I was going to ask about claying...

S

Stickman81

New member
a car after washing. I thought I might skip the clay and move right to compounding / polishing. I clayed the roof panel on a 1998 Gran Prix after washing and came up with this. I went ahead and clayed the whole car.



Thoughts...?



:wow:

Click for the bigger pic

 
did you kneed the clay once in a while to keep the surface clean?

by using the same side of the clay on the car, you risk marring and swirls etc...

other than that... that is one dirty clay bar haha
 
hoanger - I did remember to kneed the claybar often. This is the worst one I've seen. (Not that I've seen too many)



Setec Astronomy - Odd thing is, I clayed this car about a year or just a little longer.



P.S. - I tossed this one after use. I did not feel it was worth putting it back into service as I felt I was getting some specks of stuff off the car.
 
well, if you feel you had a job well done

then congratz, I guess this shows us how dirty a car that hasnt been clayed in a year can get

i should do it soon lol
 
hoanger said:
well, if you feel you had a job well done

then congratz, I guess this shows us how dirty a car that hasnt been clayed in a year can get

i should do it soon lol
Click to expand...



:LOLOL



I'm pretty sure I did Okay the first time around.

Its probably the later.



Tnx.
 
Wouldn't a pre-wax cleaner have removed almost all of that dirt, without necessarily having to use a clay bar?



Greg.
 
Greg2 said:
Wouldn't a pre-wax cleaner have removed almost all of that dirt, without necessarily having to use a clay bar?



Greg.
Click to expand...



It may remove most of it, but I highly doubt it would remove ALL of it...



Claybarring is the answer for glass-smooth paint that hasn't been upkept!
 
StumpyDetailing said:
It may remove most of it, but I highly doubt it would remove ALL of it...



Claybarring is the answer for glass-smooth paint that hasn't been upkept!
Click to expand...



Ok. Perhaps it would be more cost effective to first use a pre-wax cleaner, to increase the life of the clay bar. (i.e, only use the clay bar for the stuff that the cleaner doesn't catch) I guess what I'm saying is that the cloth can be reused, whereas the clay bar has to be discarded once it becomes too dirty.



Greg.
 
The clay actually looked like it was still okay, just needed some kneeding. It is normal for clay bar to turn dark in color, after all it's removing dirt that car wash/wax does not remove. Your main concern would be to inspect the clay for rocks or solid coarse objects, these are the things to be concerned with.
 
autoprecise1 said:
The clay actually looked like it was still okay, just needed some kneeding. It is normal for clay bar to turn dark in color, after all it's removing dirt that car wash/wax does not remove. Your main concern would be to inspect the clay for rocks or solid coarse objects, these are the things to be concerned with.
Click to expand...



As you stated, I was concerned about "grit". I thought I could feel a few things in the clay is the only reason I tossed it out. Maybe it was premature on my part, but I felt it was better to be safe than sorry.



Next time I hit a car with clay and see that it is starting to get nasty fast, I'll use a cleaner wax first, then the clay.



Thanks for the tips everyone. :xyxthumbs
 
Greg2 said:
...Perhaps it would be more cost effective to first use a pre-wax cleaner, to increase the life of the clay bar. (i.e, only use the clay bar for the stuff that the cleaner doesn't catch)...
Click to expand...
It might cost a little less but I think you get far better results by claying first. The cleaner will work more effectively and faster on fully exposed paint.





PC.
 
862sik said:
is there a difference between the types of clay, like mild or fine grade like the ones on this site?
Click to expand...

Well if there wasnt a difference, that would be rather misleading wouldnt you think? The more aggressive clay will either contain more abrasive material and/or larger bits of abrasives.

As with polishes one should consider what clay may be best suited, then step down one to avoid marring. But also keep in mind, using too fine a clay may inhibit additional pressure required to remove contaminants, that a more aggressive clay could have easily removed, with less pressure (less marring?).
 
the other pc said:
It might cost a little less but I think you get far better results by claying first. The cleaner will work more effectively and faster on fully exposed paint.





PC.
Click to expand...



Ok. At the moment I'm only using a pre-wax cleaner, and yes, it is an extraordinary amount of work to remove the tar spots this way. I am rubbing off each little spot individually. It does work, but it's very very slow.



Greg.
 
If you get to it before the tar has been on there too long (and you're very gentle about it), the Sonus green clay will usually clean off the tar without compromising the LSP.



I find a significant difference between the grades of clay; I switch back and forth between the two grades of Sonus depending on what's called for. Trying to use the green (ultra-fine) when you need the gray ("regular") is an exercise in frustration.
 
Greg2 said:
Ok. At the moment I'm only using a pre-wax cleaner, and yes, it is an extraordinary amount of work to remove the tar spots this way. I am rubbing off each little spot individually. It does work, but it's very very slow.



Greg.
Click to expand...





Tar spots can be easily knocked down with a little WD-40 also. Just use a soft cloth and wash the area after.
 
..sorrie to thread jack but if i have a car with ALOT of overspray (i sprayed clear and it got all over the car ) would clay bar take all of it out?
 
Depends on the overspray- some paints melt their way into the underlying finish and that's that, nothing you can really do. Try an aggressive overspray clay, they're different from the normal "detailing" clays.
 
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