Proper way to clay?

[Dalton]

The proper way to clay is to clay a small area and wipe immediately. Correct? Why cant you just clay the whole car then clean it again? Does anyone do that? Is it bad? If so why is it bad?

[imported_BretFraz]

The reason to clay small sections at a time is so that you can check your work as you go. Some areas might need more claying than others. Sometimes you miss a spot.



Wiping after claying a section is easy to do when the lubricant is still wet. Once it dries you will need to rewash your car. That`s both time and product consuming.



Your idea isn`t "bad" but it sounds inefficient. If you can make it work for you, by all means, give it a go.

[Dalton]

Thanks bretfraz. I did it that way this summer and it seemed easier to me. Instead of spraying lube, then claying, then putting down the lube then wiping then picking the lube back up and continuing I simply clayed the whole car then washed it. It seemed easier to me. To scheck my work I would just run my hand over where I just clayed with lube still wet to make sure it was smooth as glass. I tend to overdue the lube to be on the safe side. I just wanted to know if this was bad for my paint. Thank you



Anyone else?

[andriver]

Dalton you can also clay your car as you wash it. Simply wash one section, rinse and reapply clean carwash. Clay the area with wash soap on it and rinse. This may save some time.

[Accumulator]

Dalton- I`d worry about hard-to-remove clay residue. Some of the recent posts about claying problems referred to entire cars being covered with tenacious residue. I`ve never had any clay-related problems, but I don`t want any either!



IMO, working smaller areas start-to-finish will a) help you identify any problems before they become widespread, and b) give the clay residue less dwell/dry time, making the residue problem less likely to happen at all. I haven`t heard anything about clay lube causing problems by drying on the finish, although it just doesn`t sound like a good thing to *ME*- sounds like the sort of thing that might cause streaking of some sort.



If these problems DON`T happen for you, then there`s no problem doing it your way. Another case of "whatever works for you". Oh, and :xyxthumbs on using plenty of lube.

[togwt]

Quote: Oh, and on using plenty of lube.





~One man’s opinion / observations~



Probably the one of the most important things in using detailer’s clay (just as important as using a ‘lubricant’ that doesn’t dry it out, dry clay will mar the surface)



~Hope this helps~





Experience unshared; is knowledge wasted…/



justadumbarchitect * so i question everything*

[kbshadow]

I had trouble removing the mcguries clay and got no help from the mcguires tech dept, now I use Mothers and it works great.



Its foolproof, something I need.



Bob

Stockton Ca

[Accumulator]

kbshadow- Glad to hear you found a clay you like. Meg`s clay must be one of their worst products ever, almost EVERYONE has trouble with it.