Plastic Bag Test - Do You Really Want To Know?

flyinion said:
So I have to ask, is the paint supposed to feel glass smooth with the baggy test after you clay? Or you just shouldn't feel any grit? On multiple vehicles now I've tried a baggy before & after (admittedly the thicker ziploc sandwich baggy type) and after vigorously claying an area with Mother's gold clay and clay ratio ONR (or even the Mother's QD that comes in the clay kit) the paint still feels rough to me. Not gritty, just rough. I don't know if I'm just feeling the orange peel or if it's actual contaminants. If I rubbed any more vigorously/longer my shoulder would fall apart. Maybe I am getting the paint too wet?
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Rub your finger across the paint and see how it feels. If you still feel "bumps" more then likely you have overspray and will need a more agggresive clay

Throw that baggie in the garbage where it belongs
 
Flash Gordon said:
Rub your finger across the paint and see how it feels. If you still feel "bumps" more then likely you have overspray and will need a more agggresive clay

Throw that baggie in the garbage where it belongs
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Thanks, I think that explains it. I'm not feeling bumps, just not a smooth surface and I think it is just orange peel getting magnified and it was throwing me off of realizing what I SHOULD be looking for.
 
flyinion said:
Thanks, I think that explains it. I'm not feeling bumps, just not a smooth surface and I think it is just orange peel getting magnified and it was throwing me off of realizing what I SHOULD be looking for.
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My Wrangler had terrible orange peel. That very well could be what you're feeling
 
flyinion said:
So I have to ask, is the paint supposed to feel glass smooth with the baggy test after you clay? Or you just shouldn't feel any grit? On multiple vehicles now I've tried a baggy before & after (admittedly the thicker ziploc sandwich baggy type) and after vigorously claying an area with Mother's gold clay and clay ratio ONR (or even the Mother's QD that comes in the clay kit) the paint still feels rough to me. Not gritty, just rough. I don't know if I'm just feeling the orange peel or if it's actual contaminants. If I rubbed any more vigorously/longer my shoulder would fall apart. Maybe I am getting the paint too wet?
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A light touch is all that is needed. If the bumps are still there (to me it feels like sand on the surface) then the contaminents are still there. The thinner the bag the more accurate the test is IMO. On most cars lately I have switched from clay to a NanoPrep towel but the test is still required. I have shown customers where they have bragged how smooth their paint is how different it feels through the baggie and what a difference there is after claying or even a de-contaminate is used. To those that have never tried it you will be surprised. I have succesfully upsold a few details after this demo with a baggie.
 
flyinion said:
So I have to ask, is the paint supposed to feel glass smooth with the baggy test after you clay? Or you just shouldn't feel any grit? On multiple vehicles now I've tried a baggy before & after (admittedly the thicker ziploc sandwich baggy type) and after vigorously claying an area with Mother's gold clay and clay ratio ONR (or even the Mother's QD that comes in the clay kit) the paint still feels rough to me. Not gritty, just rough. I don't know if I'm just feeling the orange peel or if it's actual contaminants. If I rubbed any more vigorously/longer my shoulder would fall apart. Maybe I am getting the paint too wet?
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Yes, it should feel completely smooth & devoid of any contaminates. And yes, I got the same result as you did after claying. This was one of the main reasons I posted this thread. The ONLY way I found to get it totally smooth was to cleanse the paint after I clayed the car. I happened to use Wolfgang Paint Enhancer with a LC white flat pad but u could use P21S Painter Cleanser and I'm sure it would work fine. Scroll back to my initial post where I detail the procedure.
 
