Decontaminating your vehicle's exterior surfaces with clay after washing is something that might be unfamiliar to you. You might even think that using clay on your car is a process that seems too complicated or too risky for you to attempt. Many of our customers have expressed this hesitation at some point, but we're here to tell you that doing a clay decon on your vehicle doesn't have to be a stressful task. In this video, Adam and Joe demonstrate and explain the process of using a Clay Mitt and Mega Foam to safely decontaminate paint, glass, chrome, painted plastic, and other exterior surfaces in a very fast manner - usually in 15 minutes or less. This claying while washing process is an excellent way to perform a maintenance decontamination to remove about 75% of the contaminants on most surfaces. For severe amounts of over spray, fallout, tree sap, etc, you may need a stronger option like our Visco Clay Bar.

Before you begin this process, it is very important that your car needs to be clean, so wash and rinse the vehicle first following the processes outlined in our other videos. You do not want to use a Clay Mitt on a dirty or muddy car, because this could quickly introduce damage suc as marring, scuffs, and scratches into the painted surfaces. The Clay Mitt is intended to remove the bonded contamination embedded into the clear coat after a wash - it is not intended to be used as a wash mitt to clean the vehicle. We'll need just a few key items to clay after washing: A Clay Mitt, Mega Foam with an optional Foam Cannon, and a Wash Bucket with a Grit Guard insert.

There are several benefits of using a Clay Mitt to decon your vehicle after a wash: 1) You already have all of your wash materials out and ready and the vehicle is clean. 2) Mega Foam is an excellent lubricant for the clay, providing a slippery surface for the Clay Mitt to glide and have minimal potential for damage to the paint. 3) The Clay Mitt provides a much larger surface area than a clay bar, so you will be able to clay the vehicle in a fraction of the time. 4) The Clay Mitt is much more controllable with less chance of dropping it on the ground. 5) The Clay Mitt rinses out much easier with a Girt Guard and a hose than stretching and folding a clay bar over and over multiple times during the clay process.

This process is quite easy, but it is dependent on the right temperature without too much direct sunlight. As mentioned in the video, temperatures above 80F will cause the Clay Mitt to be more difficult to work with, and could cause inconveniences like the perforated pattern in the clay to transfer as dots onto the surface if the clay is too or if you use too much pressure. Working in the hot, direct sunlight can also be troublesome, since the Mega Foam soap solution can begin to dry onto the vehicle, which will prevent the Clay Mitt from gliding properly. Working in the shade or during a cooler time of the day will make things even easier.

Use the Foam Cannon to put a thin layer of foam onto the vehicle, about one-third as much foam as you used while washing. You can do this by adjusting the top knob on the foam cannon to create a thinner foam layer. For the lower areas of the vehicle (rocker panels, bumpers, etc) you may want to spray a little extra foam here, since those are usually the most contaminated areas. Next, take the Clay Mitt, dunk it in your Wash Bucket to suds it up, then glide it over the surface of the vehicle in back-and-forth or up-down motions - do not use circular motions with the mitt. Work from the roof of the vehicle downward, since the lower areas will usually be the most contaminated, and make sure to clean out the Clay Mitt often, by spraying it with the hose and then scrubbing it on the Grit Guard in the bucket before you move onto the next section of the vehicle. Once you have decontaminated all areas (including glass), rinse the vehicle to remove all of the clay and Mega Foam residue, then we will move onto drying the vehicle next!