# Bilt Hamber Clay - Soft or Normal?



## leeds2592 (Sep 28, 2010)

Hi :wave:

Looking to clay my car for the very first time. Now it'll be the first time the cars been clayed and also the first time I've clayed a car.

Just wondering should I get the soft clay or the normal?

I've read that the normal clay may induce marring if used wrongly by a beginner but it should be used if the car has never been clayed before. So shall I just play it safe and get the soft clay or go for the normal and be very careful.

Also, sorry if this has been asked somewhere before and I've missed it :newbie:

Cheers :thumb:


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## polishyourcar (Oct 2, 2010)

Youll be fine with the normal. 
Just make sure that there is enough water and make sure you fold it frequently.


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## leeds2592 (Sep 28, 2010)

Ok, I'll get the normal one. Thanks for the reply pal.


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## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

Yep normal is fine, plenty lube as mentioned.
Great choice with the bilt hamber as i think its great stuff period and the only one i use but the fact it has a tacky_ness that really helps stop you dropping it helps a lot.
Tacky side thats on your fingers its not tacky on the lubed side.

How about the bilt hamber site with there cleaning offer with the clay and the auto wash?
Just a thought.


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## PJS (Aug 18, 2007)

If using the regular in this weather, you'd be best to have two pieces on the go, with one in hot water, and swap them every half or full panel.
Keep at least 3mm thick, so nothing protrudes to scratch the paintwork.
Auto-wash is one of my go-to shampoos, the other being DJ BTBM, as they are both very free-rinsing, leaving nothing behind - WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get).
Add in some Surfex HD if you need a good degreaser for door shuts/engine bay, and/or don't foam pre-wash.
SHD in a manual sprayer at 10% is as good alternative to foam, and far safer than most TFR's.


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## *Das* (Aug 9, 2010)

Buy both, still leaves you change compared to the "other" kinds of clays out there. Normal for the first time you do your car, soft for subsequent clayings.


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## Trip tdi (Sep 3, 2008)

soft, less marring, gives a better clean than the normal one, well thats what i have read on the review from autoexpress, soft came no 1 in pole position.


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## HalfordsShopper (Jul 8, 2008)

At this time of year the soft clay will be much easier to work with. The normal clay will need alot more needing and dunking in hot water to keep it soft enough to use.


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## J90CVC (Nov 21, 2010)

What's the main differences between the two? As far as I can tell the soft clay is the better choice.


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## Bilt-Hamber Lab (Apr 11, 2008)

*Soft / Reg*



J90CVC said:


> What's the main differences between the two? As far as I can tell the soft clay is the better choice.


 The ONLY difference is the firmness, when very cold you'll need to warm the Reg as it will not be as compliant, soft will do well for you this time of year. Just the weight of the clay bar is sufficient in use, those that get used to pushing less effective bars against the paintwork need to address their method no to little pressure is all that's required - clay bars ONLY marr if the contaminants picked up contact the surface and an efficient bar will load too quickly if excess pressure is applied. Plain water is a very good lube for this clay adding surfactants is not necessary and can be proved detrimental


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## toddy2 (Jul 21, 2009)

I found the normal a bit too hard, will probably go soft next time.


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## AJ02 (Nov 7, 2010)

Just bought the Bilt Hamber regular clay bar off eBay myself after seeing the praise it received on this thread. It'll be my first time using a clay bar so might play it safe and buy the soft clay bar too.


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## AdrianW (Sep 17, 2010)

I use both ..but this time of year i use soft as regular is a pain in the winter.


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## Leooo (Apr 2, 2010)

This has answered my question. But what is marring? In lamer terms lol


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## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

If its a first time claying i would go with the regular to get ontop of the contaminants, will take some working this weather to soften it it.
The marring can be described as a slight dulling of the paints almost like a super light scuff mark.
This will polish out if it does happen.


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## Leooo (Apr 2, 2010)

Spot on, I went for the soft just to be on the safe side and my cars and the cars I do have been clause before anyway. Thanks mate.


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## Bratwurst (Jan 23, 2009)

Leooo said:


> This has answered my question. But what is marring? In lamer terms lol


Lots of fine scratches.

Lots of lube + light pressure + regularly folded clay = minimal/no marring :thumb:


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## Jochen (May 21, 2007)

I used the Bilt Hamber regular clay for the first time today. I must say it is truly the best clay I've used when it comes to cleaningpower. But what an absolute PITA to kneed it :doublesho
Ok it wasn't very hot today but even then. I putted it some hot water and it softened up but still it was looking very brittle and dry when kneeding it. 

I also used water as lube as sugested and this worked but I found it way more smoother when you add a LITTLE bit shampoo to the water. I used just a few drop of MEgs HW in a 1liter bottle :thumb:

A great clay but a PITA to kneed.


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## Bowler (Jan 23, 2011)

Just also used the Bilt hammer for the first time very pleased with performance but did use Maguires NXT Quick detailer as a lubricant


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## dooka (Aug 1, 2006)

I would recommend the soft, as the regular can be a right pita in this weather..


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## PaulTheo (Sep 26, 2010)

I now have both soft and regular and in this weather I only use the soft. It seems to work just as well but needs less time in the warm water to keep it usable. The regular cools and gets quite hard on the cold panel but the soft remains usable. I always use 2 pieces and one sits in the warm water while I am using the other (tip from this forum thanks). Zero marring since I started using this method, I also keep the dirty ish bits to keep my wheels in perfect condition as all of the tar spots that refuse to move with just about any mild product fly off with this clay and its the perfect prep for sealing them.


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## Jochen (May 21, 2007)

qstix said:


> I would recommend the soft, as the regular can be a right pita in this weather..


I've got a feeling it will also be a pita in warm weather? :lol:

A shame i ordered 2 boxes of regular


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## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

Jochen said:


> I've got a feeling it will also be a pita in warm weather? :lol:
> 
> A shame i ordered 2 boxes of regular


Even in warm weather it takes a bit of working but to be honest i have never used warm water i just work in my hands and only used the regular i have some soft but not used it yet.


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## Jochen (May 21, 2007)

Luckely it's great stuff so worth the work :thumb:


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