Can clay barring cause scratches on a new car?

fastnoturbo2 said:
wow, I just bought the same exact products (pinnacle ultra poly clay and pinnacle clay lubricant 16oz) and I was planning to clay my brand new BMW M3 when I stumbled on this thread !
Rkelmy can you please give an update as to what you think could have caused the marring ?
Needless to say those pinnacle products will not be going anywhere close to my car now. I do not want to have to polish new car. Sounds like I will skip clay and wax directly after drying the car.
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I bet your car is already scratched and swirled from the dealership.

I also bet your car has contamination on it and it needs to be clayed.

It's normal to have to clay and polish a brand new car.
 
I will clay with out polishing but you really need to use enough lube to make sure you don't mar the paint. I have done many test the one car I won't clay with out polishing is a Porches since the paint is super soft.
 
When u clay u should not be applying heavy pressure as much as u should be letting the lube work for u and wiping side to side or up and down(whichever u prefer). Then wipe it off with a clean towel and feel it with a baggy and do it again if need be. Light pressure is all u need. Make sure the area is very clean of debris as well. U don't want to pick up particles that will make scratches as u clay. Twist up ur clay often. The more the better and try fine grade. I like NANOSKIN mitts now that I have tried them. Clay is always here on the shelf though.
 
Don't clay unless you plan on Polishing and waxing after as a general rule.

And or use an AIO product after.

Whatever the claying process might leave behind the polish and or AIO product will remove it.

As others have said on a new car....

There will be contaminates...... And you can bet money on it....

It will need to be clayed, polished and either a wax or sealant applied.
 
Did the dealership wash the car? They may have introduced scratches when cleaning it and filled them with waxes that your clay bar may have removed.
 
Scott@IncrediblyDetailed said:
I bet your car is already scratched and swirled from the dealership.

I also bet your car has contamination on it and it needs to be clayed.

It's normal to have to clay and polish a brand new car.
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As far as I can tell my car has no scratch or swirl from the dealership. Because I took delivery of it at the BMW PCD, not the dealer.

Pureshine said:
I will clay with out polishing but you really need to use enough lube to make sure you don't mar the paint. I have done many test the one car I won't clay with out polishing is a Porches since the paint is super soft.
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Yes I have clayed other cars before but not when they were new. Even if you over lubricate, I don't think it takes away the risk of marring altogether (not assuming any clay contamination) because as the clay stretches under your hand it reveals some dry bands that will rub the paint even if you use plenty of lubricant. I think you cannot get the paint decontamination benefit of claying without a certain risk of marring.

jankerson said:
Don't clay unless you plan on Polishing and waxing after as a general rule.

As others have said on a new car....

There will be contaminates...... And you can bet money on it....

It will need to be clayed, polished and either a wax or sealant applied.
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I am not claying my new car but I will wax it.
 
How long are you going to keep the care? Do you lease it? If you are a lease person or a three year and out person forget the clay, unless you have a terrific pro do it.

I would not clay a car until it is a few years old and then I would have a pro do as part of a major detail.
 
fastnoturbo2 said:
wow, I just bought the same exact products (pinnacle ultra poly clay and pinnacle clay lubricant 16oz) and I was planning to clay my brand new BMW M3 when I stumbled on this thread !
Rkelmy can you please give an update as to what you think could have caused the marring ?
Needless to say those pinnacle products will not be going anywhere close to my car now. I was not planning to polish my new car and certainly do not want having to polish as a result of clay marring. I am taking claying out of my plans for my new car now and I will wax directly after drying the car.
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Pinnacle stuff is very high quality. It's not the products. It's likely the technique or the paint. I also second using ONR as clay lube (1:16), it just works well and is dirt cheap. I'm sure UWW+ likely works as well. I pretty much use the Chemical Guys Clay Block exclusively to clay with now, whenever I need to do it (rarely) and found it hasn't scratched my black BMW at all.
 
This is not uncommon. I had to leave my garage queen outside for a month under my carport (figured it would be safe). The paint on that car had already been corrected and polished, it was flawless. My next door neighbor must have done something in his yard and my car ended up covered in some sort of fall out. I had to use heavy clay to get the fallout off. I tried clay and tried CarPro Polyshave block and they both left marring. The fallout was just that thick.

I ended up having to repolish the car to get the scratches out.

Having said that, when I took delivery of my new Accord, I did clay it and I did not leave any scratches or marring as the contaminants were very light. For that I used Pinnacle Poly Clay.
 
rkelmy said:
I have a brand new black Dodge Charger which I detailed this past weekend by:

I see ALLOT of scratches in the paint after following this process and it bugs me!!! the scratches are not isolated to just one area but are over the entire car.

They are not swirls as all of the scratches have a pattern of front to back which is the manner in which I used the clay bar. I used a new clay bar kneading, folding and keeping it well lubricated after each time I completed a section. The clay bar was new, clean and not dropped.

Thanks in advance....
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Could the clay have dislodged and picked some dirt in crevasses or in gaps between panels that your car wash failed to remove and wash completely ? I would think not if your car was new.
 
J Lamb said:
wow now i am afraid to clay bar my new Corvette . it is carbon blast color .
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Bring it down here, I'll Nanoskin it for ya'. :dblthumb2: Even have the new Black Label coating(s) all three of them. ;)

rkelmy said:
I have a brand new black Dodge Charger which I detailed this past weekend by:



  1. wash and dry
  2. Iron X
  3. rinse and dry
  4. clay bar
  5. Pinnacle advance finishing polish - orange pad
  6. Pinnacle wax - red pad
I see ALLOT of scratches in the paint after following this process and it bugs me!!! the scratches are not isolated to just one area but are over the entire car.

