Dirty/Cloudiness look after claying?

[wildboar]

I picked up some clay magic today and after washing/drying, did a small section of the hood. I used the included detailer lube quite liberally and the clay glided around easily and pulled out the slight gritty feeling pretty much instantly. The outside temp was in the low 50`s and the hood was only slightly warm after having the car out driving it earlier. I then wiped the lube off with a microfiber cloth and the surface was glassy smooth and the gloss was still good. However, when I looked into the reflection, underneath the glossy sealant looking coat, there was a faint dirtiness/splotchiness swirled in some places. I tried another section of the hood and the same thing happened



My car is a 1988 Mercedes Benz 300 SEL in the "light ivory" color. Seen here: http://www.mercedes-benz.pt/Projects/c2c/channel/images/40423_66901_380_240_ETaxiGrande.jpg

(the official german taxi color for a Mercedes taxi anyway)



What could have caused this? The detailer lube combining with dirt pulled from the finish and then sinking in? I have read other posts where people say to forget using the included lube and use Meguiar`s quick detailer instead... is this why?

[01bluecls]

Hard to tell... You have to remember that the clay is *SLIGHTLY* abrasive. You might be using too much pressure and marring the paint. just my opinion.

[imported_chpsk8]

Without pictures my first response would be that there wasn`t enough lube and that the marks are actually clay residue. Try going over one spot with a lot of lube and the clay again.



You could never use too much lube, but can easily use too little.

[wildboar]

Yeah I wish I could take some pictures to show how it looks. I doubt I worked the clay too hard into the finish, I was mostly letting it glide around and do the work until it glided with ease... and I was using a lot of lube. I`m wondering if the finish just needs a good cleaning and the clay/lube has somehow stirred up the grungy stuff that is hiding deep and kind of moved it around so that it`s more obvious.

[JoeJ]

You could never use too much lube, but can easily use too little.



:har: :LOLOL :har: :LOLOL :har:



Classic.

[aaron33]

I usually follow up my claying with SSR1 or an equivalent. I found that claymagic caused marring on my soft Acura clear.

[chml17l]

When is the last time you cleaned or polished the paint? Sounds like you might need a good paint cleaner like AIO or Poorboy`s Pro Polish and then follow that with an appropriate abrasive polish.

[Accumulator]

And remember that as the clay gets (potentially abrasive) contamination on it, it sorta turns into sandpaper. If the panels are really contaminated, it gets pretty tough to completely avoid marring; I mean, you have to knead/fold the clay after *every* contact and make each contact very brief- e.g., clay picks up abrasive grit upon initial contact, you keep moving the clay for 3 inches, you get marring on the last 2 7/8". Sometimes it makes sense to just accept a little marring, get the claying done, and then do the polishing that`s often required anyhow. Gee, how often do *I* say to go ahead and inflict marring :eek:

[wildboar]

When is the last time you cleaned or polished the paint? Sounds like you might need a good paint cleaner like AIO or Poorboy`s Pro Polish and then follow that with an appropriate abrasive polish.



That`s the thing... I have had the car for about 8 months and haven`t had a chance to do anything to it yet. It was so well kept that the paint is still really nice for its age.



I was thinking of doing FPII -> AIO -> SG -> 476s to give it ultimate outside longevity.



Are you saying I should do a paint cleaner before I do the FPII? Something like AIO -> FPII -> AIO or would it even be beneficial to do the first step with the Poorboys Pro Polish?

[wildboar]

Just an update:



Today I washed the area with some Dawn to strip anything that might be on there. After that, it was more obvious there was some slight oxidation on the surface that was hidden by a combination of the car wash soap & the Body 49 spray that came with the clay.



I applied some ColorX to the area via sponge applicator and all the grungy dirty looking stuff is totally gone now. The clay definitely made a huge difference in the overall feel... it`s just like glass now.



Thanks to everyone who replied.

[imported_chpsk8]

Glad it all worked out for ya! :D