Buffing out the Lubricant after Clay Bar

[gearheadrd]

Hi Mike,

I'm wondering if it is necessary to buff off the dried lubricant after I finished claying the car? I having heck of a time trying to buff off the dried lubricant with a micro fiber towel after I finished claying the car... it leaves a hologram/haze effect on the paint, and it takes some crazy elbow grease to completely buff it off.
Can I go straight to white polishing pad with the dried lubricant still on the car (so I can skip the buffing step)?

I'm also wondering, if my paint doesn't have much swirl marks after claying the car, can I go straight to machine polishing (Porter Cable Orbital Buffer) using white LC white polishing pad with Klasse All-in-one?

Thanks in advance!

[flatstick]

gearheadrd,

Most people will tell you to wash the area again that you clayed. I use optimum no rinse and after I wash I clay using the onr. after done claying i wash the area with onr and wipe dry with a soft waffle weave towel. I always want the cleanest surface possible, especially if I am going to polish with an aio product. claying does leave some reside on it an people might use a quick detailer to remove the residue but I prefer washing the surface again. the rewash step only takes me a couple more minutes as I did not dry after the first wash. hope this makes sense.

[cnfowler]

Are you wiping off the paint after each section you clay? Or are you claying the entire car, then going back and trying to remove the dried lubricant?

Colin

[gearheadrd]

gearheadrd,

Most people will tell you to wash the area again that you clayed. I use optimum no rinse and after I wash I clay using the onr. after done claying i wash the area with onr and wipe dry with a soft waffle weave towel. I always want the cleanest surface possible, especially if I am going to polish with an aio product. claying does leave some reside on it an people might use a quick detailer to remove the residue but I prefer washing the surface again. the rewash step only takes me a couple more minutes as I did not dry after the first wash. hope this makes sense.


Flatstick, thanks for the insight. Washing the car again after claying sounds like a great idea. Should I use the car soap again after I finish claying the car, or should I give it a quick wash with plain tap water?
Anyway, I'm pretty new to this forum and I'm wondering what does "onr." stand for? I did a search on the car detailing lingo and I couldn't find what "onr." means...haha

Thanks!

[gearheadrd]

Are you wiping off the paint after each section you clay? Or are you claying the entire car, then going back and trying to remove the dried lubricant?

Colin


Hey Colin,

Yes, that's the exact same scenario you're describing -- claying the entire car (using the lubricant/ quick detailer that comes with the clay bar package -- Mothers), when I'm done claying it, the lubricant dries and it's a pain in the butt to buff it off.

[flatstick]

Flatstick, thanks for the insight. Washing the car again after claying sounds like a great idea. Should I use the car soap again after I finish claying the car, or should I give it a quick wash with plain tap water?
Anyway, I'm pretty new to this forum and I'm wondering what does "onr." stand for? I did a search on the car detailing lingo and I couldn't find what "onr." means...haha

Thanks!

I would wash the car again using some type of car wash soap and rinse and dry before trying to polish or use an all in one paint cleaner. the onr I was talking about is short for optimum no rinse car wash. with this type of car wash you wash the car like normal but their is no rinsing, just dry with a soft waffle weave drying towel or microfiber towel. it takes some practice to get the method to use the optimum no rinse but it does work well. if my car is very dirty or I have road salt I will use the hose at my house to rinse off the heavy dirt etc... no worries on being new, we were all there at one time :xyxthumbs: for me I prefer to wash clay, rewash and dry a section at a time, then move on to the next area. once I am done the entire car is ready for the next step. here is a link to the optimum no rinse thread that might explain things better for you and some videos that show it's use.


http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/tricks-tips-techniques/15836-onr-definitive-thread.html

[DARK HORSE]

Hey Colin,

Yes, that's the exact same scenario you're describing -- claying the entire car (using the lubricant/ quick detailer that comes with the clay bar package -- Mothers), when I'm done claying it, the lubricant dries and it's a pain in the butt to buff it off.

Do one panel at a time (i.e. clay a panel and wipe of the QD before moving on to the next panel)...

[DLB]

Do one panel at a time (i.e. clay a panel and wipe of the QD before moving on to the next panel)...
I agree. If you wipe the lube off as soon as you are finished with that section, you should have a nice clean surface, and it is no harder to wipe off then water would be.

DLB

[sparkism13]

Clay one small section at a time panel by panel, making sure to wipe off any residue as soon as you're done with that section. If you're using adequate lube and quality clay, stubborn residue should'nt be a problem. Since claying is so infrequent, it makes sense to do a quick wash again after claying the whole vehicle, but I dont think its necessary. When you polish, all that residue will come out anyhow. I also use ONR and I have it diluted at clay lube strength and I follow up with quick detailer strength ONR to get the residue off as needed. It's a good idea to get the residue off, but you can do so by washing or using quick detailer.

