Printable View
What is the best way to clean a clay mitt? I was claying recently on an older vehicle and some transfer from the black molding got on the mitt. I tried to clean off with soap and water but no luck. Can I use something harsher or will it ruin the clay?
Blackfire has released a clay mitt cleaner. To be safe on if it's not to harsh of a cleaner that will ruin the synthetic clay. I would give this a shot.
BLACKFIRE Synthetic Clay Mitt Cleaner
Here is the review I did on the BF Clay Mitt Cleaner
Review - Blackfire Synthetic Mitt Cleaner
You could try a little APC and see if that helps.
I will give that a try. Nice review. Thank you
Blackfire Synthetic Clay Mitt Cleaner works great.
BLACKFIRE Synthetic Clay Mitt Cleaner
Just to chime in....
BLACKFIRE did introduce a dedicated clay mitt cleaner. I used it to remove white overspray paint off a clay mitt and it worked perfect.
Review: BLACKFIRE Synthetic Clay Mitt Cleaner
BLACKFIRE Synthetic Clay Mitt Cleaner
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...ittCleaner.jpg
From the AG store
Make sure your Decontamination step is a Recontamination step!
BLACKFIRE Synthetic Clay Mitt Cleaner will effortlessly separate all the contamination from your synthetic clay mitt and leave it clean and ready for your next decontamination. BLACKFIRE Synthetic Clay Mitt Cleaner makes claying your car much safer than it has been in the past! With BLACKFIRE Synthetic Clay Mitt Cleaner you won’t having to worry about all the contamination in your clay mitt potentially marring the surface of your paint during the claying process. Keeping your mitt clean with BLACKFIRE Synthetic Clay Mitt Cleaner will allow you to get many more cars out of every mitt you use!
Whether you call it “decontaminating your paint” or “claying the surface”, it is one of the most important process in car detailing. By simply existing, you paint is bombarded with a slew of contaminants and debris that stick into your paint on a microscopic level. These contaminants leave the surface dull and rough to the touch. Not only that, but most of these contaminants will eventually erode away your car’s precious paint, causing permanent damage. You can solve this issue by simply claying your car with a synthetic clay mitt. However, that contamination doesn’t just disappear, it remains stuck in your mitt.
Because synthetic clay mitts were designed to be used often and for plenty of cars, having them riddled with contamination poses some serious risks! This is precisely why BLACKFIRE Synthetic Clay Mitt Cleaner was created! BLACKFIRE Synthetic Clay Mitt Cleaner contains revolutionary surfactants that will work quickly to separate the contaminants from your synthetic clay mitt, making them easy to scrub or rinse away. The surface of your mitt that is left afterwards will be contaminant-free and ready for the next safe and effective decontamination step!
While your paint’s safety is probably the most important thing to you, it is not the only benefit of routinely using BLACKFIRE Synthetic Clay Mitt Cleaner during your claying process. Synthetic clay mitts by nature are meant to be a long-term alternative to traditional clay bars. Because clay bars break down quickly, you will find yourself going through many of them through out your detailing career. Synthetic clay mitts are able to last 10 times as long as tradition clay, but they too will eventually fall victim to the abuse!
However, using BLACKFIRE Synthetic Clay Mitt Cleaner to clean the surface of your mitt regularly will greatly reduce the amount of abuse your mitt sees! Because you don’t have to worry about the microscopic contaminants tearing your mitt to shreds as you use it, you’ll get even more cars out of it than before!
Directions:
Working out of direct sunlight, spray Synthetic Clay Mitt Cleaner directly onto the affected area and allow to dwell for approximately 30-45 seconds. Scrub the surface using a brush or by agitating the towel or mitt. Rinse thoroughly with water and dry.
2014 Corvette Stingray Detail- Pinnacle Jeweling Wax
So I have a Corvette to do an exterior detail to for a long-time customer. Owner says it's his wife's car and it hasn't been properly waxed since they bought it. I did the baggie test when it arrived and the paint had bumps on it so I figure I'll decontaminate it during the wash process.
After washing the Corvette, I broke out a brand new BLACKFIRE Clay Mitt.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler..._Clean_030.JPG
With a new mitt you're supposed to break it in by rubbing the polymerized rubber side against some glass. The glass had bumps on it too so I broke the mitt in on the glass and at the same time removed any contaminants off the glass.
