What type of clay is safest for new black paint?

S

svntwosix

New member
Hi all-



I have been lurking around these forums for a while now and have been learning alot from everyone, but I would like to get some opinions on different types of detailing clay and how safe they are for a new paint finish...



We have a new nissan murano on order from the factory... coming in black :) We asked the dealer not to wash or detail it, and it sounds like they will even leave the plastic wrap on the outside for me! Hopefully with this plan there won't be too many (or any?) swirls in the paint when I get the car.



I plan on claying, and I have previously used Zaino z-18 clay and the Mothers clay (both yellow) and they both seemed to work fine- I had no problems and could definitely feel the results. I tried using QD and car wash/water for lubricant and I think I preferred the Z-7 carwash and water mix.



However, I have done some searching and read a little about people "marring" their finish with clay. I have also seen a couple different kinds of clay for sale by clay magic (blue and red, blue being 'safer' or less aggressive?). Looking at the autopia store I also saw the sonus clay (grey) which sounds like it is a 'fine grade' (less agressive?) clay.



So to make a long story short, does anyone have any opinion or experience on which clay is the safest/least likely to mar/scratch the paint? I am considering clay magic (the blue?), sonus, or the mothers clay I already have. Can anyone tell a difference between these 3 brands? I would think they should all be ok for the paint but wanted to see if anyone disagreed. This will be the first black car that I can take care of from the beginning, and I am going to try my hardest not to induce scratches/etc... I also know from reading that only a few manufacturers make most of the clay for sale, but still was looking for any more information to help pick from the rainbow of colors available :)



Thanks in advance for your help!
 
Welcome!:) Congrats on the new car. I think the Clay Magic "blue" and Mothers clays are similar, the Mother's being slightly softer IIRC. I haven't used it but I remember someone posting the Sonus was finer than the CM or Mothers so you may want to look into this. I think any of the clays you mentioned (except the Clay Magic "red", too harsh for a new car) would be fine for a new car, just use a new bar. I just used the CM blue on my brand new Acura MDX this past weekend.
 
Thanks for your input- Would a 'finer' clay just mean it is less abrasive/less likely to do any damage? Conversely, do you think a finer clay would not remove as much contamination from the paint?



We are pretty exited to get the new car... I was also thinking any new clay bar would probably be ok- but I have a month or two until we take delivery, so who knows how many I will get before then :) I am considering getting either the CM blue or sonus just to try something new...



Have you tried any other bars besides the blue CM? What did you think of it?
 
Yes, a finer clay is less abrasive but I don't think any of the three would do any damage. I'm gonna use the CM blue on soft black Lexus SS paint within the next week, I've done this before and don't remember any damage. I have also tried some "Autopia" (no brand name) clay sold for a while, was a yellow clay and it seemed softer than the CM or Mothers. I'm not sure if it was as good at removing contamination from the paint as the others, seemed very mild.



Just wondering, why do you have to wait so long for a Murano? I see a lot of them on the dealers lots. Did you do a special order on options? A friend of mine has an SE, he loves it!
 
Clay doesnt seem really dangerous to me.



unless you rub it without lube.



It kinda glides around like an ice cube on a hot plate.
 
is claying the first thing you will be doing to the car? cause i think if it still comes with the plastic wrap on the car then you may have to wash the delivery protective waxes off the car first with a strong shampoo... i think...
 
A soft, fine textured clay should be very safe if used with enough lube, two that I like are Clay magic blue and the Sonus gray clay, both available from http://www.autopia-carcare.com/



Also click on the HELP link at the top of the page for some of the best DIY instructions on using clay and detailing in general.
 
I've used ClayMagic's blue clay on my wife's Onyx Black and Indigo Blue Suburbans with no marring. I think that Clay Magic, at $9.99 retail, is one of the better bargains out there!
 
gearhead- yes, we ordered the car to get the exact combination of options we wanted. We were originally looking for a 2004 at the end of the year, and we didn't find anything that was an exact match- plus for a couple hundred more we could get a new 2005- the new SE comes with an 'intelligent key' if you get the touring package- the door will unlock for you if the key is within a certain distance (and it can still be in your pocket). It seemed cool enough to wait for :) We are getting the SE with AWD, touring package and dynamic vehicle control. In general there are plenty of muranos out there.



Setec- I don't think the whole car is covered in plastic, but a good portion is. Enough should be exposed that I think claying will help- I don't think it would hurt.



liam- yes, I do plan on washing the car before claying... still haven't decided on a regular car wash (z-7) or maybe starting with a dawn wash (I don't do this regularly but once in a while to start a whole detailing process...)



ntwrkguy1 - where have you found the CM blue for sale without the lube? Online or in a brick and mortar store? I have been checking stores around me and I have only seen mothers for sale so far.



So it looks like either sonus or CM blue would be a good pick- maybe in true autopian fashion I will get both and report back with results :) of course we will have to wait for the car to arrive...



