Clay? on your car? madness! (Meguiar’s Quik Clay Detailing System)

Member Name: agewills

Product:	Meguiar’s Quik Clay Detailing System
Date:	29/10/09 (26 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Gets out the dirt and contaminants you cannot see, lasts ages.

Disadvantages: none

This year ive become a total petrol head. I love my car. I've never been into car's before. They were just something to use to get from A to B, but now there's a lot more to it. In getting into modding and improving the car, I became a member of an owners club. There I was introduced to the wonderful world of "Detailing". Something I knew nothing about until earlier this year. Basically all I used to do was simply wash my car. I might every so often give it a polish with some turtle wax, but I never knew there were so many other things you could/should do to give the car an amazing shine, keep the swirl marks at bay and reduces scratches as well as protect the paint. Now I spend a lot more time working on the car, but it is worth it when im done. The full procedure involves a lot of steps including, washing, drying, clay bar, glaze, wax, seal and that's just the body, then there's the wheels.
The step that stands out the most is the clay. Who ever thought of using clay on cars??? I recoiled at the idea initially, not convinced it would work, but then I spotted Meguiars kit in Halfords and thought I'd give it a go. I was very surprised with the results. The kit comes with a high quality microfiber cloth, the clay and a detailing spray. To use it, you have to wash the car, to get the dirt off, then dry it, apply the detailing spray, use the clay (keeping it well lubricated) and then wipe it dry with the cloth. The process takes a while, but its not too hard, as long as you keep the clay moist (otherwise it sticks to the paint) and regularly reshape it in your hand (keeping a clean side on the paintwork).
Basically the idea of the clay is to remove all the dirt that you cannot see and cannot wash off. Paint is porous in nature, if only very slightly and things like exhaust fumes, bird poo, tar, grit and other contaminants will bore down in to the paint surface to a degree where washing will not extract them and thus the car is not properly cleaned. Clay gets those contaminants out. You have to see it to believe it, but it really works. The first time I used it, the white clay was nearly completely brown by the time I finished. The roof, bonnet and front bumper had the worst dirt areas and afterwards were left looking shiny and clean, smooth to touch. The clay cleans easily once folded and kneaded. The bonus also is you don't have to use it every week. Every few months is good enough, so it lasts for a very long time indeed. The shine left afterwards is magnificent. The paintwork will take wax or glaze with much more ease and look better for it. So if your paintwork is looking a little drab and you want that show room shine, clay is a good way to get started. Try it. its well worth the money.
Meguiars is a very good brand, well respected and praised by the detailing community and car enthusiasts. With this product you can see why!

Summary: Gets out the dirt and contaminants you cannot see, easy to use, well priced

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