[A4 1.8tqm]

:iagree: same process I use, or, if you still want to clay the whole car before wiping off the residue just respray a little lube or QD on the dryed up areas and it will easily wipe off clean. :cheers:

[Mike Phillips]

Hi Mike,

I'm wondering if it is necessary to buff off the dried lubricant after I finished claying the car? I having heck of a time trying to buff off the dried lubricant with a micro fiber towel after I finished claying the car... it leaves a hologram/haze effect on the paint, and it takes some crazy elbow grease to completely buff it off.


Although others have posted already to this here's my take...

After claying a section, wipe off the residue while it's still wet. I think this is pointed out in both of these articles.


Tips and Tricks for using detailing clay (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-articles/20259-tips-techniques-using-detailing-clay.html)




After you're finished claying this section, wipe-off the excess residue from the surface before moving on to new territory. This means having a few clean microfibers on hand and someplace clean and accessible next to the car.

After you wipe the section clean and it's dry, check the surface with a clean dry hand to insure it is in fact smooth and glassy feeling, if it is, try to remember how long you clayed the section or approximately how many strokes you used and then lock this into your memory and duplicate this to each new section you clay. Keep in mind that some bonded contaminants are more stubborn than others and may take more effort to remove or a more aggressive clay formula.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/723/detail-69.jpg


Repeat the above until you've clayed all the panels that felt contaminated wiping the clay lube residue off after claying each section.


And also in this one,

Wolfgang Elastic Poly Clay Bar - Review and How-to (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/product-reviews/21823-wolfgang-elastic-poly-clay-bar-review-how.html)



Next I rubbed the clay patty back and forth over an area about 16" inches squarish or so. At first you will feel the clay grabbing a little bit, that's normal, as you continue to move the clay over the paint it will remove more and more above surface bonded contaminants and then will start gliding effortlessly.

This is a pretty good sign that this area is now clean and smooth and you can wipe-off the lubricant residue and then move onto a new section.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WGClay003.jpg








Can I go straight to white polishing pad with the dried lubricant still on the car (so I can skip the buffing step)?


Gosh no!

Claying remove above surface bonded contaminant and while most of these will be trapped onto your detailing clay, some will be mixed in with the residue left on the surface so not only wipe the surface clean but DO A REALLY GREAT JOB OF WIPING THE SURFACE CLEAN.

If you don't feel you can wipe the surface clean or want to take the extra step of insuring the surface is 100% clean the you can re-wash the car. I have no problem with anyone re-washing the car or with anyone recommending to re-wash the car but in my entire life I've never re-washed a car after claying but instead just done a great job of wiping the paint clean.

Detailing a car already takes a long time, adding the extra steps of washing the car and then drying the car will just make it take even longer. Like many things related to detailing cars, not washing or re-washing will be personal preference.




I'm also wondering, if my paint doesn't have much swirl marks after claying the car, can I go straight to machine polishing (Porter Cable Orbital Buffer) using white LC white polishing pad with Klasse All-in-one?


Sure if you want to, depends upon what your expectations are, one man's ceiling is another man's floor.

Klasse All-In-One is a cleaner/wax or cleaner sealant for all the D.O. people, point is it falls into a category in the car wax industry referred to as Cleaner/Waxes.

I've been teaching people to do a Test Spot ever since I started posting to the Internet and don't plan on stopping that practice anytime soon, so if it were me I would do a test spot using your pad, product and process, (process is how you apply the product with your pad), and then wipe the residue off and inspect the results in good lighting. If it looks GREAT, or at least great to you, the duplicate this over the rest of the car. If is doesn't look that good, or at least not acceptable to you then won't you be glad you didn't go over the entire car?

If your test spot doesn't look good then come back here to the forum and ask for help.


:)

[ICEMAN]

i have never had to do clean anything after a clay. I clay a small section at a time. just like buffing. I go straight to buffing after i clay. i have never had any residue after i clay. its al wiped away b/c i dont let the lube dry at all. if i see it starting to dry, i spray another shot and keep clayin then wipe when im done with that spot.

[Jossy92]

So, claying is more like a wowo type of product in that letting it set up on the paint might create more work.

[Mike Phillips]

So, claying is more like a wowo type of product in that letting it set up on the paint might create more work.

Kind of but not really.


Clay is a material that will abrade anything bonded on top of the paint surface.
Clay Lube is the liquid that lubricates the surface as you rub the clay over it.

After you clay a section you wipe off any leftover residue so that you don't have to re-wash the car, so that the residue doesn't dry and so that the paint is clean and shiny ready for the next process.

It's really quite simple.


:)

[ICEMAN]

It's really quite simple.


:)

just time consuming, but COMPLETELY worth it if the car is that bad, and they are willing to pay!