Medium or Mild Detailing Clay

[Bert]

Noob here.



I have just recently been reading autopia and wanted to purchase some clay. My car is a 2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse that has never been clayed. Because the car is almost 8 years old (manufactured in 1999) and has never been clayed, do I need to go more aggressive than mild clay and use medium clay at the risk of micro marring the surface? Or should a pass or two with mild clay be fine?

[DantheMan]

Mild if you dont plan on machine polishing..



If you are polishing, the medium will be faster than the mild for removing contaminants, and you don`t have to worry about any marring since you will be getting rid of it shortly thereafter..

[PTRon]

Do you plan on polishing after claying? I`d go with the medium clay or maybe a paint decontamination "system" like this - Finish Kare FK1 Professional Detailing Products (http://www.fk1usa.com/products-professional.htm) - or this - ABC Car Wash System - Prep and Reconditioning Products - Automotive International (http://autoint.com/autostore/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=22&idproduct=212)

[danforz]

Personally, I wouldn`t eve really advocate mild clay. Its primary purpose (I think) is to allow true OCD detailers to remove contaminants between details, while leaving their LSPs intact. Personally, I don`t know how effective a clay could be that doesn`t remove LSP in the first place, so I never really endorsed that concept.



Which leaves medium or aggressive... I`d recommend the medium. As mentionted above, if your going to polish you can clay VERY fast with out a problem with marring (since it`ll be polished out). But with that said, I`ve used medium grade clays and rarely had an issue with marring unless I was totally absent minded as to how I clayed. If you take your time, don`t push to hard, and keep the clay fresh (re rolling it or just using a new lump of clay) I don`t think marring is a problem.

[David Fermani]

I`d buy some Auto Magic Blue Clay Magic. It won`t damage the paint, won`t remove your protection and it removes 99% of clayable contamination. I use it with regular maintence washings and also to remove heavy overspray. I very rarely (if not ever) step up to more aggressive clay.

[danforz]

I`d buy some Auto Magic Blue Clay Magic. It won`t damage the paint, won`t remove your protection and it removes 99% of clayable contamination. I use it with regular maintence washings and also to remove heavy overspray. I very rarely (if not ever) step up to more aggressive clay.



So you agree with this stuff not removing LSP? It seems a bit hard to swallow doesn`t it?

[optimusp517]

I`d get one of each. You never know which area of the vehicle will need a mild or a medium clay. It`s always to have both and start with a lighter grade clay and then if it doesn`t work go ahead and bump it up to the next grade.

[imported_Denzil]

Stick with a mild clay if you have no intentions of polishing it afterwards. Keep in mind that some mild clays can/will induce micromarring. Good luck.

[David Fermani]

So you agree with this stuff not removing LSP? It seems a bit hard to swallow doesn`t it?



I`ve done paint corrections on black cars and have spot clayed them afterwards and it has never affected the finish which leads me to believe that the protection barrier hasn`t deminished. I also clay my car during regular washings and works out great. Plus the manufacturer endorses it too. Have you ever caught a glimpse of the Sonus ad here about their clay not removing LSP? I think it all depends on what clay you`re using.

[Accumulator]

Danforz- I`ve posted about clay/LSP experiments before. Won`t rehash it all here but it might be worth a search (or maybe not...I oughta type it up as a separate thread some time). It`s pretty easy to see for yourself what clay does/doesn`t do to LSPs and once you`ve proved it to yourself first-hand, well, then you can be pretty confident about this stuff. So, that said:




..[regarding clay removing LSP and/or marring paint].. I think it all depends on what clay you`re using.



Yeah, and how you use it.



I`ve experimented with Sonus green Ultra-fine and it takes a *LOT* of doing to cut through LSP with it. Even took a while to cut through Meg`s #5 (!) so that stuff is *MILD*. On a never-clayed car that`s a few years old, IMO it`ll be *too* mild. Even if you use it aggressively, it`ll only do so much. And if you try to get too aggressive it just doesn`t work right.



Medium clays (and that`s a pretty broad category) *can* be used gently enough that they don`t cut through LSP; I did it for years (since ~1990) before the Sonus green came out. These can also be used more aggressively and will then remove contamination pretty well. With the KEL clay off the market, I`d take David Fermani`s advice on the ClayMagic as the others of this type I`ve tried (e.g., Griot`s and Mother`s) seem a bit too mild.



Oh, and I do like the AutoInt "ABC", and I clay while the "B" is dwelling. Clay dissolves very fast when I do this though, so have plenty on hand if you want to try it.



bert31- Welcome to Autopia!



Hope something in the above was helpful. When claying, I suggest you pull the clay apart into small blobs so that if (I oughta just say "when" ;) ) you drop it you don`t have to throw away the whole (contaminated) bar.

[Bert]

Medium clays (and that`s a pretty broad category) *can* be used gently enough that they don`t cut through LSP



I am not worried about cutting through the LSP, I am planning to reapply a sealant when I am done. I am more concerned about paint marring since I wasn`t planning on polishing besides using a AIO before the LSP. It is my understanding (from reading on this board) that an AIO will not remove swirl marks and other paint marring, only "improve" them. Well, I guess I better change my plans and plan to polish my car to remove the paint marring if I am going to use medium clay. Again from reading on the boards, it sounds like polishing a car w/o a dual action polisher is quite chore and right now it is 95 degrees with 95% humidity in Louisville, KY - can`t wait!! Maybe I will be lazy and put this off till September.






bert31- Welcome to Autopia!





Thanks!!




Hope something in the above was helpful. When claying, I suggest you pull the clay apart into small blobs so that if (I oughta just say "when" ;) ) you drop it you don`t have to throw away the whole (contaminated) bar.



Thanks for the advice. I will probably buy two bars and cut each of them in half or thirds because with my butter fingers, I sure a few will hit the ground.

[danforz]

Interesting points gentlemen

[ZoranC]

I am more concerned about paint marring since I wasn`t planning on polishing besides using a AIO before the LSP.

From my very limited experience I have found ClayMagic`s blue is quite a good compromise. It did not mar anything to me while it was still reasonably efficient in removal of contamination.

[es350]

^^^^ I agree!

[Bert]

From my very limited experience I have found ClayMagic`s blue is quite a good compromise. It did not mar anything to me while it was still reasonably efficient in removal of contamination.



So if I am hearing you correct, in terms of abrasiveness, ClayMagic`s Blue would lie somewhere between Sonus`s Ultra Fine Green Detailing Clay and Sonus`s Block Grey Detailing Clay? If so, that may be the compromise I need unless I decide to polish the paint marring out by hand.



On a side note, Sonus`s website mentioned recommended temperature range of 40 to 100 degrees F when claying. The temperature does not consider the heat index correct? I ask because the temp has been in the mid 90`s lately but with the high humidity, the heat index has surpassed 100 each day. I assume humidity has no bearing on claying but wanted to ask regardless.