Smearing Clay

S

SenojNW

New member
I found last time I clayed, the clay was really smeary (bits came off and stuck while using it). I have only used it once and bagged it up in a zip lock between uses. It is Sonus Extra Fine clay and I was using plenty of Sonus Glyde lube...



Any ideas?
 
Spray lube into the bag with the clay and let it sit. After a few days, check and if dry, spray more. Eventually the clay won't be sticky any more and won't smear on the paint. I had the same experience with brand new clay.
 
Quite strange, I have never had a problem with that clay

I do find however that the Sonus Glyde clay is very soapy which is good but makes the bar fall to bits and have the bits stick to your hands and make it easier for you to drop the bar
 
That happens when your car is too hot. Were you in the shade? If you cant find any shade, keep a hose on the section you are claying to keep things cool.
 
Only times I've had that happen where when I used way too much Glyde (I know, I usually say to "use plenty") and when I went over areas where I'd previously used a tar-remover solvent. Both of these happended the last time I clayed, using pieces off a new bar of the Sonus green. If it's somehow defective I'll find out the next time I do a car (which won't be for a while I hope).



FWIW I was working in a cool garage so it wasn't heat or other weird conditions in my case.
 
It was in the cool/shade... Maybe I was using too much Glyde? I will try the Glyde in a bag treatment as it was pretty sticky coming out...
 
Yeah - I did wet it with Glyde before I put it back in the bag last time - maybe thats the problem rather than the solution...??? Will keep experimenting! It's quite crumbly when you try and flatten it into a pad to work with too - it tries to break up and splits rather than forming a nice workable pad...
 
And also remember to fold the clay. Spray your Glyde on the clay, and then fold it a few times. Repeat 2 or 3 times. After that, the clay shouldn't smear. I had 2 bars of clay. The first one I just took it out of the package and used straight away. I had bad smearing that needed AIO to remove. The 2nd bar I sprayed and folded the clay many times and then stored in the bag for a week with more quick detailer. When I used it, no smearing at all.



To beat the crumbling, keep folding the clay with lube. After folding, it should be stop crumbling.
 
aaron33 said:
I sprayed and folded the clay many times and then stored in the bag for a week with more quick detailer. When I used it, no smearing at all..
Click to expand...



I'll keep this in mind. It sounds counterintuitive to me but it's not like I've never been wrong before ;)
 
Same thing happened to me yesterday. I used a different clay with wash soap and water. I had no problem on the shady side, but I used more lube on the sunny side. Mmmm eggs.
 
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