Poor Results with Clay Bar

[RMarkJr]

Hello all! Ok, so I have a 2015 Honda Accord EXL Metallic Grey. I started off using the meguiars clay bar .. I think its the meduim abrasive bar that they sell at autozone in a pack. I took my time making sure that I went over each area till it felt smooth and didnt hear anything. I folded it a lot ... typically after a panel. To the hand it felt really good. So I then spot compounded some areas with a microfiber cutting pad and M105. I then went over the whole car with a microfiber cutting pad with M105 with two passes with pretty firm pressure and two passed with light pressure. Which actually worked out really good surprisingly.

Now after this last step I decided to use the baggie test... well bumps everywhere! I dont get it.. after using the heck out of the clay and then microfiber with M205 I could still feel a lot. Sooo at this point I am not wanting to go back over the car again with clay and undo everything that I have just done.

So at this point I am not sure what to do .. I ordered some carpro Iron X last night and am thinking about using that on the car to see if it helps.

So my main three things are .. after using the clay bar is it really supposed to feel absolutely smooth with a baggie ... or is there going to be something left over?

also for future reference.. when claying .. is it better to use something like carpro Iron X first and then clay to get the best results?

and in my situation, what would be the best thing to do now that I have gone over the whole car and made it look really good, with feeling bumps in the paint still with the baggie test? Would the carpro Iron X help at this point or be recommended?

Thanks

[Automoglow]

From what I have seen on here Iron x would be first and then you should clay to get the remainder contamination off

[RMarkJr]

ya thats what I was a bit worried about .. well I might be a bit screwed at this point. Im not sure if I want to start all over with the whole thing. But then again I am a little OCD .. and its bugging me a bit knowing that its there still .. ahhh

[Heisenberg]

You may just have to use some Iron-X and then see where you are. If the finish is where you want it to be I wouldn't be too worried about it honestly.

[2black1s]

Iron-X should be done before claying. If I were in your shoes now that you have already clayed and compounded I'd forgo the Iron-X this go-around. Treat this go-around as a learning experience... Next time you can use Iron-X if desired.

As for the baggie test, and I've said this before but others have disagreed, I still stand by it. Use it as an indicator and do not expect absolute perfection. Before and afters will give you a pretty good idea of the improvement you have accomplished. You did not state if you did a baggie test before you did the claying/polishing so I'm not sure this helps in your situation. What I've found with the baggie test is that it is so sensitive that it's difficult to really discern exactly what you are feeling. Unless you have a glass smooth custom paint job you will always feel some imperfections with the baggie test. Even the texture of the paint, i.e., orange peel, is evident when doing the baggie test and can be confused with contaminants (this is the part where others have disagreed with me by questioning whether you can actually feel the paint texture, but I swear you can). So I repeat, use the baggie test as an indicator only and do not expect absolute perfection.

[Bob Wiener]

The clay shouldn't undo everything you've done. It is true that claying can cause some marring of the paint but a light polish will usually remove any defects the clay caused.

[Brandon Wetch]

The Clay in the kit is very mild in my experience. If you get Meguiars mild clay it will be more aggressive than that bar, and of coarse the aggressive bar will be even more aggressive. I think you should try a more aggressive bar and see if the results improve.

[Mantilgh]

It is true that claying can cause some marring of the paint but a light polish will usually remove any defects the clay caused.

Yes and yes.

You can get some marring depending on the paint, the particular clay product, lube, and technique.

To RMarkJr, you could try a NanoSkin clay disk for your DA. They remove contamination quick, but are more likely to marr.

[Toxix]

I find this interesting because according to your post you felt your section after claying it and made sure it was smooth.

As you said, I too would lean towards hitting the car with some Iron X, give it a bit of work in time and then rinse off thoroughly. To answer your qestion, yes the clay bar is supposed to leave it feeling quite smooth with the baggie test. I would also suggest going with a more aggressive type of clay from Autogeek rather than something off the shelf/something like a starter kit. I prefer the Nanoskin Medium Sponges for heavily neglected paint. More bang for your buck.

I'm not too sure how flexible your schedule is, but if it were me, I'd be starting over again because it would drive me insane everytime I washed and dried the car knowning that something is there.

Side question: Any repaints, damage, paint touchups done on the car that you know of? This could contribute to the texture you're feeling; At the end of the day, it would be a huge time saver trying Iron X first.

[zeus65]

My honda paint is so super soft. That when did the baggie test, it produced linear minor haziness over the spot. Is there any particular kinda polyethene bag should be used to do baggie test?? I used zipper lock plastic and very thin plastic that is usually wrapped around monitors or screens.

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