Re: Clayed my car and scratched the hell out of it
The first clay application on my black Mercedes was with medium grade and it left noticeable marring but I was polishing after anyways so it wasn't an issue. I now use an ultra fine grade clay mitt for maintenance and haven't noticed any marring. I constantly rinse the mitt during use as well.
Re: Clayed my car and scratched the hell out of it
I used to say I didn't like to wax without claying first. After less than year doing customers cars, I now do a test spot first with my clay mitt. Some paints mar easily.
I did a new darker red metallic Sienna van a month or so ago, and marred the heck out of a portion of the roof before I noticed it. It didn't take much to remove it with Optimum Polish, but it was an extra step and more time. I'm glad I noticed it when I did!
Re: Clayed my car and scratched the hell out of it
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Mantilgh
I used to say I didn't like to wax without claying first. After less than year doing customers cars, I now do a test spot first with my clay mitt. Some paints mar easily.
I did a new darker red metallic Sienna van a month or so ago, and marred the heck out of a portion of the roof before I noticed it. It didn't take much to remove it with Optimum Polish, but it was an extra step and more time. I'm glad I noticed it when I did!
So did you switch to traditional clay so it didnt marr as bad?
Re: Clayed my car and scratched the hell out of it
I like to add that I use spray wax as a lube. It helps.
Re: Clayed my car and scratched the hell out of it
WOW...talk about old thread reply! :rolleyes:
Quote:
Originally Posted by
theparmachine
.... I was using dish soap and water as the clay lube.....
This part though is what stuck out to me, back when the thread was new. :eek:
Considering dish soap is a bit more harsh, and strips more than literally anything else you could use on your paint, short of maybe acid. :laughing:
Although.... with Nanoskin these last few years I'll more often than not just use a clean splash of pH neutral shampoo and let er' rip.;)
Re: Clayed my car and scratched the hell out of it
Quote:
Originally Posted by
7.3powerstroke
So did you switch to traditional clay so it didnt marr as bad?
Nope, I just didn't clay it anymore. It wasn't included in the package(it was an NDP job), I just like to do it because I know it's supposed to give a better surface for the wax to bond to. I should have tried traditional clay to see if there was a difference.
I just polished up the mess I made and moved on.
Re: Clayed my car and scratched the hell out of it
I use Clay Magic medium grade and it does mar the paint slightly especially when I go hard on stubborn areas. Usually a quick polish takes care of light marring.
Re: Clayed my car and scratched the hell out of it
We've done this with thousands of retail vehicles. Clay bar the vehicle in sections & in a covered area (preferably inside a garage) during the wash process. Use a wash mit with dish soap to remove any existing paint protection so you have a "blank canvas" going forward. The amount of suds the dish soap creates provides that additional layer of lubrication that limits the amount of surface scratches that can occur when completing the claying process.
Re: Clayed my car and scratched the hell out of it
I did my car last week and did a full clay job as I noticed little sandy feel to the paint all over
"including tail lights". I have a bucket heater in a bucket with ready hot water at all times to mold the clay after each panel.
I used first ONR in clay lube ratio which I know ONR does not recommend nor support anymore.
Although the proportion of the mix are small I was exact about it with measuring cups and all.
Anyhow using ONR as a clay lube was a disaster. It married the paint and clear film especially bad
on a medium hardness paint. It was easy to remove the marring however mid-way I switched to
CG- Chemical Guys clay lube "blue in color" It worked fine as not to scratch the paint but it was too "slick" and slippery for my licking,
It also has this terrible blue dye that you can see actually dripping blue all over the place and my hands turned blue!
so I had to ONR wash each panel after each clayed area.
What is everyone collectively agree on as the best clay lube that is not too slippery and effective in removing contaminants
"does not require multiple passes"?
I know some pros are extreme and only use water to pick up every speck on the paint quickly but that's not for me.
Re: Clayed my car and scratched the hell out of it
I use ONR. I add way more than what they recommend for clay lube. Never had a problem