Different grades of clay?

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imported_Mighty HD1

New member
What's the differences between the grades of clay?



I've seen ultra fine, fine, medium, etc. What does what?



I've always used clay magic with good results. Any info is appreciated as always!
 
clay magic and the like are ideal for day to day contaminents



aggressive would be for heavy over spray or filthy paint....it will take off more overspray in one pass than the milder ones
 
A guide to abrasiveness, somewhat like sandpaper. Ultra fine could be used all over the car for every wash with very little chance of damage to the paint surface (but also only mildly effective) whereas medium (or more aggressive) bars would usually be used in specific areas to treat individual contamination problems like overspray.
 
The ultra fine I use (Sonus green) is *so* mild that I only like it for cleaning stuff off my LSPs. For anything remotely serious I reach for the regular (Sonus gray) clay instead. The ultra fine is great for my frequent spot claying and for a quick clean before refreshing my (otherwise fine) LSP, but it really is *that* mild.
 
Accumulator said:
The ultra fine I use (Sonus green) is *so* mild that I only like it for cleaning stuff off my LSPs. For anything remotely serious I reach for the regular (Sonus gray) clay instead. The ultra fine is great for my frequent spot claying and for a quick clean before refreshing my (otherwise fine) LSP, but it really is *that* mild.
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Then, the gray one for medium/high contaminated sufaces and the green forlow contaminated surfaces or for water spots or bird droppings. I'm right?

Thanks. :hifive:
 
maesal- Yep. Sometimes I find I need to get more aggressive than expected and I end up switching to the gray, but generally the green is good for that sort of thing.
 
Accumulator,



I typically use Zaino Z-18 when I clay my 2004 Suburban but I'm questioning if I should use something finer for the first clay of a new vehicle. I purchased a brand new vehicle in June and haven't given it a full detail yet. Would you suggest something like the Sonus green on brand new paint or would the Z-18 be better for the first clay followed by spot claying with the Sonus Green as neccessary?



Mike
 
I just went over my 2 week old 4 Runner with Z18. Looks terrific! I find the Zaino to be a tad bit more aggresive than the Megs I had before, probably my perception though.
 
mbkintner said:
I typically use Zaino Z-18 when I clay my 2004 Suburban but I'm questioning if I should use something finer for the first clay of a new vehicle...Would you suggest something like the Sonus green on brand new paint or would the Z-18 be better for the first clay followed by spot claying with the Sonus Green as neccessary?
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I'd use the Z-18 and then use the Sonus green for the subsequent spot claying. The green is *so* mild that it's *not* what you want for new-vehicle clean up. Too mild for stuff like rail dust, for instance.



FWIW, I'm really sold on using AutoInt's ABC decontamination system on new vehicles, claying while the acidic "B" step is dwelling. But I recognize that not everyone wants to hassle around with ABC.
 
Accumulator,



Thanks, that's the exact kind of information I was looking for. I've read several recent comments about the red Z-18 clay being more aggresive than the yellow and causing problems. I'm a bit worried now because I'm out of the yellow and was going to use some of the red. Any thoughts?



I'm not familiar with the decontamination system so I'll have to do some reading up on it.



Thanks again,



Mike
 
mbkintner said:
I've read several recent comments about the red Z-18 clay being more aggresive than the yellow and causing problems. I'm a bit worried now because I'm out of the yellow and was going to use some of the red. Any thoughts?
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Noting that I'm *NOT* familiar with Zaino clay, I'd never use anything that I was worried about ;) You'd sure hate to mar up the paint, huh? Not saying that it'll happen, just that I don't experiment with stuff of this nature on vehicles that I care about. I'm a big fan of erring on the side of caution.



I thought long and hard before trying ABC on a new car too, sure was glad that it worked out OK! Not sure if you can similarly think your way through the red-clay-issue as it either will mar the paint or it won't (assuming you do it right with lots of lube, little pressure, etc.). The wrong clay for the job, or for your paint, is simply the wrong clay.



If I were in your situation and had to do something right now I'd probably go buy some ClayMagic locally (noting that I haven't used *that* one either).
 
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