i know there is 3 different grades of clay, which color shows what grade im in the process of getting overspray off my car and i did the top and one c pillar...they turned out great with no scratches...now i want to do the door (bad part) i have half of the clay magic bar (blue)...so im planning on washing it with mcguires car wash, with a splash of dish soap, then claying, then using mcguires 3 step on it (maybe turtle wax)....when i clayed the roof the bar turned like alsmot completely brown from the dirt, RIGHT AFTER A WASH AND SHAMMY, wtff? did i not clean it good enough? i cleaned it for a while too...what ever i do i dont want to get into the clear coat or scratch it...how hard is it to take off clear coat with clay? what about scratch? can any give me a few tips? thanks. (sorry for making the 8 millionth clay quesiton)

 

Clay takes containaments embedded in the paint. Washing can't take these containaments out, that's why the clay was so dirty. You don't need a to use a dish soap to strip wax, the polish will do that for you. Justin can correct me if I'm wrong, but it's hard to damage the clear coat with clay.

 

The color of the clay will vary from each manufactuer.
Be sure to read the package for the grade of clay.

As ZAXJAX stated, clay removes surface contamination that washing (even lots of washing) does not.

The blue Claymagic clay is I believe a "Fine" grade. This is the only grade of clay I have used. You can get rid of some nasty stuff with fine grade. As with any clay job, make sure you use plenty of lube.

The clay bar will turn to a dirty brownish color when removing contaminates. Its just doing its job. This is one reason why I personally don't care for gray bars of clay. Take a look at the pic below. It shows a Zaino clay bar. I have clayed only theroof panelof the Grand Prix.

IMO - There is no need to dry the car before you clay. Its just going to get wet again with the clay lube and a bit of water is not going to hurt it.

There is little chance of removing any clear coat using a clay bar properly.

It is however easy to induce scratches with a clay bar. Make sure you use plenty of lube and fold and kneed the bar often. If you drop it - throw it out. Otherwise the dirt particles that it picked up will just act like sandpaper on your finish.

Best of luck and post up some pics when you can.

Here is a tutorial on how to clay from Autopia.org.
Click Here for the Tutorial.

Here is a video that I took and posted in another thread.
I used a fine grade clay bar.
Is your overspray this bad?
The fender has been clayed, the hood has not been.
Hear it Here.

Pic of the Zaino clay bar after use on the Grand Prix roof panel only.
Click for the bigger pic.

 

As said about, a claybar will not damage the paint if it is used properly. I good over the counter clay is Clay Magic which is a fine grade clay. I carry the Poorboys clay which is a little more flexible and it is also a fine grade.

I would recommend breaking the claybar into a few pieces when you get it. If you drop a whole claybar you have to throw the whole things away, if you drop a piece you can just get another. Just let the claybar glide over the surface, there is no need to apply any pressure. Use plenty of clay lube as mentioned before. When the clay gets dirty just knead it to a clean section. I like to use Poorboys Spray & Wipe for my clay lubesince it is very slick. Optimum No Rinse is another option. You can also use car soap mixed in some water or in a spray bottle.

Claying is totally worth it. You won't believe all of the junk that will come out of your paint. Once I get a claybar that becomes really dirty, I just use it to get tar and others spots off of the lower section of the vehicle. You can also use the claybar to do windows and wheels too.