Claying problem

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armorrig

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How's it going everyone?

I clayed my car last Friday using GG paint cleaning clay and used GG speed shine for lubrication.

I was just wondering why the clay would get stuck on some parts of my car and actually leave clay residue which feels like smeared clay and it was quite sticky to remove.

I made sure to lubricate the clay as well as the panel very well after the first time it got stuck because I thought that there wasn't enough lubrication. However, even after spraying quite a bit of speed shine on the panel, the clay would still somehow get caught on some parts and leave the residue.

I would also like to add that I first tried using the clay block (previously used), on my door and it also did the same thing, would get really sticky and left black residue which was even harder to remove. So I tossed it out and used the GG clay instead and it behaved similarly on some areas.
 
Two things come to mind. Temperature, large amounts of contaminants. This also usually happens because of lack of lube. But you ruled that out.
 
Might have been temperature? I'm pretty sure it was around 50F.
 
Did you continue spraying lube during the process every so many seconds?
I haven't used that particular product so not sure. I know you kind of ruled it out but all I can think is maybe you pushed enough lube out of the way without replacing it in time with more?
 
CEE DOG said:
Did you continue spraying lube during the process every so many seconds?
I haven't used that particular product so not sure. I know you kind of ruled it out but all I can think is maybe you pushed enough lube out of the way without replacing it in time with more?
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:iagree:
 
If the clay is very soft, additional lubricant is required in order to keep the clay from sticking or leaving behind residue on the paint.

What I mean by additional lubricant is adding liquid car wash to the spray making it slicker thus increasing the lubricant film thickness. Add 1/2 to 1 ounce of car wash to your spray solution and mix thoroughly before using.

I personally like Meguiar's or Mothers clay. I rarely see any issues with these and when I do it's my fault for letting things get too dry.....
 
griots clay is very soft which is why I like it for cold weather details. The only time I ever had clay sticking is when I got too close to the edges of protection films.

Mothers has a bit more stiffness to it which you might prefer. Never used speedshine so don't know what it's like as a lube.

I like to use rinseless washes at clay lube dilution. Helps me be more generous with the lube too since it's pennies an ounce...
 
I have noticed that some clay doesn't like detailer spray as a lubricant. I think a rinseless wash like ONR works better in most cases. The DP universal clay lube has done very well for me, but like stated use a wash solution is much cheaper if that is a concern. Also, if the clay has been work in your hands for awhile then the heat from your hands could be causing some of the sticking. How many uses does that clay have on it?
 
CEE DOG said:
I haven't used that particular product so not sure.
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?

I find that hard to believe!!! :buffing:

:xyxthumbs:

ShaunD said:
I have noticed that some clay doesn't like detailer spray as a lubricant. I think a rinseless wash like ONR works better in most cases. The DP universal clay lube has done very well for me, but like stated use a wash solution is much cheaper if that is a concern. Also, if the clay has been work in your hands for awhile then the heat from your hands could be causing some of the sticking. How many uses does that clay have on it?
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I agree that a rinseless wash like ONR or DP rinseless can be a better product for claying, imho. In my (limited) detailing experience it feels like the clay glides better with rinseless washes in QD dilution ratios. Just be sure to keep the surfaces lubricated, which you've been doing.
 
Hey guys! Thanks for the replies.

The clay was a new piece. It might have been the lubrication that was the culprit even though I made sure to spray an ample amount on the panel, the clay, and then on the section I was working on. But thinking about it now, it may have been that the lube was beading/running off the paint which might have caused the sticking by the time I moved the clay and before I was able to spritz it again. Mostly happened on vertical and curved panels. (No wonder it didn't occur on horizontal panels.)

I'll definitely rule it out next time I clay by making sure it's lubed well but if it still happens, which I hope not, then I'll try to determine what is really causing it then.

Should be this weekend. (I shouldn't have parked under a tree!!!)
 
