paid last year 25 Euros for the bar and the sprayer kit :lol:

[kevin]

use mag's clay bar on mine. works great

[crofts]

whilst the bilt hamber is a good clay i would take any review by auto express with a pinch of salt. they call wax "polish" when it isnt, and generally the reviews are guided by who is paying for advertising at the time. did tey say why the megs didnt perform well? they are essentially all the same grade of abrasive so should work more or less all the same.

Think that's a bit hard and splitting hairs. I think most of us 'learners' call wax,- a polish.
I haven't seen one advert in A/Express for clay bars.
At least it gave me an idea of what is available and if all are similar, as you explain, why are there 2 grades of the Bilt-Hamber (Soft & Original), & a huge difference in the cost per 10g over 12 products ? (£0.47 - £2.90 per 10g))
They did not 'slag off' the Meguiars, merely explained it did not remove the overspray easily. They said the kit included the microfibre cloth, finishing wax and lube but only had 1x10g bar and at £2.30 per 10g (vs £0.52 for the Bilt-Hamber) there were cheaper alternatives.
Brake dust discoloured wheels were included in the test.

[microcat36]

I gave up using clay years ago and use Blu Tack instead, just as good and a lot cheaper.

[keiron99]

I gave up using clay years ago and use Blu Tack instead, just as good and a lot cheaper.

And what do you use as a lubricant?

[deano78]

Think that's a bit hard and splitting hairs. I think most of us 'learners' call wax,- a polish.
I haven't seen one advert in A/Express for clay bars.
At least it gave me an idea of what is available and if all are similar, as you explain, why are there 2 grades of the Bilt-Hamber (Soft & Original), & a huge difference in the cost per 10g over 12 products ? (£0.47 - £2.90 per 10g))
They did not 'slag off' the Meguiars, merely explained it did not remove the overspray easily. They said the kit included the microfibre cloth, finishing wax and lube but only had 1x10g bar and at £2.30 per 10g (vs £0.52 for the Bilt-Hamber) there were cheaper alternatives.
Brake dust discoloured wheels were included in the test.

i wouldnt say splitting hairs as there is a distinct difference between a wax and a polish, but i agree about the "learners" part. the megs clay out of halford wont remove overspray, megs proffesional, either medium or aggressive however will. but they obviuosly havent looked into it, so IMO its another poor review by Auto express, not using products correctly, and trying to compare products that are different. all in my humble opinion of course. i wasnt referring to the clay bar review and advertising its past articles that have annoyed me. wonder wheels for example, one of the most corrosive cleaners you can buy and if you use it wrong you can well and truly naff up an alloy. yet they voted it as their number one, and it just so happens car plan had a full page advert overleaf. same happened with armour all car wipes which they voted car care product of the year!!! :shrug:

[deano78]

I gave up using clay years ago and use Blu Tack instead, just as good and a lot cheaper.

clay has different levels of abrasives in. blu tack is cheaper, but not as good.

[microcat36]

I use diluted car shampoo in a spray bottle, it works brilliantly on my Arran white 75 and it would show up anything left by the Blu Tack.

[deano78]

is not actually the "stickyness" of the clay that removes contaminents its the abrasives in it which the clay (which is actually a plastic) is merely a carrier for. blue tack is no where near as good as a clay ( i have actually tested this for a car care magazine i write for) and also, blue tack left some marring which showed up under halogen lights as it merely spreads the contaminents about rather than remove them. But Im not here to brainwash.:D