there is a body shop grade clay bar that can cause damage if not used properly, however the clay bar kits sold in stores will not.

 

unles syour going to a body shop supply house i would not worry to much about that,
just stick with a decent brand I.E. mothers, etc... somethign you know or like.
Read the back of the box it comes in. and Also make sure tha tyou wash and follow the destructions on the box. I normally wash the car agian after i get done insted of just wipeing it off. then i will shammi it off and buff and polish it with a good wax. this will help remove stuff from your paint and also protect it

 

Wow! Nice results. I never tried clay barring before. I was always afraid I'd mess things up. Especially with the stripe kit. Plus the car has a ton of stone chip touch ups. Thanks to the original Chevy dealership having a gravel lot. [:@]

Anyone with experience clay barring a car with stripes have any advice? Should I avoid running the claybar near the stripes? Or what?

I used Mother's cleaner wax on the car a couple weeks ago. I couldn't believe the ugly haze that was removed. Really brightened up the color of the car. But still has that slight orange peel you get from the factory.

 

I've used it once. Seemed like it helped with the swirls, but didn't help any of the real scratches.

I've thought about clay baying, but I'm afraid also. I have a couple of places in my paint where I'm assuming it's been over buffed. Places like on the little ridge down the hood, on the door right beside the seal, and othe little rasied areas where the paint is thinned to the point of being to the primer. It's not rough like it's been chipped, it looks wore and is perfectly smooth. You can not see them unless you are right on top of it like when you're drying it.

Oh and I about had a heart attack the other day, it hailed on my baby. Just little hail, but hail nonetheless. I did end up with some new paint chips that I do not remember seeing before so I know it was the damn hail's fault. We have got to get my baby a bedroom.

 

Clay and/or wax doesn't remove swirls, at best the wax will fill them in but they'll come right back after a few washes unless you wax again.

 

Clay doesn't remove swirls,

Good point. If I made it sound like that way, sorry.

On the other handa good wax will help remove small scratches and swirl marks can be considered just that. The large enough tosnag your fingernail scratches are toodeep to get out just by buffing or waxing. They will require other means to get them out.

I did stop and buy a polish last evening to help remove the scratches left in the paint from5 years of useage. I did the deck lid and the driver side quarter panel. They turned out pretty good.

 

The wax will help fill in the swirls so they aren't visible so if that's what you meant by "remove" then you're absolutely right. The only way to actually remove the swirls is with the use of a media that contains abrasives, i.e. sand paper, rubbing compound, polish, levelers, etc. because in order to remove the swirl you actually have to remove material off the surface to get rid of the swirl. Good waxes don't contain any abrasives so they do nothing for removal of swirls but the majority of OTC waxes do infact contain abrasives and can help with the finest of swirls although it would take alot of effort to actually remove swirls using wax due to the fineness of the abrasives found in it. This is why it's a waste of time to "layer" coats of wax, because the second "layer" removes the first "layer" so you still end up with a single "layer" of wax on your car. There are higher end waxes that contain no abrasives and can be layered, and actually give you the best results when you do layer them. P21S, S100 and Chemical Guys 50/50 are a few that come to mind. FYI, S100 is one of my favorite waxes and can be had at your local Harely Davidson shop for about $15, I highly recommend you guys get a jar cause I promise you you'll never use another. Extremely easy to apply, just as easy to remove, doesn't stain trim/rubber/plastic, can be used on all surfaces, doesn't dust when removed, can be used in direct sunlight, is very durable and is very affordable.

I have detailed lots of cars that were recently "detailed" by body shops and dealerships that have horrendous "holograms" and buffer trails on them after a couple weeks of the customer getting the car back, even though each and every one said the car looked immaculate when they first got it back. This is because they use incorrect technique during polishing and/or use an AIO product that fills in swirls and polishes at the same time, giving the impression that the imperfections have been removed. But after a few washes all the fillers wash away and the swirls/halograms/buffer trails are on full display.