Meguiar’s Smooth Surface Clay Kit: Amazon / Ebay / Walmart
In the decontamination stage of detailing your car, you’ll have two different types to deal with: chemical decontamination and mechanical decontamination. Chemical decontamination involves spraying iron remover all over your vehicle, letting it dwell, and then rinsing it all off with water. Mechanical decontamination on the other hand, involves using clay to run across the car’s paint to remove the bits of embedded micro-particles on the surface.
When you talk about mechanical decontamination, you have a number of choices: clay bars, clay mitts, clay towels, clay pads, and more. The most basic form of clay is the clay bar. All of those other mediums of clay like the towels, mitts, and pads are relatively newer forms of clay, but you can’t go wrong with the tried-and-true method of using a basic clay bar.
Meguiar’s provided me with their Smooth Surface Clay Kit to try out and review, but honestly I’ve been using this very same kit many times in the past. The kit has everything you need it in to clay your car: three clay bars, a spray bottle of clay lubricant, and a microfiber towel. It’s a nice package that allows you to clay multiple cars with just one kit, although you might need some extra clay lubricant and microfiber towels to do so.
I’ve been working on my latest project, a Mark I Audi TT which is in dire need of a detail. After washing the car, the paint still feels very gritty and there are lots of spots on the car that car soap and a wash mitt won’t get rid of. If you haven’t used a clay bar before, you can learn how to on this guide to claying your car. For those of you who have clayed before, you’ll know to spray your lubricant on both the clay and the car and rub the clay over the paint surface in a straight back-and-forth motion.
As you can see, a lot of contaminants embedded in the paint are easily removed by the clay bar. If you run out of clay lubricant, you can get more lubricant, or you can make your own by mixing ONR (Optimum No Rinse) and water. The dilution ratio for ONR to water is 2 oz. to 1 gallon of water.
Each kit comes with three individually packaged clay bars. For this small Audi TT, I only needed 3/4 to 1 clay bar. Upon opening one of the clay bars, I’ll usually break it up in half, and use that on the car until I feel that I need to change it out with another clay bar. One half of clay bar is usually a good size to work with, and you still have the other new half to go to when you need it.
There are different types of clay out there, some being more aggressive than others allowing you to get more contaminants out of the paint, although the downside is that it might scuff up your paint more. This usually requires a follow-up with a compound or polish to remove. However, the clay that comes in this kit is mild enough that it doesn’t leave much scuffing behind.
Let’s talk about the clay material that comes in the Meguiar’s Smooth Surface Clay Kit. This white-colored clay feels a bit firmer and less malleable than what I’m used to, however it does mold and stays intact. I’ve used other cheap brands in the past where it was hard to mold and if you pulled the clay apart it would eventually just break.
In this case, it does feel similar in that it is a little more rigid, but it does not break when pulled apart. The upside to the clay being more firm is that it glides along the paint more easily. If you have a clay that is less firm, it tends to grab onto the paint as you are running it over the paint surface, causing you to lose grip and having the clay drop on the floor. As you may already know, if you drop it on the floor, you should throw it right into the trash.
As you use the clay, it gets clogged up with contaminants from the paint. Spread it out, fold it over, and continue using the clay with the newly rejuvenated surface. If you ever drop your clay bar on the ground, you should throw it away and use another one. You don’t want the clay to pick up the dirt and debris from the ground, and scratch your paint when reusing the dropped clay bar.
The clay bar can be used on other surfaces as well, such as the glass on windows, plastic on headlights and tail lights, and even on some hard plastic trim. It’s best to save the areas such as the bottom of the car for last; I usually save all the clay bars that are heavily contaminated and use them in these areas at the end of the job.
After working small sections throughout the car, you can wipe each area away with the included microfiber towel. Or, you can simply rinse the area away as you move along each section of the car. After cleaning the car, inspect your work. As you can see below, the spots on my car have been removed, restoring clarity and gloss to the paint.
I am really impressed by the Meguiar’s Smooth Surface Clay Kit’s performance as you can see how much it has cleared up my paint. I find the clay bar itself a bit hard to mold, which can be a little tiring when you’re constantly remolding the clay while claying your car, but the upside to that is that I rarely had the clay grab onto the paint, causing it to fall onto the ground. This is something that happens often if you have a clay bar that is more “grabby”.
I like that the kit comes with three clay bars, probably enough to do up to three different vehicles. This is just a great clay kit for any beginner or even professionals as well. It does the job well and it’s pretty economical considering you can clay about 2-3 vehicles with just one kit that costs about $20-25. I highly recommend this kit not just from my time reviewing the product now, but from the many times I’ve used the same kit over the years.
