Clay mars soft paint - 2020 C8 Corvette - Soft Paint

Clay mars soft paint - 2020 C8 Corvette - Soft Paint


This is called clay marring - 2020 C8 Corvette

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...Marring_02.JPG

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...Marring_03.JPG



When the 2020 C8 Black Corvette Stingray was here, I needed to test out some clay to see how aggressive it is and how it performed. After doing a waterless wash on the old 2-door Chevy, (you can read about the waterless wash here), I did the BAGGIE TEST on the Corvette and while there were a few dots of contamination on all the panels, (and the glass), it was not what I would consider horribly contaminated.

So I tested the clay for clay marring, not so much contaminant removal. This is the FIRST C8 I've worked on so I didn't know what to expect. Historically, ever since the C4 Corvettes, I would say generally speaking, the factory paint on these Corvettes from the C4 to the C7, the paint has been on the HARD side of the soft paint/hard paint spectrum.

After claying a few panels on the C8 Corvette, and then later when I polished this Corvette, while I would not say the paint was soft - it's definitely not hard. If I had to make a committed statement on where I think it lands I would say out of this range,

Soft - Medium - Hard

It's on the soft side of medium.



Do I need to polish after claying?

This topic comes up a lot. That is, if a person is going to use detailing clay or ANY type of clay substitute on their car's paint, after this step, do they need to then polish the paint?

For me personally, the answer is "yes". I know from experience that rubbing a material with pulverized abrasives in it over scratch-sensitive paint that chances are very good there is marring of the paint at least to some level. Now on lighter colors and white paint you may not see this marring. But on darker colors and black paint it's a lot easier to see.

The BIG PICTURE is this - if marring from claying is happening on black and dark colors, (paint you can easily see marring on), then it's also happening on light colors and white paint it's just the human eyes have a more difficult time seeing the marring - even with special lights.

So - as a professional and in keeping with the Professional Detailer's Oath, to first do no harm, and then when you must do harm, (abrading the surface), in order to repair the surface, my own personal "Best Practice" is that if I must use any type of mechanical decontamination step to remove any type of above surface contamination - afterwards I will do at least one machine polishing step.

The one machine polishing step can include,

1: A dedicated polishing step using a compound followed by a polish or only a compound or only a polish

2: A dedicated polishing step using an AIO or cleaner/wax also to include the new categories of AIOs ceramic infused AIOs.

That's just me and what I think about the topic, everyone can decide for themselves how they will address this topic and the practice of mechanical decontamination.



And of course "yes" I did remove the isolated marring from the clay testing and then machine polished the Corvette.


http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...Marring_06.JPG


:)

I'm kind of surprised that this is the first C8 you've ever worked on. I don't know why, I guess I just assume you've buffed them all? lol

More,



The Professional Detailer's Oath

Take from the Greek physician Hippocrates, from his work called Of the Epidemics,

first, do no harm


I present, the Professional Detailer's Oath

First, do no harm


The idea being, - as a professional detailer and in keeping with the Professional Detailer's Oath, to first do no harm means to always,

Use the least aggressive process to get the job done



And when surface conditions dictate that you must use a more aggressive process and/or product, (which in context could be positioned as to be doing harm), it is with the noble intention of the bigger picture, which is to remedy or repair the surface.




:)

So what you’re saying in terms of the MEDIUM paint hardness scale, the C8 Corvette falls along the M and E letters as those correlate to Soft-Medium. D and I would be Medium-Medium and U and M would be Hard-Medium.

Just having a laugh! In all seriousness, another good article from you Mike documenting some pretty nasty marring along a fine edge and black paint.