I detailed my grandparent's new Lexus RX in Navy Blue over the weekend. I washed the car like normal and to my surprise with it only being a couple months old, the front end of the car did not pass the plastic bag test. So I broke open a brand new Megs white clay bar, flattened it nice and thin and went to work. I used a clean bucket of DG 901 car wash (1oz/1gal water ratio) sloshed on with a clean microfiber wash mitt for my lubricant. Once completed and cleaned off I noticed all the body lines seemed to have clay marring.
I know the white Megs clay is supposed to be fine grade and I haven't really had this issue before. I did my best to fold and flatten once I felt like the clay surface was dirty and kept sloshing on my wash solution to keep the surface nice and wet.
Could I have not been folding the clay as much as I needed to? Perhaps sloshing on wash solution was not lubricating enough?
I used a fine polish and removed the marring no problem and continued applying DG601/111 like normal but it definitely added time and unnecessary polishing to do a dumb mistake on my part.
Please keep in mind I am still pretty new to detailing and my real experience comes from working in the paint dept of a collision repair shop and we rarely break out clay unless removing overspray but I always follow up with polish after doing that anyway.
Should I expect to follow up with a mild polish after claying? I was hoping I wouldn't have to since the paint was in flawless condition since it hadn't been driven much since leaving the showroom a few month prior. Grandparents just wanted a sealant applied for winter.
I know the white Megs clay is supposed to be fine grade and I haven't really had this issue before. I did my best to fold and flatten once I felt like the clay surface was dirty and kept sloshing on my wash solution to keep the surface nice and wet.
Could I have not been folding the clay as much as I needed to? Perhaps sloshing on wash solution was not lubricating enough?
I used a fine polish and removed the marring no problem and continued applying DG601/111 like normal but it definitely added time and unnecessary polishing to do a dumb mistake on my part.
Please keep in mind I am still pretty new to detailing and my real experience comes from working in the paint dept of a collision repair shop and we rarely break out clay unless removing overspray but I always follow up with polish after doing that anyway.
Should I expect to follow up with a mild polish after claying? I was hoping I wouldn't have to since the paint was in flawless condition since it hadn't been driven much since leaving the showroom a few month prior. Grandparents just wanted a sealant applied for winter.