Here's brand new mitt with soapy water on it.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler..._Clean_001.JPG
Rub rub rub...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler..._Clean_002.JPG
Theoretically she's now broke-in...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler..._Clean_003.JPG
I washed the car without a foam gun so to get some lubricating soap solution onto the paint I just used my wash mitt and gathered some car wash and spread it around the car panel-by-panel and then used the Clay Mitt to mechanically decontaminate the paint.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler..._Clean_004.JPG
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler..._Clean_005.JPG
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler..._Clean_006.JPG
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler..._Clean_007.JPG
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler..._Clean_008.JPG
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler..._Clean_009.JPG
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler..._Clean_010.JPG
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler..._Clean_011.JPG
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler..._Clean_012.JPG
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler..._Clean_013.JPG
Rinsing...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler..._Clean_014.JPG
For the vertical panels on the car I used a technique I share in an article here,
Bodyshop sanding technique when using clay mitts to decontaminate paint during the washing step
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler..._Clean_015.JPG
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler..._Clean_016.JPG
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler..._Clean_017.JPG
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler..._Clean_018.JPG
After using the clay mitt on all the horizontal panels and the side body panels I then tackled the back of the Corvette. Corvettes have some vertical real-estate at the back.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler..._Clean_019.JPG
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler..._Clean_020.JPG
And BOOM!
There it was - white paint overspray on the back of the Corvette. I called the owner, he said he has know idea where it came from but he roads around Stuart are all under construction and sometimes he borrows the wife's car and drives it to his shop which is in an industrial area.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler..._Clean_021.JPG
I rinsed the mitt off outside with the rest of my car wash tools and brushes but some of the overspray paint remained. Now this is a brand new mitt and I'm not going to throw it away but I also don't want to rub the white paint over the next car I detail.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler..._Clean_022.JPG
Alfonso, one of our warehouse staff brought me a sample of the new clay mitt cleaner in the BLACKFIRE line a few days ago so now I have the perfect test to see if it works.
By the word works - I mean it has to clean the paint off the polymerized rubber interface without at the same time screwing it up.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler..._Clean_023.JPG
I went to the break room, sprayed some onto the mitt....
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler..._Clean_024.JPG
Then agitated using a horse hair detail brush (we carry these at Autogeek)
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler..._Clean_025.JPG
Good news! It works! You can see the white overspray paint coming off the mitt as I agitate it.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler..._Clean_026.JPG
I did this under running water...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler..._Clean_027.JPG
Perfectly clean and in my opinion - safe to use on the next car.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler..._Clean_028.JPG
Review
This product worked great. In the past when I've had something on a clay mitt, towel or pad I normally went to the closest bathroom and used hand soap with a brush and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I have also tried APC type product and while they do tend to work they also seem to make the rubber sticky. This new product removed the overspray paint and didn't make the rubber sticky.
Clay substitutes like clay towels, pads and mitts cost a lot of money. If they work that's great, it means they removed whatever it was on the car you needed to get off. But if the stuff you're removing is now STUCK on your costly clay substitute - well that's not good. If you use clay substitutes and you've run into this type of problem in the past, next time you place an order for supplies with Autogeek pick up a bottle of the new BLACKFIRE Clay Mitt Cleaner and clean and protect your investments.
On Autogeek.com
BLACKFIRE Synthetic Clay Mitt Cleaner
Detailing Brush Kit
The above detail brush kit comes with 3 brushes,
Horsehair Brush
The horsehair brush is great for all interior detailing needs. It whisks away all traces of dust, dirt, and crumbs from the tight spaces that you couldn’t otherwise touch. Its soft, gentle bristles reach into cracks, crevices and crannies to dislodge the particles that make their home in the most inconvenient places.
Nylon Brush
The nylon brush is designed for removing wax residue around emblems, molding, and anywhere else it may collect. Of course this is only one of its many uses. It also is handy to use for interior detailing.
Brass Brush
The brass brush has extra sturdy bristles for cleaning the most baked-on, caked-on grime on engine parts. You can’t find a better tool for getting at those hard to reach places under your hood.
Poly-Foam Tipped Swab
A poly-foam tipped swab with a 5” handle is included for good measure. You’ll find 101 different uses for it.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...hair_brush.jpg
The horse hair brush works great as it provides gentle agitation without being so course to tear-up the rubber surface. Chances are you can find a use for the other brushes and the swab. The brass brush by the way comes in real handy for cleaning corroded battery posts and terminal ends for the battery for your car under the hood.
If you use clay mitts, towels or pads, you need to keep them clean and free from contamination build-up, here's the product that will solve this problem.
:)
Thank you very much for all the detail.
Quote:
Originally Posted by flagg
That's what I do - detail.
Imagine trying to share that much information in a Facebook post? Or on Instagram or Twitter?
:laughing: