How to safely remove clay bar residue from the edge of protective pain film ?

C

chip douglas

New member
Sighs....

Today I washed the car and then clayed it using Riccardo's yellow clay bar + quick detailer. I thought getting clay bar residue off would be easy, so I clayed the whole car and then thought I'd clean off said residue at the edge of paint protective film - wrong I was !!

The first few links on this Google search page were all I could find, but some of the suggestions seem to work quite well :

https://www.google.ca/webhp?sourcei...remove+clay+bar+residue+on+3M+protective+film


One guy said to use a clay bar and clay with the edge in order to remove clay residue.

Another said to use a soft toothbrush + quick detailer

The last guy seemed to be a professional and said one needs : Q-tips + isopropyl alcohol + toothpick and microfiber.

I'm at a loss and worried that it'll be impossible to clean up this mess without marring the paint on my brand new 2015 VW Golf.



Would you guys have any suggestions that you think are safe and effective ?
 
When you first noticed the clay was coming off on the car, you should have stopped right there and tried to figure out why it was doing this, because it is NOT supposed to do this ever..
Whenever I used Claybars I hardly ever had just a little bit of residue come off the bar and stick to the paint, and if so, a squirt of claylube on the spot and the bar and then rub over it took it right off..
What were you using as Clay Lube ?
How much Lube were you using ?
Clay should be able to remove clay on a panel if its used correctly - it's clay, not superglue, it should come off easy
Worst case scenario, if you are going to polish afterwards and want to take a chance and are careful, a plastic razorblade in a holder will usually remove most things when used flat on a panel with a good claylube..
When I mention good claylube I think of Do-Do Juice Born Slippy - one of the best I have ever used...
Good luck with this !
Dan F
 
I have the edge film on my car, and I sometimes get clay stuck on that seem. If I carefully and meticulously drag and blot clay on the seem I can get the residue and fragments up.

ive never had any issue with general clay residue. A coworker of mine has been detailing for a long time. Is super old school and polishes exclusively with a rotary- it's all he knows. Does a lot of paid detail jobs. He's insistent that you can't clay an entire car, that the residue will be too strong and you won't be able to remove it. I have no idea what he's talking about as I've never had any hard to remove residue. A quick, simple wash after a clay(which I always do) takes all of it off.
 
Thanks for your responses guys. I've found out that cutting off the tip of a toothpick at a right angle and scraping the clay residue off of the protective film's edge at a slight angle using very light pressure with short back and forth strokes works quite well. Prior to doing it, I apply Meguiars' quick detailer.

To the first poster, what I've described above is exactly what the owner of this Corvette has experienced : Keep clay bar away from protective film! - Page 2 - Corvette Forum

Maybe I should've used Nanoskin.
 
Ok, I get it now.. Sorry I didnt get it before..

I have a Venture Shield really nice clear bra on the full front of my Black Grand Cherokee and the best thing I have ever found to get any clay out of that edge is a very short bristle china bristle brush..
Someone out there sells that brush, I have 2 of them, 1 stiffer than the other.. Will try to find out where I bought them..
But you get the idea, right ??

The only thing that a brush may do is lightly scratch the paint and/or the bra on that edge, so you really have to be careful, ok ?

I have Detailed at least 200 vehicles with all kinds brands of clear bra's and the little short bristle brush used very carefully is the only thing that works for me..

Anytime you are working with a Clear Bra on whatever panel, you always need to work from the ClearBra towards the paint, to avoid pushing anything into that seam, ok ?

And if its impossible to keep stuff out, you need to run a long strip of 1/8" auto painters tape carefully applied at precisely the spot where the ClearBra ends and the paint begins, and make sure you push down on the tape so it sticks there.. Everything has to be dry or the tape wont stick very well..

And hereafter, you will only claybar just so close to the edge there and then mind the polishing or applying of anything so you are always working from the ClearBra towards the paint, not the opposite, which will tend to move stuff under the seam edge, ok ?
You can do this, its just very tedious work until you get the hang of it !
Dan F
 
Stokdgs said:
Ok, I get it now.. Sorry I didnt get it before..

