Fine scratches from claying

K

Kyle K.

New member
I finally got around to claying part of my car today, and I must say it is rather ridiculously smooth now. The only problem I had was that the clay seemed to leave a bunch of little scratches all over the area I clayed. I tried to fold over the clay very often (every time I saw any kind of stuff embedded in the clay) and I used a good amount of lube. The scratches came out with DACP with a yellow CMA pad on the PC, but its still slightly annoying to get them in the first place. Is it normal to get little scratches like this or did I do something wrong?
 
I washed the car yesterday afternoon and put it in the garage. It sat there for maybe 15 hours, then I went back out and used Mothers Showtime QD on the area I clayed before I clayed it. It seemed to be really clean.
 
Is there a video "how-to" for claying like there is for buffing? Maybe if I looked at everything step by step I would be able to spot the problem...
 
How hard were you pressing on the clay? Maybe it also has to do with what kind of "stuff" is stuck to the paint.... *shrug*
 
I was using medium-light pressure. Basically, pressing down with the two fingers I was gliding the clay with. I actually just throught of this. How hard am I supposed to be pressing?
 
Hey there Kyle,



I usually use 2 fingers, but do not apply any pressure.

Just kinda let it glide over the surface...it will pick up anything without applying any pressure.



Just my opinion.
 
I have on occasion gotten some tiny scratches when clay baring. I will go over the car with 3M IHG if I feel that the scratches are noticable.
 
IMO 4DSC is on the right track. Marring when claying is usually from three sources: dirty clay, insufficient lube, too much pressure.



With clean clay, sufficient lube, and light pressure the clay never touches the surface of your paint! The clay is held away from the paint by the film of lubricant - much like a tire hydroplaning on a wet road. The lube film is very thin and embedded debris will protrude through the clay allowing it to be grabbed by the clay. If there is debris on the clay it can protrude through the lube film and scratch the paint. If there is insufficient lube to form a protective film, then the clay rubs directly on the paint and causes marring. If you use too much pressure you force the clay through the lube and scratch the paint.



Since you were careful to fold the clay frequently and used adequate lubricant, too much pressure is likely to have been the culprit. Now you get a chance to play with SMR, polish, and glaze!



Have fun!

<CENTER>:usa</CENTER>
 
Ok, that makes sense that I may have pressed too hard. The only problem now is that the car got dirty again from all the salty water on the roads from our snow yesterday. :(



This weekend I'll give it a whirl again. I planned on doing DACP, Swirl Free, and #7 anyway since the car has some winter swirls I'd like to get rid of. :cool:
 
Kyle,



As a suggestion, you might want to try the CD test with the claybar and QD (spray the CD with QD and rub it with the clay a bit harder than you did on the car).



If there's no scratching, it was not the clay process.



If there is fine scratching, it could either be dirt embedded in the clay (car not clean) or it could be the clay itself. If you want to keep going with the process of elimination, you would then need to try a new claybar to confirm or disaffirm the clay.



If not the clay, is it possible the towel picked up dirt from somewhere? You might want to CD test the towel as well.



What do you think?



P.S. - Is it possible that the clay worked so well that it might have made existing scratches more noticable?



Please let us know the results if you pursue this further.
 
If you have something less aggressive than DACP, like #9, or 3M SMR, I would use that. No sense in using DACP so often.:nono
 
I'll weigh in with the majority here. Once I discovered Autopia and claying, then tried it, I became a serious devotee. Surely it's a problem with your technique. :nixweiss Do you think you're near any Autopians who might give you a tutorial?
 
4DSC said:
Does this actually work? :confused:
Click to expand...



I'm with you here... Yesterday I wanted to try Plexus' scratch hiding abilities... So i grabbed a CD and used DRY PAPER TOWELS and rubbed really hard... I could hardly see a significant scratch on the CD...
 
4DSC said:
Does this actually work? :confused:
Click to expand...



Yes, I just validated it.



Dry microfiber towel - no swirls whatsoever

New Zaino clay with lubricant* - no swirls whatsoever

Used clay (2 cars) with lubricant* - barely evident swirls

New cotton washcloth, dry - no swirls

Edging of new cotton washcloth, dry - minimal swirling

Dry paper towel - swirls like crazy



*lubricant used was Zaino carwash, 1 capful in a 16 oz. sprayer



Evaluated under a high-intensity desklamp, 3" away. Except for the worst swirling with the paper towel, swirls were only evident looking at the direct reflection of the light.



Would appreciate others to validate this. It sounds like the "gold-standard" of the CD test needs to be revalidated.
 
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