Clay doesn't remove wax/sealant coats....does it?

Klasse Act

Klasse Act

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So I've been using ONR for quite some time now, mild winter allowed me to do so, and all along I've been feeling the paint and it has been smooth to the touch, so the combo of all the coats of Zaino, touch-free washes when it was too cold for ONR and finally the use of ONR have kept my paint in great shape. Recently I aquired Black Fire Crystal Seal and wet diamond all paint sealant and used them with much glee! Today I decided to run the car through my favorite touch-free wash and just happened to check out the paint, well, its got a little grit in it, I rubbed it and put my ear near it and could hear it, I was kinda surprised and I guess this "creeped up on me", so I decided to clay the car and afterwards applied another coat of BFCS on the paint.

So my question to you guys is this, does a regular clay of average strength remove any layers of protection? FWIW, I used a straight quick detailer as lube too, nothing watered down. I have learned to not assume the paint is always going to be clean even though I stay ontop of my car, I guess this pollen season has been pretty strong!
 
clay removes everything.

I also use Zaino and love the stuff so far. Dont waste the detailer for clay mix water and car a cap of car wash soap in a spray bottle.
 
Ya it will remove wax., more all of it but out definitely removes some if not most.,I usually won't clay unless I'm going to polish because I've never been able to not induce marring or swirls. I use Automagic clay magic blue. Someone I'll use red and that will def remove wax and cause swirls
 
Doesn't it depend on the clay, whether it will remove wax and sealant? Sure, a lot do, but I would assume that the more gentle and soft ones wouldn't without a lot of effort.
 
the clay will and most likely so will the touch free car wash with the harsh chemicals that allow it to be touch free
 
heard this argument go both ways many times. I just wax or seal after claying anyway otherwise I don't even bother with the clay bar.Don't you want to seal your smooth paint surface after clay bar anyway?
 
I just thought of something, if clay really does remove everything (not doubting any of you here) then why does a percentage of people out there insist on using Dawn to strip their cars finish down to nothing AND seemingly damage their clearcoats in the process? I know this has surely been debating to death here over the years and I for one will NEVER EVER use Dawn on anything other than dishes, that's what its made for....takes grease out of your way, strong enough for that, so I can't imagine for the life of me why anyone would use something so strong on their clearcoats. I see people post here about using Dawn every spring to strip/prep their car for a full detail after winter when there's actual products out there that not only do this but will also not harm your clearcoat, its got a hard enough job to do, why weaken it by kicking it in the nuts everytime you wash with Dawn?!
 
Kaban said:
heard this argument go both ways many times. I just wax or seal after claying anyway otherwise I don't even bother with the clay bar.Don't you want to seal your smooth paint surface after clay bar anyway?
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Oh I did for sure, probably will apply another coat of BF Wet Diamond tomorrow and then re-seal it with BFCS again:dblthumb2:
 
Klasse Act said:
I just thought of something, if clay really does remove everything (not doubting any of you here) then why does a percentage of people out there insist on using Dawn to strip their cars finish down to nothing AND seemingly damage their clearcoats in the process? I know this has surely been debating to death here over the years and I for one will NEVER EVER use Dawn on anything other than dishes, that's what its made for....takes grease out of your way, strong enough for that, so I can't imagine for the life of me why anyone would use something so strong on their clearcoats. I see people post here about using Dawn every spring to strip/prep their car for a full detail after winter when there's actual products out there that not only do this but will also not harm your clearcoat, its got a hard enough job to do, why weaken it by kicking it in the nuts everytime you wash with Dawn?!
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I so totally agree with you on that whole dawn wash to strip LSP.
I just recently coated my car with cquartz, and my car had LAYERS of FRESH WAX/SEALANT/GLAZE.
I applied glaze, sealant, wax on my car a week ago and i decided im going to coat it, so i wont have to deal with it for a LONG time.

Many told me to wash with dawn to strip my LSP, but i just used a HELL LOT of citrus wash from CG and used TRIX to prep my car. And now i cant be any happier that my car is coated
 
Depends on the clay, the pressure used, and the LSP (what LSP it is, and how long since it was applied). It will almost certainly degrade it somewhat, but always completely strip it.
 