I was just claying the door shuts on my car 2 days ago and noticed the clay would get stuck on certain areas and noticed that the more i rubbed the more those areas would be outlined by the residue of the clay from the friction in these "rough" spots. In the end it looked like something had spilled there at one time because it had just that......looked like a spill. I cleaned and recleaned and nothing would get rid of it. Tried Dawn and even alcohol and nothing. I then had no choice and pulled out an old bottle of.......get ready......Turtle Wax liquid clay and hit up those spots with a sponge applicator and it was gone! No more problems! Just a little info on what happened to me....hope it helps!
 
I clayed this past weekend and used both Griot's clay and their Speedshine. It was cold (about 48 or do) and cloudy and I also found the clay to be soft and in need of lots of detailer. I used more than 1/2 of a 35 oz bottle of Speedshine.
 
BobbyG said:
If the clay is very soft, additional lubricant is required in order to keep the clay from sticking or leaving behind residue on the paint.

What I mean by additional lubricant is adding liquid car wash to the spray making it slicker thus increasing the lubricant film thickness. Add 1/2 to 1 ounce of car wash to your spray solution and mix thoroughly before using.

I personally like Meguiar's or Mothers clay. I rarely see any issues with these and when I do it's my fault for letting things get too dry.....
Click to expand...


embolism said:
griots clay is very soft which is why I like it for cold weather details. The only time I ever had clay sticking is when I got too close to the edges of protection films.

Mothers has a bit more stiffness to it which you might prefer. Never used speedshine so don't know what it's like as a lube.

I like to use rinseless washes at clay lube dilution. Helps me be more generous with the lube too since it's pennies an ounce...
Click to expand...

My first clay kit was a Mothers kit that I bought had a gray colored clay bar inside. It was real firm, almost hard to kneed, but it worked great. I bought that box several years ago. I just bought another box of Mothers about a month ago and it came with a yellow bar, which is extremely soft. In fact, I need to give it another try because my first impression was that it was way too soft, so I placed it back in the box. However, I love Mothers Showtime as a clay lube and detail spray.

That said, I've been using some Turtle wax clay kits that I bought for $9 each and I really love the blue clay the kits come with. I don't know what kind of clay it is, but it has a real smooth feel to it almost like it's a fine grade of clay or something. It has sort of a plasticy feel to it, but it seems to do a great job on the paint. I just finished claying a car yesterday that's about 10 years old and had never been clayed and the Tutle Wax clay really did a good job taking off contaminatns and tree sap. The car sits outside 24/7 and right next to two red maple trees.

I must also mention that I really like the Turtle Wax clay lube ( as it's called in the clay kit, otherwise it's their detail spray) which smells nice and is really slick.

As a comparison, I've only used the Mothers clay and the Turtle wax clay. I feel that of the two the TW clay is the best, as it seem as fine to the touch, but isn't as mushy as the Mothers clay.

I've only used 3 clay lubes, and I'll list them in order of my preference first for slickness, and then smell.

1. Mothers Showtime (lubricates the best, smells the best, and has the best spray pattern)
2. Turtle Wax Detail spary/clay lube (a close 2nd on lube, very close on smell/spry pattern)
3. Meg's final inspections

EDIT:
I suppose the reason I posted is that my Mothers clay in this current kit seems unusually much too soft. Don't know it supposed to be that way or not. Also, it seemed too sticky as well leaving clay residue on the paint. I've ran into this issue in hot weather, and naturally more lube is required, but with the upper 50 degree temps yesterday there shouldn't have been an issue. The amount of spray, more or less lube, didn't seem to affect it as it continued to be grabby. I didn't have this issue with the gray clay from my first Mothers kit from several years ago, or the TW clay. Certainly too little lubricant can cause this, but I can assure you that wasn't the case.
 
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I find that this happens a lot with softer clay. It can be a pain. Either way...it's going to happen regulary. It happens to me all the time. Wiping it right off has never been an issue though.
 
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