bgkast
bgkast UberDork
11/14/15 11:05 p.m.

Hello clay bar mitt thingy.

I just gave one of these a shot on the $50 SAAB's tired paint. WAY faster than a clay bar! Unfortunately the paint needs a bit more help, so tomorrow it's going in the buff.

Javelin
Javelin MegaDork
11/14/15 11:21 p.m.

I've never seen that, thanks for the heads up!

Basil Exposition
Basil Exposition Dork
11/15/15 5:31 a.m.

Gah!!! Right after I spent half a day clay barring the entire acre of sheet metal on my Dodge Ram 2500!

So what is the surface like? What makes it faster than clay bar? Does it do as good a job on overspray?

Feedyurhed
Feedyurhed SuperDork
11/15/15 5:56 a.m.
Basil Exposition wrote: So what is the surface like? What makes it faster than clay bar? Does it do as good a job on overspray?

Yes, please tell us!!

asoduk
asoduk Reader
11/15/15 6:51 a.m.

I bought one earlier this year too and will agree that it speeds up the job a lot. The surface is some kind of rubber. You lube the paint and the pad, and rinse the pad every so often. I was able to do my wagon in about 20 min.

gjz30075
gjz30075 HalfDork
11/15/15 9:51 a.m.

Cool! Is the lube included in the package? Or will any speed detailer do?

asoduk
asoduk Reader
11/15/15 10:14 a.m.

Any detail spray works, just like a clay bar.

The0retical
The0retical Dork
11/15/15 11:05 a.m.

This is relevant to my interests as the X-Terra needs to be done and I was not looking forward to it.

ea_sport
ea_sport Reader
11/15/15 11:40 a.m.

Is that the only brand making this thing?

The0retical
The0retical Dork
11/15/15 12:05 p.m.

In reply to ea_sport:

Nanoskin and Chemical Guys make one too.

G_Body_Man
G_Body_Man Dork
11/15/15 12:08 p.m.

Those mitts are spectacular. I've tried one, and vowed to buy one at some point. Maybe for Christmas...

bgkast
bgkast UberDork
11/15/15 12:16 p.m.

There are a few brands I found when doing an image search for a picture to hotlink. This one was what they had in stock locally and cost about $20 plus $5 for the same brand detail spray.

The mitt has some sort of mildly abrasive rubber coating with a protective coating over it for shipping. You use detail spray to remove the protective coating before use.

Like a clay bar detail spray is also used as lubricant. General surface contamination grit is gone in a few wipes, over spray took a little more effort, but who knows how long it had been on my car, or when the car was last waxed.

Like asoduk said you should be able to finish a car in 20 minutes vs hours for a clay bar.

SnowMongoose
SnowMongoose Dork
11/15/15 12:18 p.m.

Cool.
I mean, would have been cooler if I hadn't bought a clay bar kit two weeks ago, but yeah

Mike
Mike Dork
11/15/15 3:12 p.m.

In reading up on clay, I'd learned that you can use your car wash mixture as a lubricant. I prefer that now, since it speeds things up, having a wet mitt, and running it over the area being worked.

Nick (Not-Stig) Comstock
Nick (Not-Stig) Comstock UltimaDork
11/15/15 4:47 p.m.

It's never taken me anywhere close to an hour to use a regular clay bar on anything smaller than a full size van. An average car takes me 20-30min tops.

foxtrapper
foxtrapper UltimaDork
11/15/15 7:29 p.m.
Nick (Not-Stig) Comstock wrote: It's never taken me anywhere close to an hour to use a regular clay bar on anything smaller than a full size van. An average car takes me 20-30min tops.

Yea, I rather agree. Biggest problem I run into with a clay bar is not lubing enough and creating smudges. Those can be hard to clean off. If this mitt eliminates the smudges or skid marks, that would be nice.

bgkast
bgkast UberDork
11/15/15 10:52 p.m.

The mitt can get stuck and leave smudges if you don't keep it well lubed. They polish off fairly easily though.

ea_sport
ea_sport Reader
11/17/15 8:49 p.m.
The0retical wrote: In reply to ea_sport: Nanoskin and Chemical Guys make one too.

OOT but is that a watch movement on your profile pic? Pretty cool..

ScottRA21
ScottRA21 HalfDork
11/20/15 2:40 a.m.

Working in a detailing shop. We use two different clay bars:

White for gentle, and that will still eat light overspray, and any other contaminants ridiculously easy. Purple for DEATH TO OVERSPRAY!!! And the cut polish after.

Either way, how does it take you guys 1 hour to half a day, just to claybar?

...Well, unless you're using the bar to remove tar/rubber. Then maybe I can understand it.

Basil Exposition
Basil Exposition Dork
11/21/15 7:13 a.m.
ScottRA21 wrote: Working in a detailing shop. We use two different clay bars: White for gentle, and that will still eat light overspray, and any other contaminants ridiculously easy. Purple for DEATH TO OVERSPRAY!!! And the cut polish after. Either way, how does it take you guys 1 hour to half a day, just to claybar? ...Well, unless you're using the bar to remove tar/rubber. Then maybe I can understand it.
  1. Take one 2003 Dodge quad cab truck.
  2. Wax once in 2004.
  3. Drive 150000 miles.
  4. Wash occasionally, mostly at gas station wash machines.
  5. Let sit outside for 12 years under various trees.

Take bucket of hot water, add Dawn, wash truck thoroughly. Remove rotting Bedrug from bed, along with approximately 3 bushels of pine needles. Clay bar entire vehicle, including roof, which requires a ladder and extra elbow grease. Wash vehicle again with car wash soap. Dry. Wax.

That was actually about 3/4 day, but admittedly not all of that was spent with a clay bar actually in my hand.

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