They are not swirls as all of the scratches have a pattern of front to back which is the manner in which I used the clay bar. I used a new clay bar kneading, folding and keeping it well lubricated after each time I completed a section. The clay bar was new, clean and not dropped.

The scratches do not appear to be deep as I rub my finger nail over them and it does not catch.

What can I do to remove these scratches????

Thanks in advance....
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Sounds like you got a good start at least. Seems that you did follow through on your kneading and used enough lube too. (A lot of guys just outright fail there.)
Did you inspect the car after claying, before polishing?
Did you to test spots to know exactly how long, how hard, what pads, what speed to use?
I'd say it was in you technique more than anything else.

I'm not sure you'll need a more aggressive pad, perhaps not as aggressive (at least on the finishing phase). But you may need a more aggressive polish. Dodge paint (usually) is a bit on the hard side so you'll need to account for that in the correction phase. Even Mike has said it's much like today's Corvette paint.

Work CLEAN, change your towels, and don't discount changing your pads often as well.

I'd say go back and tape off some test spots on you hood, work them differently. One you may have medium arm pressure, speed 4, slow arm speed, 3 passes then spritz, turn up the speed to 5 and do another 2 passes. Another you may have medium hard arm pressure, speed 5, faster arm speed and 5 straight up passes. :dunno:

Do each and inspect your work. Write down what you're doing, what works, and what doesn't. It's the little things that make all the difference. ;) Then it's just a matter of repeating that test spot 25 times over. :D
 
Yes I have clayed other cars before but not when they were new. Even if you over lubricate, I don't think it takes away the risk of marring altogether (not assuming any clay contamination) because as the clay stretches under your hand it reveals some dry bands that will rub the paint even if you use plenty of lubricant. I think you cannot get the paint decontamination benefit of claying without a certain risk of marring.

There is always a risk of marring when ever you clay a car. I have change to the Nanoskin mitt which is all I use unless the car is bad. So just do the bag test and see if you even need to clay.
 
fastnoturbo2 said:
As far as I can tell my car has no scratch or swirl from the dealership. Because I took delivery of it at the BMW PCD, not the dealer.



Yes I have clayed other cars before but not when they were new. Even if you over lubricate, I don't think it takes away the risk of marring altogether (not assuming any clay contamination) because as the clay stretches under your hand it reveals some dry bands that will rub the paint even if you use plenty of lubricant. I think you cannot get the paint decontamination benefit of claying without a certain risk of marring.



I am not claying my new car but I will wax it.
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I would use a high quality cleaner wax then at least...
 
fastnoturbo2 said:
As far as I can tell my car has no scratch or swirl from the dealership. Because I took delivery of it at the BMW PCD, not the dealer.
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If so then wash it really good then put a good quality paint sealant on it.

Megs Ultimate wax

Or

Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant 3.0

And put 2 coats on, wait 24 hours between coats.
 
Maybe it's not the claying that is causing the problem? What is your washing method? I find that with claying my black pickup using duragloss 901 as a lube, I hardly ever notice and marring or scratching. Almost all of the minute imperfections that accumulate over time come from the washing!
 
That's why I dumped clay - a nanoskin fine speedy prep towel and I've never marred anything since...
 
It looks like the OP is not resurfacing but many of you are saying that even without mistakes claying is not all advantages and zero risk like I thought it was. That in itself changes a lot. Like I said, I do not want to have to follow with polishing on a new car. Therefore I will not clay.

jankerson said:
If so then wash it really good then put a good quality paint sealant on it.

Megs Ultimate wax

Or

Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant 3.0

And put 2 coats on, wait 24 hours between coats.
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I have bought P2S concours carnauba wax.

Why put sealant on the clearcoat ? I know artificial agents last longer than carnauba wax. But as long as I apply P2S wax regularly (every 4-5 weeks) I'd rather just keep it simple with just the wax.
 
fastnoturbo2 said:
It looks like the OP is not resurfacing but many of you are saying that even without mistakes claying is not all advantages and zero risk like I thought it was. That in itself changes a lot. Like I said, I do not want to have to follow with polishing on a new car. Therefore I will not clay.



I have bought P2S concours carnauba wax.

Why put sealant on the clearcoat ? I know artificial agents last longer than carnauba wax. But as long as I apply P2S wax regularly (every 4-5 weeks) I'd rather just keep it simple with just the wax.
Click to expand...

Clearcoat is just clear paint..... Nothing more than that...

A sealant is as simple as it gets, lasts a lot longer and protects better.
 
fastnoturbo2 said:
It looks like the OP is not resurfacing but many of you are saying that even without mistakes claying is not all advantages and zero risk like I thought it was. That in itself changes a lot. Like I said, I do not want to have to follow with polishing on a new car. Therefore I will not clay.



I have bought P2S concours carnauba wax.

Why put sealant on the clearcoat ? I know artificial agents last longer than carnauba wax. But as long as I apply P2S wax regularly (every 4-5 weeks) I'd rather just keep it simple with just the wax.
Click to expand...

Clearcoat is just clear paint..... Nothing more than that...

A sealant is as simple as it gets, lasts a lot longer and protects better.

And it applies just like a wax...
 
Marring or not, if you don't clay the car or use a nanoskin, don't even bother waxing. You're just wasting time, it won't bond and just be wasted. New car or not just do it. You'll eventually polish it out anyway, the paint won't always remain perfect no matter how hard you try, so start big do it right and go from there :-)
 
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