?!?clay not working?!?

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dbreeze225

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hey mike or any one reading...so i went and tried to clay mothers car (never used clay before this) but watched all the videos and read all the info. but there is definitely contaminants in the paint checked with plastic bag trick. but when i went over the car with the clay it wasnt doing anything i didnt feel like it was working so i thought maybe to much spray so i tried less and less until there was barely any spray at all on the car and nothing the clay still looked brand new when i picked it up. is there something i am missing ?? i am using the mothers clay kit from auto zone would that be the problem. i just dont get it this car is a 2012 and never been clayed or detailed for that matter (only washed )before so you would think the clay would be picking up all sorts of crap (plastic bag test i felt ALOT of bumps) so well i dont know i just dont understand any tips?
 
Just to check....


You've formed the clay bar into a clay patty, looks kind of like a pancake?

You sprayed a liberal amount of the Mother's Show Time Detail Spray onto the paint?

You rubbed the clay bar over the paint using a fast hand movement and light to medium pressure?


Correct?


:xyxthumbs:
 
How much pressure were you using, and how large of an area were you working? Some pressure is needed, and an area 2' x 2' or so is good.

Lubricate, work the clay in a back and forth motion, then wipe the spray residue off and feel for the presence, or lack, of contaminants.

There is no easy way to tell you how much pressure to use, or low many passes it will take - it just will come with experience.

It sounds to me like slightly more pressure and more passes are needed.



PS - hate to ask, but since I've seen it happen before - you did remove the clay from the plastic wrapper, correct?
 
Very strange scenario as clay will remove contams with no pressure and simply sliding back and forth...very strange indeed.
 
yeh i did make it into patty tried all different amounts of spray i was moving it fast but not too fast (just like the videos you did mike). also i tried diffrent amounts of pressure. i am going to try again later today if it still doesnt work maybe illtry to order a better quality clay rather than using the "mothers clay kit" i got at the store idk what else could be wrong
 
Did you redo a baggie test after claying bc even if your clay looks OK you might have still gotten the contaminants so do another baggie test after. If that doesn't work then try a more aggressive clay
 
I used mothers clay kit once. I thought the clay was a very light. I had the same problem i could not get a smooth feel with the baggie test no matter what my Technic was or how many times i went over the area. I just moved up to a more aggressive clay it helped a little. I now am using nanoskin Autoscrub System on my flex 3401 works faster and better them clay for me anyway.
Nanoskin Autoscrub Fine Foam Pad
 
I think using a more aggressive clay bar without any significant clay experience is asking for trouble.

GenesisCoupe has the right idea - education/help from a local person will get the job done without damaging the paint.
 
Strange indeed if there was nothing at all that was grabbed by the clay. However I want to share my experience with claying + baggie test. I was claying one of our cars because I'm certain that it needed clay because 1. It was not kept indoors, and 2. it has not been clayed ever since 2007.

I went ahead and clayed and I was able to grab most contaminants. I got a plastic bag from my home, did a baggy test and there were a LOT of bumps, so I just redid my clay. Then did the baggy test again, and there were STILL a LOT of bumps. So it was weird for me that even if I scrub and scrub, a lot of these tiny bumps are still present in my baggy test. I realized that the plastic bag I got was an old one, and thought to myself probably the contaminants are at the plastic bag itself. Got myself a brand new plastic bag and did a baggy test on my previous clayed portion. I was shocked that the paint was already smooth as silk.

I use Mother's Clay bar ever since, and have not used any other clay bar kits. Your problem is strange because you're not able to get any contaminants in your clay. The clay should be soft and easy to mold, is your clay hard like a block of stone?
 
Is there any chance your car has been repainted in some areas?

I ask because I has the same issue with my girlfriend's gmc canyon. Apparently she was in a wreck, and when they fixed it the body shop cleared other parts of the vehicle as well, without prepping them. She showed me the work order about a month ago.

Unfortunately, before we got together no one took care of her paint.... As a result I have little black specs, and a annoying stain that clay will not remove
 
i did try the bag test again no luck...i am in putnam county ny....has any one used the "eagle one surface prep mitt" sold in advance auto parts. i think its there take on nano skin i was thinking about trying that only hesitate cause my bro-in-law and a bad experience with a couple of there products..either way i was doing this on my mothers car and she took it for a few days ill have to start again when she get back. cant use mine i had to get rid of mine and wont have a new one for a month
 
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