Flash Gordon said:
My Wrangler had terrible orange peel. That very well could be what you're feeling
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I felt the same thing on my 350Z that I traded for it. Of course even though it was silver you could see some pretty good orange peel as well and I had the same issues with the baggy test there. I'm definitely thinking now that I'm fine and was just confused and focused on the wrong thing when "testing". Thanks again for the help :xyxthumbs:
 
addysdaddy said:
Yes, it should feel completely smooth & devoid of any contaminates. And yes, I got the same result as you did after claying. This was one of the main reasons I posted this thread. The ONLY way I found to get it totally smooth was to cleanse the paint after I clayed the car. I happened to use Wolfgang Paint Enhancer with a LC white flat pad but u could use P21S Painter Cleanser and I'm sure it would work fine. Scroll back to my initial post where I detail the procedure.
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Ah I see what you're saying. Yeah I still have some of the Pinnacle equivalent and will try that out next time. I also will be using a new clay next time. My Mothers clay is shot, and I picked up some XMT speed clay to try out. My impression from the product page is that it might be more aggressive than the Mothers.
 
Flash Gordon said:
So let me get this straight. You put a plastic baggie on your hand and rub it across the paint to determine if you should rub a claybar across the paint?
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YES.

If you don't like the technique, don't do it. But refrain from trash talking it, the same way I don't trash talk your religious threads.
 
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flyinion said:
Ah I see what you're saying. Yeah I still have some of the Pinnacle equivalent and will try that out next time. I also will be using a new clay next time. My Mothers clay is shot, and I picked up some XMT speed clay to try out. My impression from the product page is that it might be more aggressive than the Mothers.
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I just ordered the Clay Magic Blue clay bar. According to our friends on Autopia, this stuff really makes a difference. One can only hope. haha. Should arrive in a day or two and I'll report back once I've personally tested it out.
 
addysdaddy said:
Wow, that makes sooo much sense. What clay are you using because the Wolfgang clay doesn't cut it? Gets most of the crud, but not all. I even did a second clay with the Pinnacle fine clay bar and the paint still couldn't pass the bag test. I'm hoping the Clay Magic Blue is the ticket and I can eliminate the cleansing stage altogether. If not, think I'll change up my process a bit and cleanse the paint before I polish - it's so logical once you think about it. Though I have to say that polishing helped to get rid of a little of the contamination that the clay process left behind - though not completely.

Thanks for the suggestion oldmodman!
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If the car has bee recently clayed I generally use Pinnacle Ultra Poly.
If I don't know how the finish has been treated in the past I start with Clay Magic Blue and see how it feels afterward. If it isn't completely smooth, and if I am going to have to correct the paint anyway, I will step up to the most aggressive clay I have ever used. Clay Magic Red. That stuff will remove almost anything.
 
oldmodman said:
If the car has bee recently clayed I generally use Pinnacle Ultra Poly.
If I don't know how the finish has been treated in the past I start with Clay Magic Blue and see how it feels afterward. If it isn't completely smooth, and if I am going to have to correct the paint anyway, I will step up to the most aggressive clay I have ever used. Clay Magic Red. That stuff will remove almost anything.
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Hmmm, maybe I should've gotten a bar of that as well. Does it marr the paint significantly more then the blue?
 
Poses and interesting dilemma doesn't it? I'm thinking the cleansing step is looking better and better. Doesn't take very long, especially with a DA - around +/- 40 minutes to put it on and wipe it off. Not terrible. Better then correcting dry sand imperfections I would think.
 
addysdaddy said:
Poses and interesting dilemma doesn't it? I'm thinking the cleansing step is looking better and better. Doesn't take very long, especially with a DA - around +/- 40 minutes to put it on and wipe it off. Not terrible. Better then correcting dry sand imperfections I would think.
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It polishes out with a fine polish... it does not take long but sometimes you need an aggressive clay.
 
Are you using the Clay Magic Blue as your "go to" clay bar and only turn to the Red version when needed?
 
Two times in the same thread you've posted links to a competing site :nomore:
 
Didn't think we were in a competition. Actually thought the purpose of all of this was to learn something. If referencing another forum somehow offended you. let me apologize as that was not my intent.
 
addysdaddy said:
Didn't think we were in a competition. Actually thought the purpose of all of this was to learn something. If referencing another forum somehow offended you. let me apologize as that was not my intent.
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So far the only thing I've learned is how to do this:


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And I have to give credit to Todd for that :)

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Who is we? btw
 
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