# clay cloth , mitt or clay bar.??



## WhiteRoc_170 (Jan 31, 2013)

So my car really needs to be clayed. The paintwork is no where near as smooth as it use to be. Hopefully this weekend I can give it a good going over and decontaminate the paintwork. 

So I'm looking at claying the paint but I want people's opinion on what's the best option to go for. Clasic clay bar Or mitt etc. Also where's the best place to get it.


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## cossierick (Jan 19, 2011)

From my experiences the clay mitts arnt as aggressive as a bar ! That said if your only hand polishing etc then they would be better .


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## SPARTAN (Nov 20, 2014)

They will all do the job, but for ease of use I would go with a mitt.

The Farecla G3 mitt is extremely effective and readily available. You can pick one up at Halfords for about £13.


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## Clancy (Jul 21, 2013)

Personally I prefer clay bars, I don't feel like I'm getting everything with the mitt. And if I'm getting a persistent spot it's irritating using a mitt to try and get that single tiny spot


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## Kimo (Jun 7, 2013)

Here's my take 

Want to do a quick job? Get a cloth 

Want to get a lot of marring? Use a mitt

Want to do the job properly? Use some clay


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## WhiteRoc_170 (Jan 31, 2013)

I will be following it up with a hand polish as I don't have a machine polisher. So i don't want something that's going to cause a lot of marring. Does claying cause much or is it more down to how you do it .


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## Kimo (Jun 7, 2013)

You'll probably get a bit but the key is NO pressure, lots of lube

I like bilt hamber clay


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## Clancy (Jul 21, 2013)

As above, and dodo juice lube


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## WhiteRoc_170 (Jan 31, 2013)

Kimo73 said:


> You'll probably get a bit but the key is NO pressure, lots of lube
> 
> I like bilt hamber clay


I hear alot of people like their clay. do you need a shampoo as lubricant or quick detailer or just water. What works best?


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## R0B (Aug 27, 2010)

Mitts are brilliant and use one myself but do tend to agree with Kimo.

If you have plenty of time on your hands a clay bar works better


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## Clancy (Jul 21, 2013)

WhiteRoc_170 said:


> I hear alot of people like their clay. do you need a shampoo as lubricant or quick detailer or just water. What works best?


http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/detai...ts/dodo-juice-born-slippy-500ml/prod_560.html


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## SPARTAN (Nov 20, 2014)

WhiteRoc_170 said:


> I will be following it up with a hand polish as I don't have a machine polisher. So i don't want something that's going to cause a lot of marring. Does claying cause much or is it more down to how you do it .


I've used all three, bar, mitt and cloth.

I've not experienced marring with any, so yes I would say it is definitely how you use the products.

Whichever you ultimately go for use the appropriate lubrication and allow the product to 'glide' over your paint.


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## VAG-hag (May 14, 2012)

WhiteRoc_170 said:


> I hear alot of people like their clay. do you need a shampoo as lubricant or quick detailer or just water. What works best?


A little spray of qd watered down will be fine with bh clay. Good stuff. Good price :thumb:


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## Christian6984 (Dec 20, 2007)

Ive prefer the clay cloths to the bar these days mainly down to time, few years back i clayed (bar) a car for someone in the depths of winter (snow and ice outside and everything) and keeping the clay warm and supple is a bit of a chore and did inflict a fair bit of marring, not something that should be as much of and issue this time of year. 

ONR is what i tend to use for lube.


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## jackssc (Oct 14, 2014)

I used a G3 mitt on my rocco yesterday and it worked a treat! Obviously most was removed with sprays prior. I used plenty of lubrication via a mix of shampoo and water from a spray bottle


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## RPC (May 11, 2014)

I like the farecla g3 mitt, can clay the whole car in about 15mins opposed to over an hour


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## trv8 (Dec 30, 2007)

RPC said:


> I like the farecla g3 mitt, can clay the whole car in about 15mins opposed to over an hour


15 minutes....what was the car....a SMART car :lol:....


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## DJ X-Ray (Sep 2, 2012)

Bilt Hamber claybar for me.

Just water, but plenty of it.


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## roscopervis (Aug 22, 2006)

Claycloth for me, even on Japanese paint.


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## RPC (May 11, 2014)

trv8 said:


> 15 minutes....what was the car....a SMART car ....


Lol small/medium sized car. I keep on top of it so the mitt flies through the small amount of contaminates


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## ALLR_155528 (May 20, 2014)

I have used all three my personal favourite is clay mitt. I would go for clay mitt or cloth due to have much faster it is over the traditional clay bar. Never experienced marring with either.


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## bilt-hamber kid (Dec 4, 2007)

Auto Express have carried out a test specifically to find out whether Clay Cloths and Mitts can hold their own.

For the 7th year, we have been awarded Best Clay Bar from Auto Express!

And even Clay Cloths and Mitts were not enough to push us of the top spot!

We have won this prestigious award every year since 2008 and this year was no exception.

For prepping and decontaminating your paintwork, look no further than Auto-Clay!

