claying white cars

W

white gecko 99

New member
When I'm claying white cars, it generally takes me about 3 times longer than other colors (sometimes yellow too). Reason being the fallout/rust spots. They seem to clay down smooth quite easily, but takes a long time to remove the visible dot.



I'm thinking about the ABC system....if I can find where to buy it..?



So what do you guys do when you get a white car with those conditions?

Oh and I have yet to see a white car that doesn't have them.
 
Accumulator said:
Yeah, this is a perfect example of why decontamination works better than clay for some things. I get mine direct from Finish Kare, Automotive, Marine, Aerospace, Mold Release Agents, Paint Contamination and/or http://www.autoint.com .



Something to ponder: do you think the white cars are more contaminated or that it's just more obvious on them?
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Thanks!



I think it just has to be more obvious on white. I've had more that one client where I've done both cars (one white, one not) and the white is hammered with fallout. Yet when I do the dark car, once its smooth....you're done. That stuff just can't be seen on some colors.
 
i currently own 3 white vehicles but have owned 50+- white vehicles since 1973. difference :hm , not for me. maybe i don't let them get that bad.
 
OMG my wife's white Mazda5 van has this really bad. I clayed and cleaned the poop out of it in fall. This winter was pretty harsh in December and the rust spots are crazy. I clayed one section (hatch) last weekend and it took more than an hour. I was going to look for stronger clay but I will check out the above link. Thanks Accumulator.
 
I found the Hi-Tech Body Sponge works a bit faster than regular clay. I have 2 white cars in the family, so I know all about it.
 
In all honesty it shouldn't take you any longer to do white than any other color out there. If the other colors are signifigantly different in time frames you're probably not doing them completely and need to take longer
 
I had the same experiences with a silver Dodge Ram. The way I cleaned it up more is after the claying, I did a spot clean in those areas with KAIO, and it seemed to work. Area was clean and smooth, and the fallout spot was gone.
 
Jakerooni said:
In all honesty it shouldn't take you any longer to do white than any other color out there. If the other colors are signifigantly different in time frames you're probably not doing them completely and need to take longer
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Explain please. If its the only color where the fallout is still visible AFTER its been clayed smooth, why shouldn't it take longer? In my experience you have to keep claying and claying and claying until the spots dissapear and it takes hours.
 
I mean all cars are contaminated exactly the same. The black red and blues have exactly the same fallout that the white cars have. So you should spend exactly the same amount of time (roughly) on the reds black blues etc etc etc as you do the white vehciles.



And if you're seriously claying for "Hours" your doing something wrong. Proabably using the wrong type of clay. Switch to a more aggressive clay.
 
Jakerooni said:
I mean all cars are contaminated exactly the same. The black red and blues have exactly the same fallout that the white cars have. So you should spend exactly the same amount of time (roughly) on the reds black blues etc etc etc as you do the white vehciles.



And if you're seriously claying for "Hours" your doing something wrong. Proabably using the wrong type of clay. Switch to a more aggressive clay.
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All cars are certainly not contaminated the same. What I think you mean to say is that under the same conditions a white and black car will have the same amount of contamination. That certainly seems logical, so lets say that for the purposes of this discussion that is a fact.



When claying those cars however, our methods of testing the level of contamination that is removed from the claying process differ. On black or other dark colors, you rely almost exclusively on feel alone, so as soon as you can't feel the contamination, you move on to the next section.



On a white or light colored car however, we use our sight as much as feel. Many times contamination that can no longer be felt, can still be seen thus requiring extra time for complete removal.
 
Banacheq said:
......On a white or light colored car however, we use our sight as much as feel. Many times contamination that can no longer be felt, can still be seen thus requiring extra time for complete removal.
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Banacheq, you got it!!!

This has nothing to do with the colour.

It's just that, with white colour, you've to be extra rigorous cos everything is so visible.

I do lots of heavily contaminated white cars (hot, rainy, dusty environment), and my favourite method is:



1. Wash entire car with shampoo + multi-purpose cleaner (50/50).

2. Don't rinse. Spray on more MPC on each sq foot, leave for 3mins and wipe

with Mfiber wash mitt. Whole car looks like crap now...but doesn't matter.

3. Spray MPC on all gaps and crevices. Black crap will flow out. Flush with

water, shoot more MPC and flush until no more black crap flows out.

4. Brush all crevices and gaps with a soft t/brush to remove trapped grime.

5. Flush with lots of water. The white car shd be ultra clean now, and you can

do a simple claying to achieve a smooth surface.



The above thorough cleanup+claying takes 1hr max (3pax), and this pristine surface can now be detailed. The benefit is, when it rains, the customers reported that they don't get those annoying black lines that flow down the sides of the car, cos all the gaps hv been shot with numerous cycles of MPC + water flushing.
 
It may or may not be color dependent but it is paint dependent without question. My light Silver Subaru which I owned for 5 years never had any visible rust after winter. The white Mazda5 is covered. With a normal clay (not super aggressive) it can take 10-15 strokes per spot to remove it. Many times the rust spot is so large you can dislodge it with a fingernail. On the other hand the Suburu never had but minimal build up of any surface roughness.
 
On light colored vehicles it requires more work because you're claying for 2 senses (feel and look). On others, you're just doing 1 (feel). When I clay, I have a sheet of clear wrapping *type* paper and I spot check every square inch of the surface with it (i.e. = celophane test). If a vehicle has alot of contaminants, I'll just ABC it or just 4000 grit sand it.



I've never seen a vehicle that was driven NOT have embedded brake particles on the rear end. It happens to each and every vehicle not matter what type of brakes you have. You'll pick it up from the vehicles in front of you. You'd have to wash your vehicle after every drive or store in 24 hrs a day in a non0humid environment to avoid it.
 
Jakerooni said:
I mean all cars are contaminated exactly the same. The black red and blues have exactly the same fallout that the white cars have. So you should spend exactly the same amount of time (roughly) on the reds black blues etc etc etc as you do the white vehciles.



And if you're seriously claying for "Hours" your doing something wrong. Proabably using the wrong type of clay. Switch to a more aggressive clay.
Click to expand...



If you can't see or feel the fallout (because of color), how and why should you continue claying? Especially if you are blind (ie color hides them).



I know how to use clay, my technique is fine and I do have aggressive clay, but it can still take many hours if the car is in bad shape. Thats why i'm looking for another solution.
 
As I've posted before on threads like this, you can experiment with claying during the decontamination steps. Yeah, it dissolves the clay *very* fast, but it can add a little oomph to the process when required.



More of my Autopian Heresy: on dark vehicles where the ferrous contamination's rust blooms don't show, I'll question just how necessary it is to do a perfect job. Such stuff is really obvious on white, and pretty obvious on silver..but on some colors it just doesn't show. I really dunno if it's likely to cause true *functional* issues like paint failure, at least not if you keep the vehicle in otherwise nicely detailed condition.



People went a long time without clay and/or decontamination systems, and chemical paint cleaners that only do a so-so job used to be all we had to work with. There are still a lot of oe-paint cars running around that survived stone-age detailing processes just fine ;)
 
So on the FK Decontamination kit, is it ok to do paint correction after you've applied its sealant? Or should you do the correction, then apply the sealant, then hit it with your LSP?
 
What seems to help me on my white work truck. I mix 1 cup simple green to my wash water works awesome at taking of the stubborn stuff.:up
 
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