Meguiar’s Smooth Surface Clay Bar Kit – Product Review

If you’ve read our previous product review then you’d know that we recently gave our Volvo 940 some love, including a bit of a polish. But prior to that process we went over the entire car with a clay bar. Now for those of you that don’t know, a clay bar is exactly that, a bar made of clay. Who’d have thunk? It’s kind of like soap but way more pliable, the purpose of which is to remove any contaminates that have become bonded to a vehicle’s paint, maximising the effects of any subsequent polishing and waxing.

The clay bar works by effectively lifting said contaminants from the surface of the paint because they become stuck to the clay itself. Contaminants such as tar and tree sap – all that nasty stuff that adheres and becomes fixed to the surface. Go to your car or bike now and run your hand over a painted panel. Chances are it will feel rough to the touch. If this is indeed the case then a clay bar treatment will really help smooth everything out by removing the guff, providing a smooth-as-glass finish that can then be polished or waxed.

Get your Meguiar’s Smooth Surface Clay Kit here.

The Product

One option that we have used in the past to great effect is Meguiar’s Smooth Surface Clay Kit. We recently reviewed another of its products – the Endurance tyre Gel – giving it a stellar five out of five rating. We like Meguiar’s, they make good stuff and this clay bar kit is no exception. Included in the box is 3 x 60g clay bars, Meguiar’s Quik Detailer and a Meguiar’s Supreme Shine Microfibre towel. Our kit is an older version and included a small bottle of Meguiar’s Quik Wax but it is essentially the same product. It has everything you need to successfully remove all of the surface contaminants from your paint, providing a super smooth finish that will help your car achieve its best shine following a polish and wax.

The Test

As mentioned, we wanted to show the Volvo some love and so we broke out the Meguiar’s Clay Kit to smooth out the paint before giving it a good polish. Using half of one of the 60g bars we set to work. It’s a simple process that involves keeping the area well lubricated with the Quik Detailer supplied so that the clay does not stick to the paint and then working in an up/down, left/right motion with the clay. Once the surface of the bar is dirtied sufficiently it’s necessary to fold and knead it to a clean side and then continue until the area is smooth to the touch. It can then be wiped dry with the microfibre towel that comes with the kit, or any microfibre towel for that matter.

The Result

The clay kit is incredibly easy to get to grips with and everything required to do the job properly is supplied. Aside from how dirty the clay becomes it’s difficult to actually see the results; visually the paint won’t look much different until you get some shine on it. The real difference is in how it feels. After claying, our Volvo’s paintwork was like silk to the touch. It was noticeably smoother and we were confident that all of the surface contaminants had been liberated from the car and that we could now polish away, safe in the knowledge that we had a perfect base from which to begin.

The Verdict – 5 out of 5

If you’ve never used a clay bar before you’ll be astonished by how much smoother your paintwork will feel after application. At around thirty quid the Meguiar’s kit is a decent price and thanks to the sheer amount of product you get it can be used multiple times. We can highly recommend it if you’re serious about getting the best out of your classic’s paint. Combine it with a good polish and wax and you’ll fall in love all over again.