I have a Venture Shield really nice clear bra on the full front of my Black Grand Cherokee and the best thing I have ever found to get any clay out of that edge is a very short bristle china bristle brush..
Someone out there sells that brush, I have 2 of them, 1 stiffer than the other.. Will try to find out where I bought them..
But you get the idea, right ??

The only thing that a brush may do is lightly scratch the paint on that edge, so you really have to be careful, ok ?

I have Detailed at least 200 vehicles with all kinds brands of clear bra's and the little short bristle brush used very carefully is the only thing that works for me..

Anytime you are working with a Clear Bra on whatever panel, you always need to work from the ClearBra towards the paint, to avoid pushing anything into that seam, ok ?

And if its impossible to keep stuff out, you need to run a long strip of 1/8" auto painters tape carefully applied at precisely the spot where the ClearBra ends and the paint begins, and make sure you push down on the tape so it sticks there.. Everything has to be dry or the tape wont stick very well..

And hereafter, you will only claybar just so close to the edge there and then mind the polishing or applying of anything so you are always working from the ClearBra towards the paint, not the opposite, which will tend to move stuff under the seam edge, ok ?
You can do this, its just very tedious work until you get the hang of it !
Dan F
Click to expand...

Thanks for your response Dan F. I wanted to respond earlier, but it was quite last night when I read your response. When I'm done posting this, I'm going to get to work on this mess. I'll let you know how it turned out.
 
Stokdgs :

It didn't take as long as I thought it would. I was able to clean all of it up in about an hour or so. Since I didn't have that china brush you brought up, I went ahead and kept using my toothpick method - I have to say it worked really well. But the tip had to be cut at a right angle for it to work that well - otherwise it took forever to get the clay stuck to the outer wall of the paint protective film off.

So I basically used : toothpick whose tip was cut at a right angle, Meguiars' quik detailer and a microfiber to remove those loose bits of clay when needed. Most of the time though, It'd just come completely off using the toothpick and I'd just wipe the tip of the toothpick up on the microfiber towel and go back at it.

Once I was done, I used a flashlight to check upon my work. As we all know, it can show a lot of paint defects, so I couldn't think of something better for a final inspection.
 
Stokdgs :

It didn't take as long as I thought it would. I was able to clean all of it up in about an hour or so. Since I didn't have that china brush you brought up, I went ahead and kept using my toothpick method - I have to say it worked really well. But the tip had to be cut at a right angle for it to work that well - otherwise it took forever to get the clay stuck to the outer wall of the paint protective film off.

So I basically used : toothpick whose tip was cut at a right angle, Meguiars' quik detailer and a microfiber to remove those loose bits of clay when needed. Most of the time though, It'd just come completely off using the toothpick and I'd just wipe the tip of the toothpick up on the microfiber towel and go back at it.

Once I was done, I used a flashlight to check upon my work. As we all know, it can show a lot of paint defects, so I couldn't think of something better for a final inspection.

Dan, I've just had a look at your website and clicked the «our work» tab - you produce really amazing work. B)
 
Chip Douglas -

I am so glad to hear you got the clay out of the clearbra edge !!! Great job!!!

Yes, any ClearBra is always a challenge to work around and then after all the prep work, carefully polish out the light surface scratches, and try not to heat it up too much.

Since I only use a Makita 9227C for all correction, I have to really be careful but the results are worth it to me and my Clients..

Glad you liked my humble website - I hardly have time to work with it and am glad its still there..

Blacks are my favorite color and I have seen the absolute worst turn into stunning rolling black mirrors...

There is a little Jet Black Honda Civic on my Site that was used for a Farm Car all its life before it came to me..
It was so trashed and scratched, the Client said - " just see if you can clean up the gallons of Starbucks on the console and either side of it between the seats, please" :)

I was able to completely clean with my big Extractor and Steamer, the entire mess that was the inside, and the paint turned out incredibly great..

They came up from the Farm to get it, and thought it was another Civic like theirs, and wondered where theirs was... :)
Dan F
 
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