I've posted about Drive on other threads.
The host Larry Kosilla is in his own words OCD about detailing. This video talks about claybars. Near the end he demonstrates why you don't use a dropped bar.
Have a look.

 

Great tip. I never heard of this until now.

 

I clay barred my 2011 LT HHR. I was shocked how beautiful it came out. Waxed after and it was brilliant. Highly recommended the Clay Bar.

 

Ive known about clay-barring since I bought some of Zaino's excellent polish and finish products back in 2001. Since then, Ive clay-barred all of my vehicles and some friends', too. Then I bought my 2011 HHR in June. After a good washing I was going to run a new clay bar over her, but she was already smooth as glass. Maybe one of her previous owners knew about it.

 

Ditto... Every vehicle I have gets clay bar and a mild polishing then some of Sol Zaino's polymer products. Good stuff! ...john

 

this is great stuff, the claybaring. I never heard of it before!

Q: i read every post, some mentioned claybaring, then polishing, then waxing

is waxing and polishing the SAME operation, or are some doing 2 steps after the claybaring.

I used a product years ago called "Astro Shield". It was a cleaner-polish all one step. Did a great job, lasted a year. Saw it at a few car shows. Can't buy it anymore.

 

Are you sure you didn't mean cleaner-wax. Polish does what it says, it polishes the paint to get it as bright and shiny as possible. A wax just protects the paint from the elements.

 

"Astro Shield" said specifically it is a polish-cleaner, and "contains no wax" (I still have a can, but it is very liquidy like water, not the liquid 'creme' it once was-it separated from sitting in the cold-freeze garage-afraid to use it now)

so I am wondering are some people using a 'polish' THEN a 'wax' ? and if so, it is necessary?
(when i used the cleaner wax, i did not do anything else-in fact it stayed so clean subsequent applications were easy, no rubbing at all)

It was used on a white car, and the can said 'safe for clearcoats'

 

Clay bars are also a great way to clean wiper blades. I detail used cars for the Honda dealership and that's how I make some pretty tired wipers look recently replaced. When your clay is too dirty to use on paint just spray the rubber part with your water/soap solution and run the clay across a couple times. It goes a long way to eliminate streaky wipers.

 

I have a 2010 hhr panel ls and I have clay barred it twice and the shine is really great, I polish and than wax. I love seeing my towel just slide off the hood. good product when used right