Claying a white car without polishing afterwards?

[WRXINXS]

I am thinking of using Pinnacle Ultra Poly Clay (Fine grade) w/ Pinnacle clay lubricant to clay a white Infiniti but do not want to polish afterwards as there are no swirls.

I know Infiniti paint is soft. How much marring do you think careful claying with a fine grade bar would do? Enough to be noticeable?

I will only be using Dodo Juice Lime Prime Lite Cleaner Glaze by hand afterwards and following that up with a good wax/sealant.

Thanks,
Drew

 

[TroyM]

I have a pearl white Nissan SR, so that's about the same as Infiniti.

I'd still use polish afterwards... There's swirls/scratches you won't see unless you're under certain lighting conditions (sun, etc.)... It will enhance the look and give that extra 10% to make it look even better.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[CM8 6MT]

White paint is pro at hiding fine swirls & scratches. I havent used Pinnacle clay personally, but if its very mild you should have no issues as far as marring.

Use PLENTY of lube, really saturate the area as your gliding the bar over the paint. Often many detailers dont use enough lube and end up catching the paint, causing marring. Just like any other detail project, do a test spot and inspect to see if indeed any marring has occured before you clay the entire car. Use very light pressure as your gliding the bar over the paint as well.

 

[swanicyouth]

I just "clayed" my Nissan with the CG Clay Block & Luber. No swirls or marring was detected do to the process at all. I did polish after, but not because of that. Either way, I think you will be fine.

Do a test spot, and never let the paint go dry. If your using ONR as lube, I use a mixture of about 1:12 (stronger than the recommended 1:16). Let the clay do the work, you don't need much, if any, downward pressure. It's better to go over the same spot many times well lubed with little pressure, than to use a lot of pressure once or twice. Keep a sandwich bag in your pocket to keep checking your progress over the various areas, so you can tell when your done.

Now, if the paint is trashed, all those contaminants will get sucked into the clay and increase the chance of marring. Either way, kneed the clay frequently (maybe 4-5 times to do a hood). As, the alternative will be to polish which will take much longer than a slow careful clay session.

Good Luck.

 

[VroomVroom]

Let your eyes show you the way - along with the expectations of the car owner - but following the advice above, I'm guessing you'll be just fine. I'm glad to hear you're following up with a light cleanser, but otherwise I suspect you'll be just fine.

 

[jdmj0]

As CM8 said, just use lots of lube and you'll be good.

I have a Taffeta White Fit and I go crazy with the spray and clay for a good 3-5 minutes on just one small section.

'Til this day, I've yet to wipe and see any marring.

 

[CM8 6MT]

As CM8 said, just use lots of lube and you'll be good.

I have a Taffeta White Fit and I go crazy with the spray and clay for a good 3-5 minutes on just one small section.

'Til this day, I've yet to wipe and see any marring.

Ah the rare Taffeta White, are they still making those single stage? 3-5 minutes per section sounds pretty good. I rarely clay without following up with a finishing polish, regardless even when im done I see no micro marring evident on my paint, and we both know just how soft Honda paint is.....just ridiculous.

 

[WRAPT C5Z06]

If the paint is SOFT, in the sun, there may be some noticeable marring, even on white paint. Do a test spot and check.

 

[WRXINXS]

Thanks guys! I'll do a test spot and see what shakes out. If I do see noticeable marring, I will probably just do Iron X (Even though I know a full clay session would be better than just Iron X alone) and skip the clay because I really don't want to get into polishing scratch shield paint with a DA if I don't have to.

Plus there are not even enough swirls to justify an abrasive polish at this point.

 

[eclipse3g]

As long as you keep the clay well lubed it won't be any problem, just make sure to follow up with a sealant or wax.

 

[jdmj0]

Ah the rare Taffeta White, are they still making those single stage? 3-5 minutes per section sounds pretty good. I rarely clay without following up with a finishing polish, regardless even when im done I see no micro marring evident on my paint, and we both know just how soft Honda paint is.....just ridiculous.

