First Post ... maybe moronic "noob" questions. :)

[Scott in Houston]

So, I'm pretty new to 'detailing' even though for years and years, I've been very particular about my cars, and conscious of how they can be scratched with bad maintenance etc.
In the past, I just relied on professionals to correct issues, etc.
This is my first post, but I've done quite a bit of reading on here, so sorry if I'm naive or ignorant on some things regarding paint correction and/or protection.

Well, I bought a 2019 Audi A6 that is midnight blue metallic, so almost black, and after watching probably hundreds of videos online, I took the plunge.
Bought a Harbor Freight DA, a pressure washer and foam cannon setup, along with some Chem Guys Pads (white and black), Chem Guys Extreme Top Coat Sealant, Clay Bar, and Meguiars Ultimate Polish... bought before I did a lot of research, but gotta say..lt works well for me. I also bought Chem Guys stuff because it was the closest, easiest to get quickly and I think it's mostly good stuff.

I chose to work on the trunk lid first because it had some micro scratches and marring from the dealer prep, and it was as reasonable small panel to try first.

I washed, then clayed with the CG "OG" (yellow) clay bar. I used ridiculous amounts of lube using their good smelling speed detailer spray, but noticed it left quite a few scratches. They swore that it would not scratch. I never saw anything on the bar itself that would do it, and I did not drop it. The scratches were removed by doing the machine polish after using Meguiars Ultimate Polish, but I was not happy about that issue.

1) Is that normal for clay? or was it a case of some user error?

My house has a water softening system, but I learned that doesn't mean no water spotting. It won't spot as bad as it would prior to the softener, but it's still an issue.

2) I am considering getting a hose-fed pressure washer strictly to rinse with distilled water then let the Texas sun dry my car to avoid issues when towel drying. Good idea? Anyone else do this?

3) Why is water spotting an issue after you've put on a good sealant? All the hype says sealant and/or a good wax "protects the paint", but I'm finding that to be more hype than truth. Am I wrong??


Thanks in advance for any tips or opinions.

 

[Bruno Soares]

1- Clay does introduce marring to the paint. Every time I've used it, no matter how light duty the clay bar is or how much lube I use, it adds marring. But as you saw, easily cleaned with polish so that's no big deal. Just don't clay if you don't plan on polishing afterwards.
2- Check out CR Spotless or another deionizer filter. Works for what you're looking to do, rinse and let air dry.
3- Sealants and even coatings can't be totally effective against water spots. Depending on the amount of minerals in that water and how much the car is exposed to the sun (and therefore the paint gets hot) it will leave a spot if you don't wash soon after it got wet. Some areas of the country will be worse than others for that.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

I washed, then clayed with the CG "OG" (yellow) clay bar. I used ridiculous amounts of lube using their good smelling speed detailer spray, but noticed it left quite a few scratches. They swore that it would not scratch. I never saw anything on the bar itself that would do it, and I did not drop it. The scratches were removed by doing the machine polish after using Meguiars Ultimate Polish, but I was not happy about that issue.

1) Is that normal for clay? or was it a case of some user error?

My personal rule and what I teach in all my classes is this,

If I'm going to do any time of mechanical decontamination, (that's using clay or a clay mitt/towel/pad), then I'm ALREADY planning on doing at least one polishing step to remove any marring caused by the mechanical decontamination step.


Black shows everything but it happens to light colors too it's just harder to see. So this is why I have this as my own rule and one I freely share with others.

Clearcoats are scratch-sensitive. This means that even though they tend to be harder than traditional single stage paints, (except for white), the still scratch very very easy. I have an article on this somewhere.

3) Why is water spotting an issue after you've put on a good sealant?

I've been answering questions on forums professionally since 2002. That's 17 years. So I've see a lot of threads with issues like this in the past.


What I always wonder is....


What's in the water!


Clearcoat paints are pretty tough by themselves. For water to physically spot or etch a urethane resin I just have to wonder, what's in the water.


If whatever is in the water is strong enough or corrosive enough to etch urethane resin it's going to easily get past a thin later of wax or sealant.


:dunno:

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Also, in case you have the detailing bug - 50% to 60% of the people that attend my classes are enthusiasts or just starting out in the detailing business.

We have a class coming up in Texas.


Detailing Roadshow Classes for 2019
Information - Dates - Locations

This is a 2-day class that covers both exterior detailing, interior detailing and wetsanding. Classes start at 7:30am sharp and end at 5:30pm - these are 10 hour classes where you're on our feet getting 100% hands-on training.