To have a read of the article from Auto Express, click the link below

http://www.bilthamber.com/media/downloads/33/new_test_cloth_vs_bar.pdf


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## Dode (Jun 13, 2013)

bilt-hamber kid said:


> Auto Express have carried out a test specifically to find out whether Clay Cloths and Mitts can hold their own.
> 
> For the 7th year, we have been awarded Best Clay Bar from Auto Express!
> 
> ...


Medium or regular? Which one to choose and why?


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## WhiteRoc_170 (Jan 31, 2013)

So now I'm stuck between either a g3 clay mitt. or blithamber clay bar. Hmmm.


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## Kimo (Jun 7, 2013)

WhiteRoc_170 said:


> So now I'm stuck between either a g3 clay mitt. or blithamber clay bar. Hmmm.


Have both

Bilt hamber by far better imo


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## Oldsparky (Jun 18, 2014)

For me the ease of use of the G3 beats the clay bar. It's so quick and easy. If you want the ultimate squeaky clean maybe the bar is better


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## mr.t (Oct 1, 2010)

Ive used a meg clay bar and g3 clay mitt.

My oppinions are:

Clay bar , takes a lot longer but I love seeing what it pulls off and you can feel the car get smoother as you glide the clay bar over.

The g3 mitt : its weird, its very fast but I cant tell what and how much its pulling off as I glide over.I keep hearing the gritty noise and it doesn't disappear like it does on a clay bar.

However when I finished and I ran my hand over it it did feel super smooth so it obviously did something.


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## Tsubodai (Oct 20, 2012)

Using a clay mitt I've found that the noise does dissipate as you pull stuff off the panel. If I'm unsure I just rinse it off & go over the same area aagain


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## WhiteRoc_170 (Jan 31, 2013)

Well I bought both in the end lol


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## Kirkyworld (Jan 12, 2014)

I love the BH clay bar. I've also used the AS clay cloth I used both with a bit of shampoo and plain water. On an old car that hadn't been done before i would use the cloth for speed but on my own car that is clayed regularly BH clay all the way.


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## trv8 (Dec 30, 2007)

Kirkyworld said:


> I love the BH clay bar. I've also used the AS clay cloth I used both with a bit of shampoo and plain water. On an old car that hadn't been done before i would use the cloth for speed but on my own car that is clayed regularly BH clay all the way.


I found quite the opposite...

On vehicles which have not been clayed before, I found that the (BH) Clay-Bar' gives far better results than a Clay Cloth/Mitt.

On regularly maintained vehicles a Clay Cloth/Mitt should suffice.....but I have often found, if I went over some areas of paintwork again with a (BH) Clay-Bar AFTER using a cloth/mitt, I would still pick-up more contaminants which the cloth/mitt has left behind.


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## bilt-hamber kid (Dec 4, 2007)

Dode said:


> Medium or regular? Which one to choose and why?


Hi,

The choice between the bars will depend on several factors, so here is the quick guide:

Regular

If the vehicle is heavily contaminated, never been clayed before, or it's hot summertime then use Regular.

Medium

For paintwork that is in a reasonable condition, Medium will be preferred.
The easier folding of the clay to expose a fresh working surface will be very beneficial.

Soft

If paint is in good condition, if you like to clay your vehicle frequently or indeed if the weather is cold, then use Soft.

For more information - http://www.bilthamber.com/which-clay-bar


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## WhiteRoc_170 (Jan 31, 2013)

So today was my 1st time claying. 
I decided to go with the clay bar this time rather than the mitt. cut the bar into 4 and used 1 piece to do the whole car. Took my time and used plenty and I mean plenty of water as lube . Not sure how long it took but it took me quite a while. my car has never been clayed either. Never used a clay bar before so was quite interesting seeing how hard it actually was. Thought it would be alot softer. 

Anyway after claying the car the paint felt so much smoother than before. I then went round with af triple for now until I can get a wax on. Very happy with the results. I really like the fact you can actually see the crap in the bar that has been picked up. No pics I'm afraid. But it definitely looks better just after claying Alone .


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## spursfan (Aug 4, 2009)

DJ X-Ray said:


> Bilt Hamber claybar for me.
> 
> Just water, but plenty of it.


Spot on DJ, Bilt Hamber clay actually breaks down if you add anything with the water, that's why they say use water only:thumb:

Kev


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## footfistart (Dec 2, 2013)

I clayed my focus in 1h10. I used a clay mitt on my mondeo estate in 20 minutes. I didn't mind about marring because car is being machined and because the type of silver I have its so hard to see swirls ect in the light I don't mind as such. Like everyone says use loads of water/shampoo and water or detailer and no pressure. Use pressure and you will create marks. I've got meguiars clays and bilt regular clay. And for a regular clay I find it quite aggressive especially on soft paint.


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## JonPiz (Mar 14, 2015)

*re G£ clay mit*

Well I found I much prefer the G3 clay mit to using a clay bar. Just used it and was very impressed with the results. When you first wipe it on the paintwork it sounded like I was sanding it but then it goes quiet and you know its done its job


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