The Baggie Test - How to inspect for above surface bonded contaminants

The Baggie Test - How to inspect for above surface bonded contaminants


After washing and drying your car, the next thing you want to do is to inspect the paint for what we call,

Above Surface Bonded Contaminants

These contaminants can be,

• Tree Sap Mist
• Industrial Fallout
• Overspray Paint
• Air-borne Dirt and Dust
• Pollution
• Road Grime

You can check for above surface bonded contaminants by feeling the horizontal surfaces with your clean, bare hand using your sense of touch to detect what will feel like little bumps or surface texture on the finish. This type of inspection works well and is a good general indicator of above surface bonded contaminants.

The Baggie Test
If you really want to feel what's going on at the surface level of your car's paint or your customer's car's paint, then use "The Baggie Test" when inspecting the paint for above surface bonded contaminants.

Better yet, if you want to share with your customer one of the problems with their car's paint that you're going to correct, let them also do "The Baggie Test" with you. The average car owner doesn't know what detailing clay is, how to use it or the benefits of using detailing clay to clay automotive paint, let alone how to test for above surface bonded contaminants.

Sharing this little tidbit of knowledge with your customer will demonstrate to them that you really know your business and later, after you've finished the job, letting them feel the now smooth and slippery paint will solidify their trust in your expertise. This can help you to retain their business and potentially led to referrals via word-of-mouth advertising.

To do "The Baggie Test", simply use a clean sandwich baggie by placing your hand inside the baggie and then feeling the horizontal surfaces like the hood, roof and trunk lid. The film of plastic acts to intensify the surface texture created by contaminants bonded to the paint making it more dramatic to your sense of touch when you feel the paint through the baggie.


The Baggie Test
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You can also inspect the vertical panels and if you detect above surface bonded contaminants on these areas then they should be clayed also. Generally speaking, air-borne contaminants will land and settle on the horizontal surfaces but drift past the vertical panels where they will land on the ground. The main exception to this rule is any air-borne contaminant that is sticky, like Tree Sap Mist or Overspray Paint.




Resources

The 2 primary benefits of using detailing clay to clay paint





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Baggie Test Tip from Paul aka 2old2change


Here's a tip from my buddy Paul aka 2old2change that I use all the time. That is, when doing the Baggie Test to inspect for above surface bonded contaminants, purchase and use thin sandwich baggies, not the thicker style common to premium styles like the zip-lock type of sandwich baggies.

The thinner plastic works better to reveal contaminants on the surface better than thicker plastic. A simple tip that really does make a big difference.


Paul even sent me a box of some very inexpensive, Plain-Jane sandwich baggies to use in the studio... thanks Paul!

These are Kroger brand regular sandwich bags
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...ndinBaggie.jpg



Use the right tool for the job and all that...


Sometimes the little things are the big things...


:)

Related topic....

Before using detailing clay or any other type of product to mechanically decontaminate paint, first start by chemically decontaminating the paint.

More info here....


Tip for Iron X users - Rinse well to avoid molding drip


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:)

Would something like saran wrap work too?

Saran wrap is inherently tacky, you want something that will slide and glide, nothing beats a cheap baggie.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by custmsprty

nothing beats a cheap baggie.

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I agree. If you have a Kroger store, look for these,

These are Kroger brand regular sandwich bags
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...ndinBaggie.jpg



:)

How about base coat overspray on black trim?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by StreetKlean

How about base coat overspray on black trim?

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Too good of a question to be tagged in this how-to article so I crated for you your own thread.


How do you remove white basecoat overspray on black trim?


:)