Claying...what am I doing wrong?

ASPHALT ROCKET said:
Sorry but if you clay paint you are going to get some type of marring.
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I guess that means everyone?

Regardless, most people are going to do some kind of cleaning or polishing process after claying so if there is any marring then it will be or should be removed by the next step.

One thing for sure, claying works great for a majority of people and until something better comes along I predict it will remain a very popular way to remove above surface bonded contaminants.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/introduce-yourself/24039-forum-rules.html
:)
 
Even when the surface is very well lubricated with a decent spray detailer?

I know some of the more aggressive clay bars like Meguiars red clay can leave some marring behind but I dont know if mild basic consumer clay like the ones from Mothers and Meguiars leave behind marring.

I have a car I am claying tomorrow, will try and see if I can pinpoint it with my Swirlfinder.
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
I guess that means everyone?

Regardless, most people are going to do some kind of cleaning or polishing process after claying so if there is any marring then it will be or should be removed by the next step.

One thing for sure, claying works great for a majority of people and until something better comes along I predict it will remain a very popular way to remove above surface bonded contaminants.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/introduce-yourself/24039-forum-rules.html
:)
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That would be correct, everyone. I agree, clay works great to remove contaminants, never said it wasn't a good thing, just said it will induce some type of marring. I would also agree if you are claying then you would be doing some type of polishing after wards.
 
Shiny Lil Detlr said:
Indeed they do! It's a blessing and a curse all in one.
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This shows why it's never a good idea to say "All" clear coat paints are hard.

The best way to find out if a paint system is hard or soft is to go out into your garage and test it first hand.

All too often I see people make blanket statements about paint hardness as it relates to a specific company and while there can be trends for sure, for example I can't think of a single time I worked on a modern Corvette that didn't have really hard paint, car manufactures can change paint systems and the new paint system can be very different from the previous paint system.

I always phrase it like this,


generally speaking modern clear coat paints tend to be harder than traditional single stage paints



Taken from this article,

The practical differences between single stage paints and a clear coat paints


The above is a true statement but it doesn't mean all clear coat paints are hard a and it doesn't mean all clear coat paints are harder than all single stage paints.


It's just not a good idea in most cases to make very sweeping, or generalized statements about paint hardness, it's better to go out into your garage and find out by working on the car.

:)
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
All too often I see people make blanket statements about paint hardness as it relates to a specific company and while there can be trends for sure, for example I can't think of a single time I worked on a modern Corvette that didn't have really hard paint, car manufactures can change paint systems and the new paint system can be very different from the previous paint system.
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:iagree:

This is also why it's a bad idea to get into the mode of thinking that one product or set of products is always going to work regardless of the paint system or particular vehicle you're dealing with.

For example some folks I've seen have been basically tossing aside the old DAT polishes from Meguiar's in favor of the newer generation of SMAT products; I don't know about you, Mike, but I've still come across situations where the old stand by products M80/M83/M85 actually give better results than M105/M205.

Part of this is due to the different technique used when working with the different technology, and part of it is due to the way the paint itself reacts to a different type of abrasive.

It's that very reason why my shelves are so full of different products all for use in paint defect correction. I can't justify reducing my inventory to one or two things because I never know what I'm going to run into!
 
I certainly believe that my Camaro's paint is rather soft. Like I said in an earlier post, if I simply brush up against it ever so softly I have to go back and polish it to remove the marks. I'm worried that one day I'm going to polish the clear right off.
 
mcpp66 said:
I certainly believe that my Camaro's paint is rather soft. Like I said in an earlier post, if I simply brush up against it ever so softly I have to go back and polish it to remove the marks. I'm worried that one day I'm going to polish the clear right off.
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Sounds like you need a coating like Opti Coat.
 
What's opti coat? If it will strengthen my clear and make marring much harder to occur then I'm definitely interested, regardless of cost.

Old Tiger said:
Sounds like you need a coating like Opti Coat.
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mcpp66 said:
I certainly believe that my Camaro's paint is rather soft. Like I said in an earlier post, if I simply brush up against it ever so softly I have to go back and polish it to remove the marks. I'm worried that one day I'm going to polish the clear right off.
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That would drive me crazy. I wipe my car down after every 2nd or 3rd drive to keep it clean. There's no way I could do that if the paint swirled that easily.
 
5.4 Shelby said:
That would drive me crazy. I wipe my car down after every 2nd or 3rd drive to keep it clean. There's no way I could do that if the paint swirled that easily.
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Yeah, it's crazy. When I wipe it down I start off with the CD and then I carefully and slowly wipe down with an MF and QD. If I'm careful I usually don't have any issues, but it sure does seem as though my paint is too soft.
 
mcpp66 said:
So basically I should only clay if I intend to follow up with a polish?
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I'm not a pro, but I will still offer my opinion. I think you can clay a car and not have to polish afterwards depending on the color. Light colors such as white or metallic silver, even if there is marring, you can't see it. Now, knowing that's it there, even though you can't see it, and that still bothers you, then you should obviously polish the car.

Dana, after claying with a fine clay(clay magic blue), do you still think you could *see* marring on metallic silver paint? Maybe I don't know exactly what to look for.
 
richy said:
Their kit is the best decon kit there is IMO. You should see what it does to white cars...amazing.
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This kit sucks, IMO. I used it on my 07 z06. After I was done, the paint felt no smoother than before I started.

Also, what would the color have to do with anything?
 
07 z-oh-6 said:
This kit sucks, IMO. I used it on my 07 z06. After I was done, the paint felt no smoother than before I started.

Also, what would the color have to do with anything?
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In my experience with decon kits the type of clear coat has a lot to do with the effect. I've used decon on single stage, ceramiclear, pigmented clears, aftermarket clears, and factory clear from lower end brands. I find that pigmented clears do not respond well, also single stages and ceramiclear don't seem to like the decon and respond better to megs body solvent after a good clay treatment. The clear coats from dodge, ford, and suzuki have really felt better after decon but those are the only 3 noticable brands that i've seen so far...i know there are plenty I haven't used it on but GM clear in your case doesn't seem any better after decon, but feels much better after clay and body solvent.
 
JonMiles said:
In my experience with decon kits the type of clear coat has a lot to do with the effect. I've used decon on single stage, ceramiclear, pigmented clears, aftermarket clears, and factory clear from lower end brands. I find that pigmented clears do not respond well, also single stages and ceramiclear don't seem to like the decon and respond better to megs body solvent after a good clay treatment. The clear coats from dodge, ford, and suzuki have really felt better after decon but those are the only 3 noticable brands that i've seen so far...i know there are plenty I haven't used it on but GM clear in your case doesn't seem any better after decon, but feels much better after clay and body solvent.
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Cool. Thanks for the info. :xyxthumbs:
 
07 z-oh-6 said:
This kit sucks, IMO. I used it on my 07 z06. After I was done, the paint felt no smoother than before I started.

Also, what would the color have to do with anything?
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You're the first guy I've ever heard with any complaints with that system. I have used it on GM and Nissan cars only.
 
richy said:
You're the first guy I've ever heard with any complaints with that system. I have used it on GM and Nissan cars only.
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As I recall, in the case of GM the ValuGard system is actually manufacturer recommended too. :xyxthumbs:
 
07 z-oh-6 said:
Why would a car manufacturer have a TSB on a decon kit?
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If I recall correctly, they had a problem with rail dust. Don't hold me to that, it has been a few years since someone posted about it. I am sure you can find it somewhere on the web though.
 
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