Claying white paint nightmare

[tempter927]

I wanted to share my experience and also have a question for the weekend warrior/professional detailers.

When claying a car with white paint, do you clay until all the neddlehead size black dots(contaminants) are removed? how long does claying take?

I'm in the process of claying my car and I guess I am a bit of a prefectionist because I am going section by section and claying until I remove all the black dots I see. The only way to really see the dots is if my face is about a foot or less distance from the paint. It took me 2 hours to clay 2 doors and the front fender and I am not having fun at all, its a chore. ive been using wolfgang and pinnacle clay( the pinnacle is alot less sticky and seems to work just as well).

Am I going overboard here? I've read that the contaminants get into the paint and start to rust the paint away hence the dark rust color appearance of the dots/contaminants.

 

[wytstang]

You may need a more aggressive clay but it may at the same time mar the paint so polishing may be needed after words.
Meguiars Professional Auto Detailing Clay: Detail Clay cleans better than polishes! Clean your car with Meguiars Detailing Clay Bar, Overspray Clay.
This would be more aggressive then both Pinn/Wolf clay (pretty sure they are both a "fine" clay). And you should be able to find it at a local automotive paint distributor.

 

[Emile]

Granted the S550 is a HUGE vehicle with lots of paint, 2 hours is enough time to clay the entire vehicle. The front end may be more tricky because there are the lights and the grill and other weird areas you have to work around, but you should be able to do the roof, the hood, the trunk, and the sides fairly quickly and easily.

The Pinnacle clay is supposed to be very soft clay which is easy to work with but does not remove the heavier stuff that is stuck onto your paint. The Wolfgang clay is harder to work with but should power through the heavier stuff more easily. If you have never clayed the vehicle before but the car is fairly new, I recommend a medium-duty clay such as Meguiar's Mild Detailing Clay or the DP Universal Clay. If you haven't clayed the vehicle in several years and you have put a lot of miles on the car, then the Wolfgang clay would be the best.

Checkout some videos on YouTube and see how people are claying their vehicles. Once you get the hang of claying your vehicle, it is actually a very quick and pleasing experience.

 

[oldmodman]

If the paint is heavily contaminated with crap, and you are going to correct the paint finish after claying, go ahead and use a very aggressive clay. I have had very good luck with Clay Magic Red Aggressive Clay. I recently did an older Toyota with single stage white paint and the mild clay did almost nothing. The red clay removed all the red rail dust, all the pine tree sap droplets, and all the paint overspray (courtesy of a building being painted near the car.)

 

[Dsoto87]

What your doing is the equivalent of trying to remove some really deep swirls with a finishing polish.

You'll remove them eventually but its going to take a lot more time and way more passes than if you went with a more agressive polish.

From what I've read about pinnacle clay its more for cars that are well mainted (ie: washed often/ clayed often/ generally free of a lot of bonded contaminants). Its supposed to remove what little contamination you may have without marring the paint.

A more agressive clay will get the job done a lot quicker but may result in some marring. If time is a commodity to you than I suggest you get a more heavy duty clay.

 

[dan45hk]

If you are getting rust spots that means you have a hole through the clear coat, the base, and the primer all the way to the metal, I doubt that's what those specks are though.

 

[Blackthorn One]

If you are getting rust spots that means you have a hole through the clear coat, the base, and the primer all the way to the metal, I doubt that's what those specks are though.

Actually, it can be exactly that. It's quite common. What happens is that the heat of the sun softens paint, and then little pieces of dirt and grit sink in al the way down to the metal, and the pieces of grit get stuck there. You wash off those hard to get off pieces of debris, and in a month or two, little rust spots appear in the paint. Pieces of dirt can make tiny holes in your paint when it's hot. I've seen it happen to two cars. Both were white. This is why you never ever let your car sit outside dirty on a hot day. Best to cover it if it needs to be out in the sun, so the dirt gets on the cover, and not the paint. The owner of my local body shop told me how those rust spots appear, and I must say it was quite a revelation to me.

 

[dan45hk]

Actually, it can be exactly that. It's quite common. What happens is that the heat of the sun softens paint, and then little pieces of dirt and grit sink in al the way down to the metal, and the pieces of grit get stuck there. You wash off those hard to get off pieces of debris, and in a month or two, little rust spots appear in the paint. Pieces of dirt can make tiny holes in your paint when it's hot. I've seen it happen to two cars. Both were white. This is why you never ever let your car sit outside dirty on a hot day. Best to cover it if it needs to be out in the sun, so the dirt gets on the cover, and not the paint. The owner of my local body shop told me how those rust spots appear, and I must say it was quite a revelation to me.

Glad I have a Corvette, I don't have to deal with that lol.

 

[Dsoto87]

Actually, it can be exactly that. It's quite common. What happens is that the heat of the sun softens paint, and then little pieces of dirt and grit sink in al the way down to the metal, and the pieces of grit get stuck there. You wash off those hard to get off pieces of debris, and in a month or two, little rust spots appear in the paint. Pieces of dirt can make tiny holes in your paint when it's hot. I've seen it happen to two cars. Both were white. This is why you never ever let your car sit outside dirty on a hot day. Best to cover it if it needs to be out in the sun, so the dirt gets on the cover, and not the paint. The owner of my local body shop told me how those rust spots appear, and I must say it was quite a revelation to me.

I'm no expert at all on paint systems but this just makes no sense to me. I can't imagine it getting hot enough, just sitting in the sun, to where the paint actually softens up. That means if you touched the paint in this heat you'd actually smudge it.....

Can anyone else chime in on this? Rust spots might not always be from your own car. There's always rail dust.

 

[dan45hk]

I was skeptical because I live in South Texas, it gets plenty hot here and I've never seen that condition.

 

[loudog2]

A decon wash may be needed for the "rail dust"(generic term). If it is embeded in the paint it will come back. Claying it is like chopping the top off a iceburg. There is still some underneath, and the spots will form again.

I was wondering about the Infiniti "scratch shield" paint. It gets soft under the sun to help repair scratches(sticky clear). If it gets soft/stick, can debri get stuck in the clear?

 

[SRHTX]

If the paint is heavily contaminated with crap, and you are going to correct the paint finish after claying, go ahead and use a very aggressive clay. I have had very good luck with Clay Magic Red Aggressive Clay. I recently did an older Toyota with single stage white paint and the mild clay did almost nothing. The red clay removed all the red rail dust, all the pine tree sap droplets, and all the paint overspray (courtesy of a building being painted near the car.)

Well, I do not feel bad about daying this. I only use Auto Magic Blue Clay #CM2200 - BIG 200 gram. I've tried others with no luck. In fact, I've used the same clay bar in over 7 vehicles and it continues to clean well. I've also worked on an '05 white MB S55. It came out very well and that was only a wash job. No buffs or wax yet.

 

[SRHTX]

I was skeptical because I live in South Texas, it gets plenty hot here and I've never seen that condition.

Where is Deep South Texas do you live at? I'm here in Harlingen and a vast amount of vehicles here never get detailed. May places try but, they do not know how or what to use.

 

[dan45hk]

Where is Deep South Texas do you live at? I'm here in Harlingen and a vast amount of vehicles here never get detailed. May places try but, they do not know how or what to use.

Corpus Christi

 

[SRHTX]

Corpus Christi

Tis what I thought when you only said South Texas.

 

[Blackthorn One]

I'm no expert at all on paint systems but this just makes no sense to me. I can't imagine it getting hot enough, just sitting in the sun, to where the paint actually softens up. That means if you touched the paint in this heat you'd actually smudge it.....

Can anyone else chime in on this? Rust spots might not always be from your own car. There's always rail dust.

Pieces of grit are hard with very sharp edges that sit on the paint for hours,or days, concentrating their weight on the one sharp point that is touching the paint. Your finger is soft, and touches it for a few seconds. Remember, the Grand Canyon was formed by wind and water. I'm not shocked that a hard sharp piece of grit could sink into a car under the hot sun left unwashed for a few weeks.

 

[charliehaley]

Also make sure these dots are not small dots of tar that can be removed with a bug and tar remover before claying. I know using clay to remove small dots of tar can be very time consuming.

 

[dan45hk]

Pieces of grit are hard with very sharp edges that sit on the paint for hours,or days, concentrating their weight on the one sharp point that is touching the paint. Your finger is soft, and touches it for a few seconds. Remember, the Grand Canyon was formed by wind and water. I'm not shocked that a hard sharp piece of grit could sink into a car under the hot sun left unwashed for a few weeks.

People drive their cars unwashed for weeks or months with a lot of contaminants like you mention, wouldn't their whole car be full of these rust spots then?

 

[Blackthorn One]

People drive their cars unwashed for weeks or months with a lot of contaminants like you mention, wouldn't their whole car be full of these rust spots then?

Only the horizontal surfaces. That is the only place I've ever seen them.

 

[Dsoto87]

Pieces of grit are hard with very sharp edges that sit on the paint for hours,or days, concentrating their weight on the one sharp point that is touching the paint. Your finger is soft, and touches it for a few seconds. Remember, the Grand Canyon was formed by wind and water. I'm not shocked that a hard sharp piece of grit could sink into a car under the hot sun left unwashed for a few weeks.

I'm sorry this is still not making any sense to me. Call me dumb but I'm just not getting it.

First off, obviously most grit is abrasive but that doesn't mean that its sitting on your car with its sharpest edge. That would defy the laws of gravity. It would be sitting on the car on its flattest side.

Second, you say that its concentrating its weight on the paint like its a boulder or something. We're talking about pieces of grit that weight next to nothing.

I know how the grand canyon was formed. What's that have to do with the hot sun? Water is a force. The sun is not. When the sun is out shining, there is no type of abrasion going on. Its not "rubbing" against your car. I don't see why you brought up the grand canyon.

And lastly I still don't get how it can get so hot as to reliquify your cars paint. If its hot enough to where a piece of grit (which would weigh less than milligram, not really exerting any downward force on the paint) can sink in than surely the force of your finger (were talking about pounds of pressure being applied) will make some type of mark/indentation and I have never heard of anyone doing this on fully cured paint.

Maybe I'm wrong so someone please correct me