Klasse Act said:
why does a percentage of people out there insist on using Dawn
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Even though it costs more...shouldn't it be: Ivory Liquid...FTW???

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7cGIMRZGEo]Petticoat Junction Ivory Liquid Commercial - YouTube[/video]

waiting for Martha Stewart to chime in here....

:D

Bob
 
umi000 said:
Depends on the clay, the pressure used, and the LSP (what LSP it is, and how long since it was applied). It will almost certainly degrade it somewhat, but always completely strip it.
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My last detailing session had me apply 2oz's of Z-5 pro w/ZFX (accidently made too much, had to use the entire bottle in one day...many coats applied) to the car and that was about 6 weeks ago and last week I applied a coat of BF wet diamond all paint sealant as well as a coat of their Crystal Seal, so its well protected but like I said, when I inspected and felt the paint, I had to clay yesterday for sure. The amount of grit was evident on my clay bar too, not dark like most people's cars I do but enough to see it and for me, that's too much, can't believe I thought I was getting by this long w/o claying.

As far as the clay, well, for the life of me I can't remember which clay I have in the containter right now as I'm using an old Griot's container for this particular clay, its purple and is your average strength clay and I didn't rub too hard, didn't need to as it wasn't that gritty.

Its supposed to be 60 and sunny today, so I'm going back out there this afternoon to apply a coat of BF wet diamond and re-seal it with the BFCS:props:

I really don't think claying with average strength clay will remove everything, this on the other hand will surely remove everything on your paint and weaken the clearcoat, IMO. Just watch this video and ask yourself this, "do you really, really wanna use this on your precious clearcoat?"

 
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Klasse Act said:
So my question to you guys is this, does a regular clay of average strength remove any layers of protection?
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Sometimes what I do when trying to explain something on a forum or in person is to put the topic into an extreme example to make a point, like this...

Does claying add protection?


What's the opposite of adding?



:)
 
umi000 said:
Depends on the clay, the pressure used, and the LSP (what LSP it is, and how long since it was applied). It will almost certainly degrade it somewhat, but always completely strip it.
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Hate it when you miss a word and say the opposite of what you wanted to express - I meant to say "It will almost certainly degrade it somewhat, but not always completely strip it."
 
umi000 said:
Hate it when you miss a word and say the opposite of what you wanted to express - I meant to say "It will almost certainly degrade it somewhat, but not always completely strip it."
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Its all good, you caught it, that's all that matters:props:
 
You arent understanding the Dawn recommendation. Zaino suggests using it the very first time and only the first time before starting with their products. After that you never use it again. It preps the paint and removes anything that may have been on it in the first place.

The clay Zaino sells is Red and its what I use. I havent noticed it adds swirls to the paint but I will do a test spot to check now that I have started over again with their ZPC swirl remover and the paint is stripped again. I had swirls even though the Truck is brand new and is likely from the stupid dealer broom they scrub it with. I should have asked them to not wash it before taking delivery.
 
brian45acp said:
You arent understanding the Dawn recommendation. Zaino suggests using it the very first time and only the first time before starting with their products. After that you never use it again. It preps the paint and removes anything that may have been on it in the first place.

The clay Zaino sells is Red and its what I use. I havent noticed it adds swirls to the paint but I will do a test spot to check now that I have started over again with their ZPC swirl remover and the paint is stripped again. I had swirls even though the Truck is brand new and is likely from the stupid dealer broom they scrub it with. I should have asked them to not wash it before taking delivery.
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Oh yeah I know what Zaino says about the first time use but I was referring to the people that do a Dawn wash every spring to get the car completely stripped down to nothing....and that's what they'll end up with down the road, NOTHING! Now as far as swirls when using clay, this has NEVER happened to me, ever!

Sorry the dealer used one of those brooms on your car and yeah, its always good to have them not even prep the car, especially a hand wax, why even bother. Its too bad that dealerships don't hire/pay for better help out there. I would love to prep cars at a dealership but I'd wanna work at my own pace and do a great job on the car, I mean the customer deserves it when you consider the car is the 2nd biggest investment they make, shouldn't they get the car in its best condition right out of the box? After they get it, well, its up to them to keep it up but when new, it should be perfect!
 
I would ALWAYS follow a clay bar treatment up with some layer of protection.
 
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