If you haven't done this already, do it. It's called
The Baggie Test
Please come back to this thread and tell us what you felt before you put the bag on your hand and after you put the bag on your hand when you did the test.
Be sure to wipe the paint clean with a spray detailer so you don't rub loose dirt over the paint.
Just use a light touch when you do the baggie test.
And "yes" even cool show cars need to be mechanically decontaminated, inf fact all most ALL the show cars I work on are contaminated.
The Baggie Test - How to inspect for above surface bonded contaminants
After washing and drying your car, the next thing you want to do is to inspect the paint for what we call,
Above Surface Bonded Contaminants
These contaminants can be,
- Tree Sap Mist
- Industrial Fallout
- Overspray Paint
- Air-borne Dirt and Dust
- Pollution
- Road Grime
You can check for above surface bonded contaminants by feeling the horizontal surfaces with your clean, bare hand using your sense of touch to detect what will feel like little bumps or surface texture on the finish. This type of inspection works well and is a good general indicator of above surface bonded contaminants.
The Baggie Test
If you really want to feel what's going on at the surface level of your car's paint or your customer's car's paint, then use "The Baggie Test" when inspecting the paint for above surface bonded contaminants.
Better yet, if you want to share with your customer one of the problems with their car's paint that you're going to correct, let them also do "The Baggie Test" with you. The average car owner doesn't know what detailing clay is, how to use it or the benefits of using detailing clay to clay automotive paint, let alone how to test for above surface bonded contaminants.
Sharing this little tidbit of knowledge with your customer will demonstrate to them that you really know your business and later, after you've finished the job, letting them feel the now smooth and slippery paint will solidify their trust in your expertise. This can help you to retain their business and potentially led to referrals via word-of-mouth advertising.
To do "The Baggie Test", simply use a clean sandwich baggie by placing your hand inside the baggie and then feeling the horizontal surfaces like the hood, roof and trunk lid. The film of plastic acts to intensify the surface texture created by contaminants bonded to the paint making it more dramatic to your sense of touch when you feel the paint through the baggie.
The Baggie Test
You can also inspect the vertical panels and if you detect above surface bonded contaminants on these areas then they should be clayed also. Generally speaking, air-borne contaminants will land and settle on the horizontal surfaces but drift past the vertical panels where they will land on the ground. The main exception to this rule is any air-borne contaminant that is
sticky, like Tree Sap Mist or Overspray Paint.
Resources
The 2 primary benefits of using detailing clay to clay paint
Show Car Garage Videos
How detailing clay works and how to use detailing clay to remove above surface bonded contaminants
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