Price: $895.00

Early sign-up bonus - Sign-up 30 days before the date of the class and receive a $100.00 store credit at Autogeek.com


Call Andre to sign-up over the phone 1-800-869-3011 x244



June

Saturday, June 1st and Sunday, June 2nd <-- Info and link to sign-up
Pro Reflection Detail Shop
501 W Powell Lane Unit 208
Austin, Texas 78753
Host Website - ProReflection.com

 

[PaulMys]

Welcome to AGO, Scott!

1) As mentioned above, clay will micro-mar the paint, but machine polishing will take care of that.

2) I would not worry about towel drying with something like the Griot's PFM towel. Yes, it's a tad pricey. But you get every pennies worth. It is really that good. You might want to consider using a leaf blower to get the majority of the water, then finishing up with the PFM towel. This is my method, and I wouldn't do it any other way.

What I would NEVER do is let the sun dry it for you. Distilled water or not.

3) See #2. Lol. Most water left on the surface of a wax, sealant or even coatings will do some sort of spotting. It can be worse on plastic trim sometimes. It always best to wash, then dry immediately.

 

[Bill D]

PFM towel for me all the way too . The most impressive detailing product I’ve seen in a while!

 

[rlmccarty2000]

I agree, do not let the sun dry your car. A soft towel should not scratch your paint, but blowing off most of the water to begin with is the best idea.

Oh, welcome to AG!

 

[Scott in Houston]

My personal rule and what I teach in all my classes is this,

If I'm going to do any time of mechanical decontamination, (that's using clay or a clay mitt/towel/pad), then I'm ALREADY planning on doing at least one polishing step to remove any marring caused by the mechanical decontamination step.


Black shows everything but it happens to light colors too it's just harder to see. So this is why I have this as my own rule and one I freely share with others.


What I always wonder is....


What's in the water!


Clearcoat paints are pretty tough by themselves. For water to physically spot or etch a urethane resin I just have to wonder, what's in the water.


If whatever is in the water is strong enough or corrosive enough to etch urethane resin it's going to easily get past a thin later of wax or sealant.


:dunno:

That makes sense. It's just funny to be because we always talk about 'paint protection' but in reality it's almost no protection. lol. It feels better and looks better, but things like hard water or bird poo are still a problem. I guess it's really just protection from road film, making it easier to wash off later, etc.

Thanks for letting me know about your classes. I would love to do one and will consider the Austin option. Question: do you have to have your own car there? I'm assuming not, which means I may choose one of the other locations at some point instead. Austin in June... well all of Texas in June isn't super awesome.

Welcome to AGO, Scott!

1) As mentioned above, clay will micro-mar the paint, but machine polishing will take care of that.

2) I would not worry about towel drying with something like the Griot's PFM towel. Yes, it's a tad pricey. But you get every pennies worth. It is really that good. You might want to consider using a leaf blower to get the majority of the water, then finishing up with the PFM towel. This is my method, and I wouldn't do it any other way.

What I would NEVER do is let the sun dry it for you. Distilled water or not.

3) See #2. Lol. Most water left on the surface of a wax, sealant or even coatings will do some sort of spotting. It can be worse on plastic trim sometimes. It always best to wash, then dry immediately.

I'll look into that PFM towel.
Thank you!

1- Clay does introduce marring to the paint. Every time I've used it, no matter how light duty the clay bar is or how much lube I use, it adds marring. But as you saw, easily cleaned with polish so that's no big deal. Just don't clay if you don't plan on polishing afterwards.
2- Check out CR Spotless or another deionizer filter. Works for what you're looking to do, rinse and let air dry.
3- Sealants and even coatings can't be totally effective against water spots. Depending on the amount of minerals in that water and how much the car is exposed to the sun (and therefore the paint gets hot) it will leave a spot if you don't wash soon after it got wet. Some areas of the country will be worse than others for that.

I agree, do not let the sun dry your car. A soft towel should not scratch your paint, but blowing off most of the water to begin with is the best idea.

Oh, welcome to AG!

Thanks guys. That CR system seems decent, but I would think distilled is much better even. You can't get more pure water than distilled water.

Experimented with distilled water and it worked like a champ. After I had washed and dried my car, I put some distilled water on it and let it dry, and there was no sign of it after, so I had considered if after a wash, I use the Worx Hydroshot being fed with a bucket of distilled water, I could rinse the car that way...
You guys are probably right though. I'm just so tempted to try it.


It's funny, I used to be so into cars and have gone through quite a few fun cars (I'm 48 now), and today, I think more about detailing cars than the cars themselves. What has happened to me??? :autowash::detailer: