Does claying with a QD before KSG affect bonding?

T

tango

New member
My approach the past few years for semiannual deep cleaning has been to wash, clay if necessary, then apply a couple layers of KSG. I have too many cars and too little time, so duration of protection is paramount. Which brings me to something that I have always felt uncomfortable about: I have always used a QD (Griot's Speed Shine) as a clay lubricant. I know this has some carnuba in it, and of course leaves the surface very slick. I wonder if I have been crippling the ability of the KSG to bond by having that layer of QD on there below the KSG? If so, is there another QD/Clay lubricant that doesn't adversely affect the KSG bonding? They all seem to leave the paint surface very slick. I usually use either the WIWO or damp towel KSG removal technique, if that matters.



Thanks for any advice. I hope I haven't been wasting my time all these years :confused:
 
I think you should use some cleaner and/or polish after claying. AIO is very fast and effective(will clean away any wax left by the QD) and should be used before KSG.
 
Yeah, I'm sure after you use a QD & clay combo that you use an AIO or polish. That gets rid of any old wax so your paint is clean and ready for a sealent.
 
I clay and reapply KSG all the time; I only start over with AIO when I correct marring, usually every few years, so I do this a *lot* over long periods of time (about 2.5 years now on the MPV since the last redo with polish and AIO).



I use Sonus green clay and Glyde lube. I've also used #34 and Clay Magic lube and I've used some clays that are a bit more aggressive than the Sonus green. BUT I've *not* used SpeedShine (which I like) because of the carnauba content. FWIW, I also found that Griot's clay sometimes leaves more residue than I'd like.



I clay while washing so it's easy to rewash the panel and remove any residual clay lube (the Glyde is pretty "soapy"). This works especially well if you approach it as a panel-by-panel project where you re-KSG a few panels after a wash as opposed to redoing the whole vehicle (which makes for a much more involved job).



I'd get the Sonus green/Glyde, it works great for this.
 
If you are worried about carnuba wax in the clay lube then you could switch to mixing up your own clay lube by adding 1 capful of car shampoo to 32 oz of water. It works good for me when I want to put a refresher layer of Z2 or Z5 but do not want to polish. I use Z-7, so I know it is compatible with the sealants, and the Sonus green ultra claybar. I've had no problems with the car shampoo eating up the claybar.
 
Very interesting Accumulator, I must try that sometime. I always thought you have to use a cleaner and/or polish after claying and before sealing. It seems unnecessary most of the time since I do it about every month and the paint still looks great, but I just want to add some protection.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top