claying, wet sanding?

[MONSTERMATT]

what is the difference between the two and why would somebody want to do this?? Excuse noobness THANKS

[tephra]

claying removes surface contaminants - like paint overspray, bird crap, industrial fallout, stubborn dust/dity

wet sanding is much more dramatic, and will take a layer of your paint or clear coat off - usually you do this after a respray or patch job to smooth out the surface

[davidc]

Wet sanding removes the orange peel and some minor scratches that may be near impossible to remove otherwise. You need to be careful not to go to far or you may go to the primer or sheet metal. You also need to remember that you will need to buff the paint with compound to bring back the gloss which will remove more of the clear or paint.

[mtnbiker]

claying removes surface contaminants - like paint overspray, bird crap, industrial fallout, stubborn dust/dity

wet sanding is much more dramatic, and will take a layer of your paint or clear coat off - usually you do this after a respray or patch job to smooth out the surface

So what part of this don't I understand? If claying removes industrial fallout, dust & dirt, then you nead the clay over & over, this fallout & other contaminants stay in the clay & gets rubbed back over the paint. Is this not true? Wouldn't it put more scratches in the paint like the Calif. Duster might?

[tephra]

you can wash and kneed the clay and get rid of 50+% of the crap in it..

but generally clays will only last a little while...

i have a couple of different clays, 1 for wheels, 1 for upper body, 1 for lower body... etc.. and I rotate them downwards, ie upper -> lower -> wheels...

[mtnbiker]

That makes sense. So use for a short amount of time.
Thanks

[tephra]

use until visually dirty...

im sure others/betters will be able to elaborate more :)