Looking for advice on clay bar cleaning

[2ndAmend]

And why I only use water from my DI system for washing !

I have it in my Amzn "Saved for Later", $460.. Hard decision for someone cheap like me! Won't the ceramic stop the water spots?

 

[Speedy!]

Ceramic coating helps but does not eliminate hard water spots. I use my CR Spotless every time I wash our cars. Resin lasts about 4 years so well worth the investment.

 

[2ndAmend]

Is this the right one? Spotless DIW-20?

https://www.walmart.com/ip/CR-Spotl...jgf_3&athancid=51822878&athposb=0&athena=true

 

[MikeD1]

Is this the right one? Spotless DIW-20?

https://www.walmart.com/ip/CR-Spotl...jgf_3&athancid=51822878&athposb=0&athena=true

That's the one ! I have seen it for a bit less at Costco from time to time.

How long the resin lasts depends on how hard your water is & how you use it.
DO NOT just use a hose & regular nozzle - uses gobs of water (and thus resin). Get one of those cheap electric pressure washers (with low pressure), use the widest spray nozzle and 'sweep' the car from a distance. Be especially careful around stripes, seams, door edges etc. the idea is to wet the car, wash, then gently rinse it away. You can hit the wheels a bit harder than the body, but not too hard.

Supposedly you can just walk away, but my OCD prohibits that & I use a leaf blower to blow most of the water beads (and all the cracks & crevices) off followed by a large MF towel to get every last drop + another 'old' MF towel for the door jambs, underhood etc.

Lastly, you can buy replacement cartridges & bulk resin from them, but since like me you are a tightwad, you can replace it yourself & reuse the cartridges indefinitely. Just unscrew them from the unit & let them drain for a while, then unscrew & dump the resin in a HD large trash bag. It is wet & heavy + the beads are VERY slippery so be careful not to spill. Then wash & rinse the cartridges, carefully fill with the bulk resin, put a dab of lithium grease on each of the big O rings & screw it all together.

Bulk resin is available from most commercial window washers stores/websites. BTW you can use this set-up with a bucket of soapy water (I actually use my car soap) & a soft brush on an extension pole to wash you outside house windows !! Those I let air dry & they turn out good with little hassle.

Example of bulk resin:

https://jracenstein.com/resin-di-cubic-foot-new-virgin-resin/

 

[B5Cat16]

1). Do NOT hire a pro. You can do this. 2). The best part about clay bar is, ya can't hurt anything. It's clay. It won't do damage. 3) Do just one panel at a time. When it's smooth, you're done. Move to the next panel. 4) When you're finished, you'll wonder why you never used clay bar before.