Dropped clay.

I just use this

http://www.autogeek.net/speedy-surface-prep-towel.html

Speedy Prep Towel

There is rocks and actual particles on the ground, hopefully these are not what's bonded to your paint. You can use clay you drop on the ground on your car if you want. Its your car and your paint. Maybe you will get away with it, maybe not.

But, why not just get a clay alternative? You can drop them on the ground and get many times more uses out of them than clay. You don't have to worry about them drying out as well. There are some that are the same price as clay.

I like the Chemical Guys Clay Block.

If it did "pick up a bit of sand and such" then you definitely throw it out. In general, still throw it out.

I just watched the DVD that came with my Griot's Garage 3" polisher yesterday. Did not learn anything in the DVD but at one point the presenter says "If you drop the clay on the ground, make sure you remore any débris or dirt from it before using it again"... I was shocked! This goes against everything I have always read and viewed regarding clay. That thing can pick up stuff invisible to the human eye, I would certainly not use it on my paint once it fell to the ground.

If you don't see the harm in using clay that was dropped on the ground, you really just don't get the whole idea here. If even one grain of sand is rubbed repeatedly across your finish, it will look WAY WORSE than when you started.

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Little sand / rock particles on the ground are much worse and more abrasive than any contamination you should be picking up from your paint.

I would just throw it out.

Generally speaking it should be thrown out. As stated one grain off sand can cause so many scratches but.....

If it's a big enough piece of clay I don't see why you can just cut the contaminated face off. Throwing it out seems an expensive waste and really unnecessary

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Speedy prep towel FTW!!

And yes, if you don't throw it out after using it you're taking a big unnecessary risk. Tell me, what's more expensive? Paint or clay? ... You can do the math, easy decision IMHO.

I try to use small pieces of clay so if they get dropped it doesn't hurt the pocketbook so much to throw them out. But as faulksy noted, if you drop a whole bar or a big piece you can cut/scrape the affected area(s) off and just throw that out.

I agree with what you are saying, certainly you can get "rocks" equivalent to what might be on the ground in the clay from claying lower areas that have a lot of tar. What do I do in that instance? I clean the tar out of the clay, slicing off parts if I have to, to avoid unnecessarily kneading large particulate into the bar. It's kind of the same if you drop it, although there could be harder-to-see- particles in it from a concrete floor.

In a few years when the clay patents expire clay is going to get cheaper, and I believe the clay alternatives will too, for whatever that's worth.

StuDLei said:

I really think the risks mentioned...are being GROSSLY over-exaggerated.

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You're not supposed to be using the entire clay-bar at one time to clay a vehicle...
just a piece of it, at any given time, that's been properly formed/shaped...will suffice.
That way, it would seem, the entire amount of the clay-bar would not be compromised if one were to "drop the clay".

Also:
There are some folks that say the benefits of using auto-clay on a vehicle are, in and of themselves: GROSSLY over-exaggerated.

I strongly disagree with these folks, as I do your above premise.



Bob

StuDLei said:

I still don't see what the big deal is unless you drop it in a sandbox or something, lol. It picks up hard stuff, i.e., contaminants that could scratch your paint, right off the paint itself; that's what it's supposed to do. If it falls on a relatively clean, smooth slab on concrete, it isn't the end of the world to me. That's not to say I don't think there's any worry at all. I just don't get it.

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Piece of clay=$5 (if you're breaking it in 4 pieces)

Let's say for the sake of using common sense that there is a grain of sand that you're not aware of, it finds it's way to the surface of your clay while you're claying and it causes deeper scratches all over the hood. The extra time, products and loss of paint to repair such a debacle, converted to money would probably buy you a case of clay bars.

What you're doing is engaging in a high stakes gamble where someone else pays the price for your losing the game, should that grain of sand reveal itself in the middle of claying a customer's car.

If you practice this on a regular basis, eventually you'll understand when you're digging deep into your pockets to pay the body shop to repaint a panel that couldn't be saved because the claying scratches were too deep to buff out.

tuscarora dave said:

What you're doing is engaging in a high stakes gamble where someone else pays the price for your losing the game, should that grain of sand reveal itself in the middle of claying a customer's car.

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I don't think the OP was working on a "customer" car.

Setec Astronomy said:

I don't think the OP was working on a "customer" car.

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Yeah it was his buddy's new Ford Fuzion.

I think people will grossly over exaggerate things to make a point. Regardless of who's car it is or how likely it is that deeper scratches could possibly be instilled, It's still quite possible. It's a matter of very basic risk prevention, good operating practices, common consideration of someone else's belongings.

I feel that those of us here on this forum that have been around for a while, and been there done that, learned it the hard way have a responsibility to uphold a certain standard, and guide newer members in the direction of great success.

In my mind, this stuff I am writing is not about me or you, or about the OP because he's clearly OK with taking the risk. It's about a world full of aspiring detailers who come here to learn the basics of auto detailing. If we are to drop the ball on the most basic of principles, (throwing out the piece of clay that hits the ground) why type anything at all?

StuDLei said:

I really think the risks mentioned by you and others are being GROSSLY over-exaggerated.

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So don't toss it. Sounds like your mind is made up. If you are claying a freshly washed car then whatever the clay is picking up pales in comparison to what it will pick up from the floor.

tuscarora dave said:

In my mind, this stuff I am writing is not about me or you...

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Point taken, but OTOH, the "rule" that if you drop it, it's garbage, removes any common sense, subjectivity, or inspection from the equation. If I have a garage floor like an airplane hangar, and I just mopped it before my detailing session, and I look at my clay, decide it's clean, rinse it off for good measure, what is my risk?

I think the same logic can be applied in reverse (sort of). If you drop your clay substitute on the ground, which is made of very soft rubber, and you just rinse it off and continue using it, are you absolutely sure there is no grit that has embedded itself in the rubber and didn't rinse off? (Disclaimer: I haven't used any of the clay substitues). Do you do a thorough inspection?

As I mentioned before, we've all clayed cars that have tons of tar, with pieces of aggregate, and that junk all gets stuck in the clay. Personally I rub the clay with my finger in my rinse bucket, and pick off any large particles, before I knead the clay in those circumstances. Am I removing 100% of the grit? No. Does that stop me from kneading the clay and continuing? No. What about you guys?

I don't see that as being hugely different from dropping the clay on the ground. You've got to use your best judgment (and I understand that newbs may be reading this without the experience to make that judgment).

Who's going to start the Garry Dean Clay Method (GDCM) where as soon as the clay gets dirty you throw it out instead of kneading it?