I was cleaning my car the other day while my brother was watching. He caught sight of me claying the car and asked why I was doing that. Any way after explaining the purpose of what I was doing, he asked could the same be done using, wait for it... ‘bluetac’ . In all honesty, I couldn’t give him an answer. Later that day off he went. An hour or two later he comes back, with his car all washed and has something to show me. Out comes a stinking dirty piece of bluetac. He tells me he has just gone over the car with it, in the same way I was claying mine.
Is there a difference in doing what he did with the bluetac as I do with my clay bar, as both obtained the desired result? Would this have any long term effects on the paint?

Your thought / advice please.

 

Did he use any kind of lubricant with it? If not then he probably put a few scratches in his paint.

I shouldnt think the blu-tac would have done much anyway.

 

Yeah, he nicked my megs QD when I had my back turned.

 

Unless blue tack has polishing particles in it (the same ones as found in paste-based polishes) then it won't have anywhere near as much cut as proper clay bars. Remember that clay bars are just applicator pads with a difference; instead of working polishing particles into the paint, they allow them to glide over the surface exfoliating any high spots (which will be bonded contaminants of one form or another). Thus, while it may have worked in this case, in many cases it will prove useless, as blue tack does not contain polishing particles!