Clay towel scratched my truck big time , what went wrong?

ihaveacamaro said:
I'm confused, have you used a clay bar on this particular truck before and didn't get marring?

Because in your OP, it says that you just got this car, so it seems to imply that this is the first time clay or a clay alternative has touched this particular truck, so I'm unsure how you can say that normal clay wouldn't mar this truck.
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I'm speaking generally about using clay bars. Had it 2 days. I had a 2011 f-150 same paint color that clay never marred to a degree I ever noticed
 
ALL these clay alternatives marr paint, IMO. They have benefits, though: faster, easier.

Regular clay has the tendency to marr much less.
 
Hellspawn said:
I'm speaking generally about using clay bars. Had it 2 days. I had a 2011 f-150 same paint color that clay never marred to a degree I ever noticed
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gotcha. Well back to what I said earlier, if you try a fine clay over your new car and see what happens, you can determine if it's the car paint or clay alternative that is marring your paint.
 
FivePoint.0 said:
ALL these clay alternatives marr paint, IMO. They have benefits, though: faster, easier.

Regular clay has the tendency to marr much less.
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^^^ Agree. Ive seen too many posts with these clay alternatives marring paint, more so than with traditional clay bar. It also depends on the brand, and aggresiveness level of the clay being used.
 
How long was the break-in period on the car windows???

Here is my experiences with both products (Nanoskin Autoscrub discs and Wash Mitts).

I broke the discs in for about 5 mins with a DA on the windows. No marring after.

The wash mitts were different. My first attempt at breaking-in the mitts was a failure. It caused marring (thank god it was my personal vehicle and not a customer). I think it has to do with the action. A machine will generate more rotations per min than my arm. I assumed I need to clay more surfaces to properly break-in the mitts so I clayed just about every glass surfaces in the house (shower doors, windows, mirrors) with them. Now, they work just fine (even on a BMW JB). I also found that it works better when I pre-soaked it with warm water prior to use.
 
ihaveacamaro said:
gotcha. Well back to what I said earlier, if you try a fine clay over your new car and see what happens, you can determine if it's the car paint or clay alternative that is marring your paint.
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Did that last night. Clay worked as I expected no issues. Same lube
 
psnt1ol said:
How long was the break-in period on the car windows???

Here is my experiences with both products (Nanoskin Autoscrub discs and Wash Mitts).

I broke the discs in for about 5 mins with a DA on the windows. No marring after.

The wash mitts were different. My first attempt at breaking-in the mitts was a failure. It caused marring (thank god it was my personal vehicle and not a customer). I think it has to do with the action. A machine will generate more rotations per min than my arm. I assumed I need to clay more surfaces to properly break-in the mitts so I clayed just about every glass surfaces in the house (shower doors, windows, mirrors) with them. Now, they work just fine (even on a BMW JB). I also found that it works better when I pre-soaked it with warm water prior to use.
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I had it folded in 1/4s about 1 minute per side.
 
I was going to give up clay and try this towel.
With all the clay alternative, the speedy towel was my 1st choice among all.

But after reading this, i think i rather save that $60 and stick with the old fashion clay....
 
fenderpicks said:
I was going to give up clay and try this towel.
With all the clay alternative, the speedy towel was my 1st choice among all.

But after reading this, i think i rather save that $60 and stick with the old fashion clay....
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I wouldn't entirely give up on clay alternatives. It just happened to not work for the OP, to many users they have no issues whatsoever. Every product will vary between users & especially more so from paint to paint system.
 
anytime we clay there is always risk no matter how good we are.happens to everyone sooner or later
 
Anytime I clay or speedy prep a car I am usually going to polish it so I don't really worry that much about marring. Based upon user reviews and personal experience the "clay alternatives" need to be broken in really really well and generous on the lube.

Don't give up on the speedy prep towel, try breaking it in more on other glass surfaces and pre-soaking in warm or hot water. Then give it a whirl on another vehicle.
 
I want to try the nanoskin mitt it's $10 cheaper ($39.95) from CG's website.
 
Technique or whatever, If anyone wants to buy it, 40 shipped., used on one panel.
 
@OP, what was the temperature when you were using the SPT?
It is a great product and I have had it transfer onto edges or slightly mar pant but nothing major. I have also had the same thing happen with the universal gray clay bar. That said IME, the prep towel works faster at removing bonded contamination(like clear coat over spray) than Meg's red aggressive clay, and left much less marring than aggressive clay. This was my experience recently on a black 2010 Camaro, which has extremely soft clear. You have to realize that with the prep towel it has ridges on it which make up pressure points. On regular clay, and some clay alternatives, it is a flat surface that distributes the pressure of your hand better. That said I have almost always noticed marring on paint with significant orange peel when using anything other than ultra poly clay.
I think the pros out way the cons with clay alternatives. The up front cost seems high but compared to the same monetary amount of clay, you will get more uses out of a clay alternative.
IME the Nanoskin Autoscrub mars as bad if not worse if used below about 55°. I recommend keeping any coating material warm when using it especially the clay alternative materials; and use more lube than you think is necessary. So, give the SPT a second chance or at least do a test with it and trad clay side-by-side.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using AG Online
 
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