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  1. #11
    Super Member oldmodman's Avatar
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    Re: Clayed my car and scratched the hell out of it

    While helping out a neighbor he asked me about the sap that had rained down on his car.
    Since his car was already swirled to death I told him that I had some clay he could use on the car. It was Clay Magic red Clay, very aggressive. If the finish had not already been damaged the red clay would have done it. Even with the red clay it took two going overs to get all the sap off. Then I used 105 & 205 on it for him. Finished up with Natty's Blue. It should look good for quite a while now that he garages it.

    Just for a test after polishing the paint I tried my Pinnacle clay on the corrected paint and it didn't marr it at all.

  2. #12
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    Re: Clayed my car and scratched the hell out of it

    Quote Originally Posted by fredcandetail View Post
    How long did it take you to clay your car?
    There's one guy on here that can clay a sedan in under 10 minutes!
    There is no way a guy doing a clay job in 10 minutes is doing it the correct way, or removing all of the contaminants. Thats some production detailing stuff where is just has to be "good enough".

  3. #13
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    Re: Clayed my car and scratched the hell out of it

    I do not see how you CANNOT marr the paint from claying?!? You're rubbing particles back and forth on you paint. Sure, a good lube can help reduce the marring, but you're still gonna get some. Claybock(magna sponge) plus CG Luber FTW!!!
    '03 Corvette Z06

  4. #14
    Mike Phillips
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    Re: Clayed my car and scratched the hell out of it

    Quote Originally Posted by theparmachine View Post

    Thanks for the replies. It was warm and I was folding the clay often. I was using dish soap and water as the clay lube which has always worked well for me in the past and I have never noticed the scratching before.


    When you say you've never noticed the scratching before...

    Was this with the same car or other car's you've clayed?



  5. #15
    Mike Phillips
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    Re: Clayed my car and scratched the hell out of it

    Quote Originally Posted by Spiney View Post

    I had called a neighborhood detail shop asking to buy some bulk clay or where I could get it locally before I found AG. He told me he never clays and if he must he used some synthetic clay compound. He advised me against it on my Black Cobra.

    But I did it using the Meguiar's clay kit and had no issues.
    Quote Originally Posted by killrflake View Post
    I was introduced to clay many years ago by a body shop who had done some painting for me. When picking up the car I noticed some overspray,

    so the body shop owner came out with some clay and lube and removed the overspray perfectly and quickly without any damage to the paint.

    Thats the day I got sold on the product. I keep a few bars of Pinnacle clay handy all the time and find it to be the least aggressive of the clays out there.

    I must admit I use a lot of lube when I clay my car, the only time I've ever had any problems with clay is when I used smaller amounts of lube.

    Their's a huge variable that is a HUGE factor in the kind of results you get no matter what product you're using on a car and that is the PAINT SYSTEM on the car. Cars painted on the assembly line use different paint systems between manufactures, models and even the same model can have a different paint system used today than was used last year.

    Body shops spray "paint systems", that is a brand and type of paint and paint companies, just like computer companies, are continually improving and changing their formulas, so the PPG "paint system" sprayed today can be different than the same PPG product code/paint system sprayed 2 years ago.

    Some paints can be marred or scratched, called clay haze by claying while others are not affected. It all has to do with the characteristics of the paint and paint systems are huge variables when it comes to working and detailing your car.

    One thing a person can do before claying an entire car, especially if it's the first time they've worked on this particular car, which is a another way of saying, worked on this particular paint system is to do what I call a Test Spot.

    Test the clay and clay lube you're using to one small area and then inspect the results in good lighting and even two different kinds of light. If the results look good then keep claying the car. If you see any kind of problem then stop and evaluate the situation, even come to this forum and describe what you're seeing.

    And I agree with Chad that a safe practice is to only clay if and when you were already planning on polishing the paint. That's a safe practice but it's not necessary for everyone and for every paint system.

    Here's an article I wrote recently that talks about different paint systems...

    Hologram Free with a Rotary Buffer




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  7. #16
    Super Member BobbyG's Avatar
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    Re: Clayed my car and scratched the hell out of it

    Quote Originally Posted by RaskyR1 View Post
    It will vary based on you paint type, clay grade, an clay lube you are using....but I find most cars will see at least some amount of marring from claying. Because of this, I never clay unless I plan on polishing too.