Unfortunately, from majority of my net searches, it is a single stage. Others have said/tested otherwise, but I've just kept up with cleaning to be on the safe side. I guess I haven't polished using anything but a white pad. I may test it on another pad just to see if it is in fact SS.

 

[WRAPT C5Z06]

I actually clayed my 350z with traditional fine grade clay. Surprisingly, it marred the paint just like the fine grade nanoskin sponge. I thought regular clay would be more gentle. With that said, I'm gonna give the nanoskin sponge another shot, as it's FAR easier to use than clay. A little of topic, but I wanted to throw it out there.

 

[FUNX650]

Drew...Don't forget...
You can use too much clay lube!!
Believe It Or Not...There is such an animal.



Bob Ripley.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

I may test it on another pad just to see if it is in fact SS.

Testing white paint to see if it's clear coated or single stage is kind of tricky, I cover it in both my how-to books and also in this article...

How to Test for Single Stage or Clear Coat Paint

If you're testing white paint then try to use a polish with a color to it and a dark colored cloth, (so you can confirm that you're removing white paint and not just seeing the color of the paint).

Also, sometimes it's possible to have a car with both single stage and basecoat/clearcoat paint systems...


This is from a few years ago,

Over the summer I buffed out a 1956 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud and upon checking the panels we discovered all of the car to be clear-coated EXCEPT the Trunk Lid which was painted with a single stage white paint.

1956 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud - Clearcoat finish except the Trunk Lid which has single stage paint.
(Photo taken in front of Bob Hopes first house in Palm Springs, California)

Here's what my buffing pad looked like after buffing the trunk lid. If you see the color of the paint
on your car building up on the face of your buffing pad.

So whenever you're working on something important, to either you or your customer, and you're unsure of the paint type, take a few minutes to do a little testing.

 

[WRXINXS]

Drew...Don't forget...
You can use too much clay lube!!
Believe It Or Not...There is such an animal.



Bob Ripley.

Ok Bob "Ripley" lol! I have actually heard that you cannot remove contaminants completely if you overlubricate the surface.

Basically I'm working on my Mom's "new" (pre-owned) 2011 white Infiniti. The paint is in very good shape with very minimal swirls. I do not want to polish its Infiniti "Scratch Shield" paint just yet.

My goal for this vehicle is just to decontaminate with Iron X and mild clay (If the paint will allow), clean the paint with Lime Prime Lite and put down a nice sealant.

I would really like to be able to clay so following some of the suggestions I will certainly do a test spot.:xyxthumbs:

 

[yakky]

Clay and use a mild AIO and you will be fine.

 

[jdmj0]

Testing white paint to see if it's clear coated or single stage is kind of tricky, I cover it in both my how-to books and also in this article...

How to Test for Single Stage or Clear Coat Paint


Also, sometimes it's possible to have a car with both single stage and basecoat/clearcoat paint systems...

rops::xyxthumbs::dblthumb2: Thanks again Mike! Exactly what I needed to read. It's times like these that I'm sad that I'm an entire country (and half an ocean) away from attending events and meeting you (and the rest of the AG staff.)

 

[encoder]

I just used the DP fine clay on a brand new white Mercedes, claying just the lower 1/4 of the car, and select other areas, prior to its first sealant and wax. The paint was in perfect condition pre-clay except for the "pepper" from the road that I was claying to remove before waxing it. I used copious DP clay lube and experienced no marring. Just wanted to add my experience. GL with the Infiniti. Beautiful car.

 

[WRXINXS]

I just used the DP fine clay on a brand new white Mercedes, claying just the lower 1/4 of the car, and select other areas, prior to its first sealant and wax. The paint was in perfect condition pre-clay except for the "pepper" from the road that I was claying to remove before waxing it. I used copious DP clay lube and experienced no marring. Just wanted to add my experience. GL with the Infiniti. Beautiful car.

Thanks encoder:xyxthumbs: