clay bar

[kognito]

Clay Bar still the best thing for dirty paint? For three years of leased ownership on my Sierra pick up I have only washed it.

I bought the truck at the end of lease, and tried some of this from Mother's

It worked ok, but not great. I only did 1/3 of the hood before stopping, and thinking that maybe clay would be best. The surface prep stuff did remove a lot of dirt, but not all. Maybe I was just expecting too much, as the truck has sat outside in the SC sun for three years

[Nick M3]

Carpro Iron-X and then straight to compound on the polisher is my usual route, honestly. Clay is a lot of work on badly contaminated paint.

[kognito]

I should have added, the cleaner I tried did remove a lot of the three year crud. It sprays on, wiped with one microfiber towel, finished off wiping with a second towel (as per the directions) The first towel really showed that a lot of dirt/crud was removed, but I could see a few oil spots that it did not completely remove. Something like this is the only power buffer I have. I used it for RV's that have almost all flat surfaces. Autos I have always done by hand

[Nick M3]

Iron-X is the best surface prep by a huge margin. It’s not worth using anything else. The value is in pulling out the iron contamination in the paint.

Claybars work. They just only clean. If the paint looks like crap and needs polishing, you end up doing an extra step for very little benefit.

[kognito]

Nick, is the Iron X ok on plastic panels and trim pieces?

[FC]

Originally Posted by Nick M3

Iron-X is the best surface prep by a huge margin. It’s not worth using anything else. The value is in pulling out the iron contamination in the paint.

Claybars work. They just only clean. If the paint looks like crap and needs polishing, you end up doing an extra step for very little benefit.

Iron-X has been on my wish list for a while but I wasn't sure if it was worth buying yet another product. I ran into it when reading about wheel cleaners.

[Nick M3]

IMO, it's not worth it for regular wheel cleaning. Too much cost for too little real benefit. But it's awesome as a part of paint prep.

Not, though, that it adds an extra wash and dry step to the process.

[FC]

Originally Posted by Nick M3

IMO, it's not worth it for regular wheel cleaning. Too much cost for too little real benefit. But it's awesome as a part of paint prep.

Not, though, that it adds an extra wash and dry step to the process.

That's exactly why I had not pulled the trigger. I felt it was too much money to use as a wheel cleaner. But I'm glad you trust it on the body paint. I'll give it a shot - at least behind the wheels and lower body panels to start, where there is most contamination.

[Nick M3]

Originally Posted by FC

That's exactly why I had not pulled the trigger. I felt it was too much money to use as a wheel cleaner. But I'm glad you trust it on the body paint. I'll give it a shot - at least behind the wheels and lower body panels to start, where there is most contamination.

It's REALLY helpful on light colors cars. For obvious reasons, the difference isn't as visible on dark cars.

[equ]

Does that have the same ingredient as BMW Wheel Cleaner (which is or is similar to Sonax)? Nasty smell, turns red etc..

I've always wondered if those wheel cleaners are causing some kind of anti-rust coating to come off the rotors and speeding up corrosion.