View Full Version : It`s a record!
I think I just set a record - four cars in a row with HORRENDOUS rust contamination! A few days ago, Sullybob came and apprenticed under me and saw the rust in the first one - a black BMW that, after claying a single square foot, turned the entire surface of the clay orange (no exageration). And this wasn`t even the worst one - I subsequently did a black explorer that looked like it had been in a war! Whenever I go to other areas of the state and country...I always check out cars to see if other people experience what we do here in the SD area - negative; it must be a combination of the salt air and metallic particles in our dirt, among other things of course.
The below pictures are from the fourth vehicle in a row with this crazy rust. This first picture is a before shot of the clay...I idented a cross through the clay so you could see where the clay contacted the surface compared to where it did not.
http://autopia.org/gallery/data/500/medium/chevyclaybefore.jpg
After claying about one square foot the clay became a sanding block!
http://autopia.org/gallery/data/500/medium/chevyclayafter.jpg
I think I`m gonna be sore.
imported_Grouse
07-09-2006, 07:09 AM
I see some cars like that too. That white a4 i did i gues is parked next to a train yard... Hence it`s tan color.
My lousy camera phone may not be any good for capturing swirls, but it works just fine for this! :rolleyes:
I simultaneously set another personal record, btw...5 black cars in a row (almost 6, as the last one was gun metal grey) - I not sure if this is a good thing or not, as black always turns out to be more work for me due to my "perfectionist" illness.
I see some cars like that too. That white a4 i did i gues is parked next to a train yard... Hence it`s tan color.
That would do it (rail yard)...combined with the amount of moisture you get in your area.
But here, it is basically every car that goes more than a year and a half without claying!
imported_Grouse
07-09-2006, 07:29 AM
Well if you saved all your clay you might be able to mine it for iron ore in a few years. :P
awahl63
07-09-2006, 07:38 AM
Yeah I`ve been getting a ton of black cars lately too...The 525 I did yesterday had the second worst contamination I`d ever seen around here and it`s not nearly as bad as what you go through.
imported_Grouse
07-09-2006, 07:54 AM
Have any of you tried AutoInt`s ABC wash system? I`m thinking of giving it ago on my next heavily contaminated car.
finerdetails
07-09-2006, 08:03 AM
if it helps, and prob wont, here`s the clay from a BMW I detailed on Friday:
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid209/pcf35984e93132d2db83ce047e7ab823d/ee22dc2f.jpg
I have the ABC system - in no way shape or form can it cut through heavy contamination...light contamintion only...in my experience. Claying is the only way.
a.k.a. Patrick
07-09-2006, 08:58 AM
Finer, thats nasty! Ryan, what is it with all the fallout in SD? No wonder David B. started his Autopian Empire!
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a304/exceldetail/Dirtyclay.jpg
imported_Sullybob
07-09-2006, 10:12 AM
I think that the heavy fall out is just a feature of San Diego. When we did the M3 last Monday the clay looked just like that after only doing about one square foot. The paint felt like turtle skin.
Rag showed me his clay collection, I think that he has a sample of clay from every manufacturer :D
The bad news is that it is a ton more work to remove heavy rust contamination like this, but the good news is some of my more "concerned" customers now get clay, polish, and wax details every 4 months.
The rust really isn`t a problem for "autopians"...as long as you perform regular maintenance...it doesn`t get like this; but severe neglect leads to severe problems.
gbackus
07-09-2006, 12:30 PM
I have the ABC system - in no way shape or form can it cut through heavy contamination...light contamintion only...in my experience. Claying is the only way.
Have you tried claying during the B step? It`ll chew the hell out of your clay, but will usually work a lot faster than claying alone.
Brian_Brice
07-09-2006, 12:30 PM
its that damn trolley going from tj to santee that creates all the fallout lol
Have you tried claying during the B step? It`ll chew the hell out of your clay, but will usually work a lot faster than claying alone.
No. I had planned on trying it but with the limited dwell time...I didn`t think I could clay fast enough. Possibly I`ll try panel by panel.