Ripped Off

[mbzjag8090]

I just ordered a bunch of stuff from Griot's Garage including the Machine Polish 2, Machine Polish 3 and the paint cleaning clay bar. All of these products were a complete waste of money. I was hoping that with the polishs and the clay bar, I would get rid of minute car-wash scratches from the original owner about 9 years ago. These products just didn't work. False advertising.

Also the clay bar was just junk- I think they recycle plastic and charge you 30 bucks. I didn't see anything come off the paint. Maybe I just take REALLY good care of the car, but considering it's winter and the car hasn't been washed for a few months, the clay should have at least taken something off if it works as advertised.

I also bought the tar remover a few months ago to try and get off some nasty stuff on the lower rear bumpers. It didn't work either.

On a more positive note, the Best of Show Wax worked well; however, I still cannot justify the price difference between the Meguiars and the GG Wax.

I think they may have lost a customer... :eek:

[Ferdman]

Justin, sorry to hear of your dissatisfaction with the Griot's Garage polishes and clay bar. I've had great success with the clay bar when using it with a lubricant, such as GG Speed Shine. A small section of each panel should be done at a time, and consequently it is fairly time-consuming to do an entire car. The clay bar removes surface contaminants and not fine scratches, but produces a silky smooth finish when used properly. The GG polishes should be used with a random orbital polisher per the directions on the bottle. This too is a time-consuming process, especially when starting with Machine Polish 1, then Machine Polish 2, followed by Machine Polish 3. It's difficult to imagine that you saw no improvement in the appearance of the paint after all those steps. Griot's Garage has a money-back guarantee so by all means go for it.

[marlinspike]

I'm not a fan of clay bars. They either do nothing or strip your paint IMHO. Also, you mentioned liking griot's wax but not justifying the cost. A happy medium might be the One Grand Blitz Wax. It's not as expensive, but it's not as shiny, but it does last longer. Or if you garage your can and don't care about how long it lasts I like the P21S wax. 3M imperial hand glaze comes highly recommended for polishing out light scratches. I actually like Griot's stuff for the most part...high chemicals mainly. I'm not much a fan of his non-chemical stuff, most of it's just relabled stuff with the price jacked up. I've never tried his polishes though.
Richard

[dolebludger]

For what it may be worth, I've found that clay bars work well ONLY if the surface of the car is highly lubricated. Any attempt to use them without a lot of lube will result in stripped wax, too much work, and possibly scratched paint. But, use of a clay bar with MUCH lube will work and work well. Also, one must be sure that clay bar is used for the right purpose. To determine this, rub your hand over the car. If you feel tiny particles, to a significant degree, it is time for clay bar. If you don't feel these, clay bar is not a solution for the problem you may have.

As far as cleaners, polishes, glazes and waxes are concerned, my "default" brand is Meguiar's. They might not always be the absolute best for a particular purpose, but they are always effective and very safe. Plus, they are available almost everywhere, and are very reasonably priced.

Hope this helps,
Richard :) :) :)

[marlinspike]

Richard,
First I want to say your first name indicates that you are a genius. Anyways, do you have any experience with the Mother's clay bar? I used one once, not to clay the car but to remove overspray (which is what I think these things are supposed to be use for but anyways), and out of curiousity I used it on another part of my car too see what everybody was talking about. I noticed no change. So...is the mothers bar just bad or is clay bar just not for me?
Thanks,
Richard

[dolebludger]

marlinspike:

I have no experience with Mother's clay bar, but know that company makes decent products in the area of waxes and such. I have some "no name" clay bar which nonetheless works well for the purposes for which clay bar is intended. Removing overspray is a classic example of a proper use of clay bar. The only other proper use of it I know of (though it is a big use) is as follows.

With a car surface that has been waxed, evnironmental pollutants such as dust, other particles, bug spots, and bird droppings can leave grainy residue, possibly imbedded in the top of the wax surface. These may remain, even after a good washing so that you can feel the grit on the surface with your hand, and maybe even see some of these pollutants. Clay bar will get these off. In the process, it may also take off the top of the wax coat into which these particles are imbedded. But that's fine, as one of the purposes of waxing is to protect the paint from these pollutants. Clay bar will also remove these things from a car that has never been waxed, but requires more work, a massive amount of lubricant to prevent scratching and may not remove particles that have imbedded in the clearcoat.

That being said, I have never found clay bar to be any good at removing things like microscopic scratches. It won't repair any kind of paint damage. And I suspect that any problems any one is having with clay bar stem not from a poor brand of the stuff, but from expecting it to do something for which it is not designed. And again, for maximum results at minimum effort, I use PLENTY of the lubricant!

Thanks,
Richard :) :) :)

[Scott Singer]

Hope you all know that clay bars are for MACRO contamination, dirt that won't be removed by washing the car, and can be felt ( above the paint ) when you rub your finger tips across the paint.

I have used Mother clay bars with great success to clean my wheels. A couple of years back because of a water restriction due to draught my wheels got heavily contaminated, cllay was the only thing for me that worked to ge my wheels finish smooth.

Not that I feel I need to defend Griot's Garage, but I have purchased some very good products from them; siphon pumps, battery mats, tools, scissors, hand polish and towels. These were products, except for the hand polish & battery mat, that I would of had trouble getting anywhere else. But I did like the Griot's hand Polish.

[vince]

Scott hit the nail on the head. Clay bar use is being hyped as absolutely necessary by many folks. It is not. It was developed for the body shop industry to remove overspray. It will work well to remove contaminants and overspray, but it can be tedious to use if there are a lot of corners or curves. Before using a clay bar you should feel the surface. If you feel grit ot dirt embedded on the paint, clay bar use with liberal lubricant is justified. I have never used a clay bar on my E430 or 250SL because those finishes are in excellent shape. I have used it on the Golf and C280 which are daily drivers and get parked outside. I prep the finish with clay and then polish and wax.

I think mbzjag8090 may have expected too much from the products. Scratches can be tough to remove, especially with todays paints, which are much harder than the old enamels. You can probably get the scratches out with a lot of work and with the help of a random orbital polisher. You might also try a glaze, which fills the scratches, at least for a while.