How Much and What to Clay?

I

imported_Denzil

New member
For those of you that detail professionally, I've always wondered how all of you (it seems) don't spend much time claying a vehicle on exterior or full details. What I'm wondering is do all of you clay the entire car wherever there is paint, if the car needs it? Or do you only do horizontal services? Or perhaps you don't even clay at all?



Personally, I've been claying entire vehicles including bumpers and lower panels regardless of their condition before a full or even partial correction.



Please share what you do! :o
 
I always clay the entire vehicle, including the glass. I t takes me maybe 10-15 mins per car that is not heavily contaminated.
 
Claying a vehicle for any kind of exterior treatment (other that washing) is IMHO mandatory. It will insure contaminants aren't being buffed into the surface (while buffing) and it will improve bonding of any LSP. On a new vehicle that hasn't been clayed prior, I usually spend about 30-60 minutes doing all the exterior painted surfaces as well as glass and lights. Take some cellophane (clear shell wrapper from a cigerette pack) and wipe the surface to feel the finish. If it's bumpy, that means there's contaminants on the paint. Clay until you feel nothing; then move on to the next step.
 
Thanks for your input guys!



So for those of you who only take 10-15 minutes to clay an entire vehicle, how do you exactly do it in that short amount of time? What size of areas are you claying at a time and how often are you kneading the clay given varying conditions of contamination?



I guess I just can't seem to understand how you clay vehicles so quickly! Could someone please spell it out for me? Thanks.
 
For vehicles that don't have that much contamination, I can do it in around 20 min. As far as how to do it that fast, just go quick :D. You only need to make a pass or two over each area, then go on. Don't stop in the middle of doing it... the first time I clayed my mother's accord, though, it took me about 1.5 hrs... it was pretty contaminated, and I wanted to make sure it was clean.
 
Joseph K said:
For vehicles that don't have that much contamination, I can do it in around 20 min. As far as how to do it that fast, just go quick :D. You only need to make a pass or two over each area, then go on. Don't stop in the middle of doing it... the first time I clayed my mother's accord, though, it took me about 1.5 hrs... it was pretty contaminated, and I wanted to make sure it was clean.
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+1 It is like anything else, the more you do it the faster you get. The contamination level will usally dictate how fast you can go. If a car is fairly clean then going fast is as easy as spraying you water/lube and completing the panel, kneading the clay and then moving on to the next panel





Even if it takes you an hour at first, really what would it matter? Just make sure that the quality of your work is top notch and that you are creating the cleanest surface possible with the clay. The speed will come with time.
 
I clay as needed. Some of my regular's cars may need to be clayed once every 18-24 months because I keep the washed and protected. Other cars have taken more than an hour to clay. I only mention claying in my C&B threads if it was a major step.
 
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