Bad Marring from Clay Mitt

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DoubleM

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Let's add some more problems that I've had recently, learning by fire has really been kicking my butt recently. I used an Eagle One Clay Mitt one my last 2 one step jobs and it left me some pretty extreme marring. Now I know some marring is to be expected but wow... Here was my process:

Foam cannon using DG 901 wash, pressure wash rinse.

Foam panel, clay mitt, rinse panel, rinse mitt. Repeat over whole car.

Results = nerve racking marring/swirls even on a pretty clean car! Wasn't sure my AIO's would correct but it appeared they just barely got me by.

Advice or tips as to why I may have gotten this? Or should I expect a ton of defects? I could definitely hear the mitt grabbing the contamination. My experience from wet sanding freshly painted panels was screaming at me to stop when hearing this.

May switch back to using Megs bars...
 
I'm assuming you broke the mitt in properly on glass first? If not, the marring can be very bad.

Regardless, we've been using synthetic clay (mitts & towels) for a couple of years now, and in the majority of situations they leave significant marring. This is of no concern to us as we only use them when prepping for paint correction work. We have found that the marring is removed easily, even with just a light polish like M205 on a polishing pad.

Clay mitts, towels, and pads save a considerable amount of time, but for the reasons mentioned, I would not recommend using them for general maintenance if you're only planning to apply protection afterwards, or just an AIO. If you keep up with your vehicle, you should be able to clay the car with traditional clay in no time anyway.
 
Did you physically wash the car with some form of wash media and rinse before resoaping for the clay process?

What make of vehicles where they?

The marring may have been inevitable if it was soft paint. They always say to follow up with polish if you plan on claying.
 
The mitt was properly broken in and used on a few vehicles before these jobs.

Jobs were both Subaru paint, I guess I should expect more than usual since they have some super soft paint.

I wiped down the panel with the non-rubber side first then flipped it over to rubber side.
 
Subaru, and some Toyotas, you will almost always have to give it a quick polish after.
 
I had preety similar issues but i did not break mine in, also i think you need to make sure to rinse
of pad/towel/clay after at least each panel to insure there is not dirt/grime build up with ur soapy water.
I use the medium grade on only one car so far but i did follow it up with a paint correction.
 
DoubleM said:
I wiped down the panel with the non-rubber side first then flipped it over to rubber side.
Click to expand...

IMO you should have washed the car first. I use Nano Sponges and have no issues with them. In my process I fully wash and rinse the vehicle first, then I iron-x the paint, rinse and then use a small 1 gal bucket with a lot of soap and use a nano. I have and do use uber mixed up as a slick spray too.
 
I've seen this with my Griots mitt on Toyotas. They're a big time-saver, but I'm going back to traditional clay unless doing a dedicated polish (not an AIO) afterwards.
 
briarpatch said:
I've seen this with my Griots mitt on Toyotas. They're a big time-saver, but I'm going back to traditional clay unless doing a dedicated polish (not an AIO) afterwards.
Click to expand...

Never used a mit but I use HD Speed after using a medium grade Nano Sponge without issue.
 
The Eagle mitt says to use between 55º and 144º surface temperature on the rear package instructions.

Your profile doesn't mention where you're located, but what was the temp when you were using it?
 
Mantilgh said:
Subaru, and some Toyotas, you will almost always have to give it a quick polish after.
Click to expand...

Regarding "some toyotas"-- do you find this to be the case with certain production years or certain colors? Or something else?
 
When I am claying a car that I am not polishing in any way, I use Nanoskin Glide as lubrication. It is specifically designed to work with their clay pads. IIRC, I was told that Glide contains more Glycerin to help lubricate and minimize marring. You all can reach out to Nanoskin and confirm if need be. So I rinseless wash, Clay pad using Nanoskin Glide, and go over again real quick with rinseless then dry.

When it gets cold, you want to warm up the pad. If you are going to clay a vehicle thats pretty cold with a cold clay towel....you will get marring.
 
Harpolith said:
Regarding "some toyotas"-- do you find this to be the case with certain production years or certain colors? Or something else?
Click to expand...

No, nothing really stands out, I just didn't want to say they "all" did. Not that I have done that many, but some Carollas, Seinnas, Avalons...The few Lexus I have done have faired well against claying. I've done a Tacoma and a Fourrunner or two and don't remember them marring for some reason.
 
pdqgp said:
IMO you should have washed the car first. I use Nano Sponges and have no issues with them. In my process I fully wash and rinse the vehicle first, then I iron-x the paint, rinse and then use a small 1 gal bucket with a lot of soap and use a nano. I have and do use uber mixed up as a slick spray too.
Click to expand...

I washed the car first by spraying it down with a foam cannon and pressure rinsing the foam off. Followed by an additional foam blasting and wiping with the non-rubber side of the mitt before using the clay side.
 
forrest@mothers said:
The Eagle mitt says to use between 55º and 144º surface temperature on the rear package instructions.

Your profile doesn't mention where you're located, but what was the temp when you were using it?
Click to expand...

The temperature was between 30-40 degrees. I'm located in Kansas City.
 
When it comes to mitts and the like, the reason they seem to Marr more I think is because it's easier to out more pressure on. That being said, I think your touchless foam wash with just the towel to wipe it off might have helped the marring go along. Letting the foam dwell doesn't get everything off and depending on what was on the paint, a full proper wash with contact would be needed. I think what happened in this case was you still had dirt on your car and basically marred the paint that way.
 
I think the cold temp may have been part it. They get pretty soft when it is hot out, I guess they could become pretty hard at cold temps.

I do like the EaglesOne mitt, it's the only one I use. It works and cost so much less than the rest. Just started using my second one, my first is almost two years old. The only reason I opened a new one up was because I had forgot my old one one day.
 
DoubleM said:
I washed the car first by spraying it down with a foam cannon and pressure rinsing the foam off. Followed by an additional foam blasting and wiping with the non-rubber side of the mitt before using the clay side.
Click to expand...

IMO foam cannon and pressure rinsing didn't do nearly enough. I wouldn't consider wiping it with the non rubber side a safe means either. I'm talking a normal full wash either bucket/hose or rinseless with a full dry then detail / lube and your clean mitt.

My guess is you had dirt on the paint still and or more likely in the mitt and it got on the clay/rubber side.
 
pdqgp said:
IMO foam cannon and pressure rinsing didn't do nearly enough. I wouldn't consider wiping it with the non rubber side a safe means either. I'm talking a normal full wash either bucket/hose or rinseless with a full dry then detail / lube and your clean mitt.

My guess is you had dirt on the paint still and or more likely in the mitt and it got on the clay/rubber side.
Click to expand...

I will give this a try next time, your theory makes the most sense to me though so I will definitely wash the car with a true wash mitt and dry before I switch to the mitt.

Thank you for your advice!
 
Any type of alternative clay(sponge, mitt, etc..) will tend to marr noticeably more than regular clay, especially on soft paint. Still, I'll never go back to regular clay as the alternatives are MUCH faster.
 
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