Thanks for everyone's input!
 
liam said:
is claying the first thing you will be doing to the car? cause i think if it still comes with the plastic wrap on the car then you may have to wash the delivery protective waxes off the car first with a strong shampoo... i think...
Click to expand...



RapGard (Plastic Transit Film):

Many manufacturers are using this white plastic covering in place of synthetic or wax based shipping coatings (Cosmoline) The plastic becomes brittle with age (90 to 180 days) and becomes difficult to remove as it "shreds" while being pulled off, additionally there is excess adhesive residue left on the surface.



Spray or wipe Isopropyl Alcohol on to the Rap Guard or Plastic Film and the painted surfaces. Allow it to remain on the surface for 3 to 5 minutes. Saturate a soft clean towel with Isopropyl Alcohol and gently wipe away the RapGard / Plastic Transit Film pieces and their adhesive. Wash vehicle with a car wash concentrate diluted 1 oz. per gallon of water.
 
ntwrkguy1- Thanks for the link. It turns out I have an autozone less than 3 miles from my house! I will have to check out their stock ...



TOGWT- Thank you for the info- I hadn't actually thought about how to remove the plastic wrap :) Is Isopropyl alcohol the same thing as rubbing alcohol? So you would spray the entire plastic covering with alcohol first, let sit, then peel off and then wipe the residue off with another alcohol soaked towel (microfiber?)
 
Is Isopropyl alcohol the same thing as rubbing alcohol? Yes

So you would spray the entire plastic covering with alcohol first, let sit, then peel off and then wipe the residue off with another alcohol soaked towel (microfiber?) Yes
 
Interesting...I asked the dealer to remove the plastic (last thing he did) but not wash the car. I wanted to inspect the car before I took delivery--can't really be sure with all the plastic on it. He mentioned some adhesive remaining on the paint and I told him just to leave it. I washed it the next day, clayed and applied AIO. This took care of any adhesive left but maybe I got lucky. :nixweiss
 
gearhead- Did you get to watch the dealer remove the plastic? Any other precautions you can recommend? I guess I was just concerned they would take off the plastic and then wipe the car with some dirty shop towel that was sitting on the ground...or even a non-microfiber :) but I suppose if they only removed the plastic or I watched it come off that would be alright... I suppose if there is adhesive left I could use alcohol at that point. I was wondering how likely it is there was damage underneath the plastic from the factory and getting a little wary of removing the plastic myself...



How long has your friend had his SE? We drove the Murano SL and SE, and a few other mid-size, car-based SUVs, and we liked the murano best. Glad to hear someone else is enjoying it as well!
 
I didn't watch him take off the plastic but spoke to the guy that was going to do it myself and made sure he understood. Some pieces of plastic were partially coming off already and I had a good look at the vehicle after the plastic was removed.



My friend has had his Murano for about four months. He really likes the way it handles, got everything on it except Nav. It has a lot more room on the inside that it looks. But now he says he wishes he got the SL as the SE rides kinda rough. Looks great in black (get the windows tinted), white and the dark metallic blue they have. He got silver which I think is just okay on that car.



What else did you drive? I really liked the new Pathfinder, great engine, nice road feel and sporty looking. We ultimately decided on the MDX as it was going to be my wife's car and it had the most luxury items that she likes (her words).
 
I purchased a black 2000 Nissan Maxima 1n 1999, it had been covered (hood, ft fenders, top) w/ plastic. When I took delivery it had many lite scratches visible in bright sunlite. I made the dealer buff it out. They used 3M swirl remover for dark paint. Worked pretty good, but that was 1999. Look at it under brightest flouresent lite they have at dealer. Swirls will pop. Mike
 
We also drove a toyota highlander and 4runner, honda pilot, infiniti FX35. This will be the wife's car and we wanted a car-based vehicle instead of a truck (which ruled out the pathfinder/xterra and others). She is coming from an older corolla, and I have a mustang, so to us the SE ride isn't too harsh. I drove both SL and SE and decided I would rather have the sportier handling, and honestly I couldn't tell much of a difference in the ride on the test drives we took. the pilot was a little too big for us, and we liked the bigger interior space over a 3rd row seat in the murano. The infinity was nice, but didn't have as much cargo space and cost more.



I think our rear glass is tinted as a part of the touring package- I have to read up on the laws here for tinting the front door windows. I have seen some silver ones and actually think they don't look bad, but I definitely like black the best.



Mike- Did the dealer wash the car for you or were the swirls directly under the plastic (factory installed :) )
 
They had it for a week (not ordered) I don't know how long plastic was off. Never watched them take it off other cars, so nothing about residue, but they might use some kind of solvent, so who knows how it was rubbed. Be interesting to hear how yours comes out if the dealer cannot touch it. Good luck:wavey Mike
 
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