    Of the many clays I've tried, this Pinnacle clay seems to be the most mild. A good slick clay lube is also a must and Meguiar's Last Touch is one of my favorites.

    Rasky
    Quote Originally Posted by Flannigan View Post
    This is one step that I rarely seen talked about on this forum, and others. I think people are getting bad advice from a lot of the how to articles that don't advise this. IMO if clay is touching paint you should be at the very least using a paint cleaner with a polishing pad to follow it up. Great advice Chad!
    Very good advise guys!!

    Many of us have routines and sometimes overlook the folks just getting into detailing or learning the proper way and steps to make the finish look great.

    Basic steps in order are:

    • Wash
    • Clay
    • Paint Correction & Polish
    • Seal
    • Wax

    While washing is paramount in maintaining the finish on any vehicle there are additional steps that should follow the basic wash several times annually.

    My Take on Things

    Compounding is "generally" needed once but polishing once to twice annually providing the finish is properly maintained throughout the year. There are a lot of variables that come into play here so this isn't cut and dry.

    • Is the car garaged?
    • Does is see a lot of hot sun?
    • Does it see snow, ice, sand, salt?
    • Is the environment dusty?
    • Is it driven daily?
    • Is the color dark?

    Using a good sealant is a nice way to keep that freshly polished surface looking great. Adding a an additional coat will only help and if you're inclined a Carnauba wax will add depth and warmth.

    Some of the new hard coatings will also protect a lot longer than any sealant or wax. Optimum Opti-Coat 2.0, CarPro CQuartz, Element 119 are fine examples of the new hard coating available today.

    Hmmmm, I may have gotten off track....

    BobbyG - 2004 Millennium Yellow Z06 Corvette

  8. #17
    Regular Member CASH XRS's Avatar
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    Re: Clayed my car and scratched the hell out of it

    See, people like myself are glad I am on this forum. I did not know you NEEDED to polish after you clay. I was just going to wash, clay, hit it with a pre-wax cleaner and then wax. So I should clay, then polish, but with what, I plan on using Meguiar's SwirlX down the road when I get a DA, is ColorX a good option for now? I would be doing this all by hand for now.
    From PA, just outside of Philadelphia.
    Still new to the game. Hobby Detailer. General car lover, but a huge Toyota enthusiast!!
    Looking forward to always learning!

  9. #18
    Super Member sportscarhiatus's Avatar
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    Re: Clayed my car and scratched the hell out of it

    Quote Originally Posted by RaskyR1 View Post
    It will vary based on you paint type, clay grade, an clay lube you are using....but I find most cars will see at least some amount of marring from claying. Because of this, I never clay unless I plan on polishing too.

    Of the many clays I've tried, this Pinnacle clay seems to be the most mild. A good slick clay lube is also a must and Meguiar's Last Touch is one of my favorites.

    Rasky
    Good point Rasky and I 100% agree. I too do this. Esp after a long winter. To the guy saying he clays a car in 10 minutes, that has to be when the paint is already glassy smooth. Either that or he does a poor job claying. LOL. After a long winter with all the grit on my car's paint? It takes about a good 4 hours to clay. And yes, my paint is MARRED to hell, despite good kneading, good lubing, and warm temps. I just have to buff it with a gray pad and M205 or Super Finish after. It's a given.
    2012 Ford Mustang 5.0 - Kona Blue Christened name: MARILYN
    2012 Acura TSX S.E. - Silver Moon Christened name: TORI
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  10. #19
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    Re: Clayed my car and scratched the hell out of it

    Quote Originally Posted by Mike.Phillips@Autogeek View Post
    When you say you've never noticed the scratching before...

    Was this with the same car or other car's you've clayed?



    It was with other cars. This one has a silver metalic finish so that may be it. Usually I do go from clay right to compound and polishing and this time I did not. Boy, I won't do that again.

  11. #20
    Super Member shoeless89's Avatar
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    Re: Clayed my car and scratched the hell out of it

    I guess I'm one of the lucky ones, I've never seen any marring from claying
    Rule 62: Don't take yourself to d*mn seriously
    Cincinnati, OH
    Shawn

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