Tips for keeping a clay bar usable

[JB GTI]

Not a good start !!
I have never used clay before so didn't really know what to expect. I didn't think it was that cold today but I had trouble getting my Bilt Hamber clay soft and more importantly keeping it soft and usable on the car. Is there a knack to it ?? I read the destructions and it said to run it under some warm water to get it going but that didn't really do a lot and it went quite hard in a short space of time outside and started to break up.
What am I doing wrong ??

[Booth11]

Not a good start !!
I have never used clay before so didn't really know what to expect. I didn't think it was that cold today but I had trouble getting my Bilt Hamber clay soft and more importantly keeping it soft and usable on the car. Is there a knack to it ?? I read the destructions and it said to run it under some warm water to get it going but that didn't really do a lot and it went quite hard in a short space of time outside and started to break up.
What am I doing wrong ??

Keep it in a bowl of warm water and keep dipping it the piece you are using in the water regularly.  Break off only the amount you need so keep the pieces fairly small, of a size that fits the palm of your hand and flatten.  I used to use Bilt Hamber clay before switching first to a DoDo Juice Clay sponge and latterly to a WoWo Clay mitt.  BH is really good clay but the medium grade does harden up really quick in cold weather. The softer grade stays more malleable but may not remove all the embedded contaminants.  DoDo Juice clay bars tend to stay much softer than BH but results are not so good.  My  advice is to keep it warm, but my better advice is, if you are new to claying, use a clay mitt instead - no such issues as they simply don't harden like traditional clay bars do and are much more user friendly for the beginner (and the experienced too).