some years ago i used the zaino clay bar on my (then) about 5 year old black car to remove the tiny bug poops that stick to it and make the finish rough feeling.

it made it smooth, and i rewaxed it according to the instructions.

but it wasnt long after that that i noticed the paint got dull, and a year or so later started to go hazy, white (and eventually the clear coat was peeling off)

i dont know if it was a coincidence or something to do with the clay bar. the problems were worst in the places i used the bar.

so now my black rx8 needs some of this same detailing, and i am afraid to use the clay bar.

my question is: does anyone have long term experience with a car they have used the clay bar on? was the finish ok a few years later?

thanks,

 

I doubt it was the clay bar. It picks up contaminates and even if you don't do it correctly, it will only drag the contaminates across the finish and mar the paint/clear coat.

Did you apply any sort of protection after clay barring? What the car ever repainted? How old is the paint?

 

i just did a clay bar treatment on the rx8. this new clay bar seems quite a bit different than the one i used before. that one specified water and was very very sticky. im pretty sure it was from zaino, and that was maybe 8-9 years ago.

the new one is lots easier to use and seems to work better. after the polish, the car looks wet/shiny again.

looking closely at the surface though reveals lots of tiny marks. i wonder if the bug crap has been on there long enough the clay bar can rip off a little piece of clear coat in each spot. the car looks great today, anyway!

 

I've been using the zaino claybar since I got the car in 2004 and mine still looks pretty new.

 

ha ha.. you never told us what car you had.

Maybe it was a chrysler with a thin coat of clear.

 

it was a 1994 probe gt- not particularly good paint, but mine ended up looking worse than other cars its age by the time it was 10 years ago. i took pretty good care of it too.

my 1984 rx7 gsl-se paint was in great shape when i sold it in 2002, and my 1995 ford f-150 pickup trucks paint still looks great too.