Even show cars might need to be clayed...

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Even show cars might need to be clayed...


While the paint looks great in the picture below, looks can be deceiving...

BEFORE

Paint shouldn't make sound
You can tell by the sound made when I run my hand over the paint that there are some kind of above surface bonded contaminants on the paint.

1954 Ford F-100 with above surface bonded contaminants​

[video=youtube_share;jCVEur4OuYo&hd=1"]1954 Ford F100 Show Truck Detailing Clay - YouTube[/video]


We wiped the truck down using Detailer's Pro Series Waterless Auto Wash and then proceeded to clay the paint.

Detailer's Pro Series Waterless Auto Wash

We used all the tips and techniques for claying the paint on the custom 1954 Ford found in pages 41 to 47 of either the e-book or paperback version of The Art of Detailing.

E-book - Displayed on iPad

Paperback

Restoring smoothness by claying the paint
Here's Glen the owner of the truck claying just in front of the windshield for the very first time..

Here's Jeff claying the back of the truck...

Rene claying the bed rails...

Glen, Adam and Rene claying the paint... you can already see the gloss becoming amped up just from claying...

This truck was re-painted approximately one year ago but just from exposure to the outdoors has made the paint vulnerable to air-borne contaminants...

This shot was taken with my trusty, dusty Canon Rebel with the flash on after claying the roof...

Without the flash on here's what the clay looks like and this is what it looked like in person... The roof and the other horizontal panels pretty much felt like sandpaper before we started.

Ewww....

Besides restoring gloss, by removing the film of contaminants off the paint you'll make machine polishing easier, safer and more effective and enable your choice of wax or paint sealant to better be able to bond to the paint.

AFTER
Here's Robert from Impression's Detailing giving the paint a final wipe after ONLY claying the paint....

Even a show truck might need to be clayed...
As you can see, even a show truck might need to be clayed, the way you tell is after washing or wiping the paint clean, feel the paint with your clean hand and if you feel any kind of texture or little bumps on the paint this is a strong indicator that the paint needs to be clayed.



Gloss comes from smoothness
I think everyone will agree that a great looking paint job is a glossy looking paint job and gloss comes from smoothness. The first step in creating a glossy looking finish it to inspect for above surface bonded contaminants and if discovered, use detailing clay to clay the paint.


Now this is glossy paint... and worthy of being called show car quality and results like these start with the basics...

Products used on Autogeek.net


In the order the products were used...

Products
Detailer's Pro Series Waterless Auto Wash
Pinnacle Ultra Poly Clay And Clay Lube
Optimum Hyper-Polish Spray
Pinnacle Advanced Finishing Polish
Pinnacle Signature Series II



Buffing Pads
Optimum Microfiber Polishing Pad, 3.25 inches
Optimum Microfiber Polishing Pad, 5.25 inches
Optimum Microfiber Polishing Pad 6.25 inches
Lake Country 5.5" Blue CCS Finessing Pads
Lake Country 5.5" Red Low Profile Ultrasoft Wax/Sealant Foam Pads


Tools Used
Porter Cable 7424XP
Griot's Garage 6" Random Orbital Polisher
Meguiar's G110v2
Griot's Garage 3" Mini Polisher
Pad Conditioning Brush
Brinkmann Maxfire Dual Xenon Rechargeable Swirl Finder Spotlight



Microfiber Towels and Gloves
Super Soft Deluxe Blue Microfiber Towels with Rolled Edges
Super Soft Deluxe Green Microfiber Towels with Rolled Edges
Microfiber Gloves - 6 pair
Microfiber Gloves - 1 pair



How To Information Resources

All the tips and techniques used for detailing this custom 1954 Ford found in either the e-book or paperback version of The Art of Detailing as well as the DVD.

E-book
(Displayed on iPad - iPad not included)

Paperback



Mike Phillips' Principles of Machine Polishing



Autogeek.net
Customer Service: 1-800-869-3011




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[5Toes]

Re: Even show cars might need to be clayed

What kind of clay was used, Mike?

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Re: Even show cars might need to be clayed

What kind of clay was used, Mike?

We used Pinnacle Ultra Poly Clay for the majority of the truck but to really show just how bad the paint was contaminated I used a bar of Meguiar's consumer clay because it's white in color and as you can see the white clay really did a good job of showing just how much gunk was on the horizontal surfaces.

 

[dougaross]

Is it a good idea to clay when the vehicle is coated with OC or CQ

 

[embolism]

that is crazy, Mike

wouldn't letting a patty get that contaminated mar the paint though? I've never had clay that looked like this, even on cars that have been pretty neglected.

I check my clay after every section for grit and if it starts looking even a bit grimy, I wash it then reknead...

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Is it a good idea to clay when the vehicle is coated with OC or CQ

I don't recall off hand what the manufacture of both the products you mention state as an official recommendation but I can check. From a practical point of view if you have bonded contaminants and you want them off the at some point you'll have to use something to get them off and the address any ramifications after the fact.

that is crazy, Mike

wouldn't letting a patty get that contaminated mar the paint though?

Certainly could.

Two things...

When claying paint as rough as the roof it would take forever to make a single stroke over the paint and then stop and clean or knead the clay. That would take forever. Instead I clayed it and then machine polished it afterwards and BOTH procedures gave me the results I was looking for.

I had Janna inspect the roof for swirls and scratches and the paint passed with flying colors...

Jana inspecting the roof for swirls...

I asked Janna to feel the paint on the roof too and to make sure it felt smooth...

The other thing is I wanted to purposefully use a single side of the clay to clay just ONE HALF of the roof to get the DRAMATIC picture you see here to drive home the point of this article and that is even a show car might need to be clayed.


Great question and for everyone reading this into the future you can choose a variety of techniques to clay your car's paint. One thing I would recommend is,

Maintenance
Don't let your car's paint get this bad in the first place by doing proper maintenance. Proper maintenance would be FEELING your car's paint after each time you wash and dry the car or wipe the car clean, especially if it's a daily driver because you NEVER know what's in the AIR over your car from day to day.