Pinnacle Poly Clay

**99323ic** · 05-06-2002, 07:45 PM

QUESTION: Should clay break down over use and get "soupy?" I was under the impression that the clay would only get dirty, but not absorb liquid. Might this be indicative of using too much lube?

The reason that I ask is that I went to clay the roof of my car this past weekend and had picked up from where I had left off earlier in the day. I used the same piece of clay that I had used a few minutes earlier. Working from the rear of the roof to the front (on the right side) I clayed away. This area went well. As I got near the sunroof, I noticed that the piece of clay was beginning to break down and get "soupy" and would not hold together.

I`m curious if this is "normal" or if it is particular to Pinnacle Poly Clay

**imported_capspackle** · 05-06-2002, 07:48 PM

Yep.. i experienced this also.. Did the entire pathy with one of the clay bars, and when i was done, it was all soggy and crap.. laid it out in the burning sun the next day, and it was nice and dry and maleable (haha.. i had my English AP exam today)

**99323ic** · 05-06-2002, 07:51 PM

interesting...I threw it out as it looked unusable. It also happened to be thinning out and was the piece that gave me some micro scratches, so I had no hard feelings :p

The next time, if it doesn`t look too bad, then I`ll try drying it in the sun.

**BradE** · 05-06-2002, 08:23 PM

That happens with a lot of clays. Mothers does it also, it`s because Pinnacle clay and Mother`s come from the same supplier. I have found that Clay Magic is one of the few clays that does not break down quickly.

**FastHappy** · 05-06-2002, 08:35 PM

what are you using as a lubricant? i`ve found that some qds effect clays in adverse ways. 3m gloss enhancer caused poly clay to break down very quickly but eagle one worked well without degrading the clay over long periods of time. you might need to change your lubricant.

**99323ic** · 05-06-2002, 08:43 PM

SL - Interesting...I had no idea that Mothers and Pinnacle was the same supplier. I guess I`ll change to Clay Magic once I`m finished with the Pinnacle.

Snake - I`m using the Pinnacle Clay Lube which was included in the clay kit from CMA. Any recommendations? Maybe Meguiar`s QD spray or EF CP?

**FastHappy** · 05-06-2002, 08:59 PM

well i would certainly think that the pinnacle lube would be compatible with the poly clay but there may be a problem there. i`ve used poly clay but never with the pinnacle lube. i use eagle one qd and the clay seems to hold up much better when i used it as compared to other qds. i always use something cheap when i clay. i am suspicious that qds with high alcohol conten may be to blame for the clay breaking down. not for sure, but maybe...

**William420** · 05-06-2002, 09:37 PM

I don`t really have this problem yet, but AFAIK, clay is water solutable. I think of it like it`s been held together with cement that never really cures, and water/moisture will cause the adhesion to breakdown and disolve the bonds. And it will readhere when dry (lay it out under the sun like PFG did).

**MicroRacer** · 05-07-2002, 01:40 AM

I know exactly where your`re comming from. I just used the poly clay system for the first time. Check out my thread (poly clay)

I was unable to use my bar again,so I tossed it. Maybe next time I`ll try laying it out in the sun like Willam420 suggested.

**ernie** · 05-20-2002, 04:10 PM

.....since I finally had a chance to use the pinnacle poly clay this past weekend on my wife`s 98 mustang. I used the pinnacle clay lubricant that comes with the CMA kit, and half of one clay bar. About half-way through, I noticed what the other posters have noted......the clay kind of started "falling apart", like it was soaking up the lubricant and degrading/disintegrating. So, I rolled it up tight, squeezed the heck out of it until I squeezed out as much lube as I could. Reformed it into a pad, and went back to work. Did this every so often (when it felt like it was going to fall apart), and seemed to work fine (i.e., it was doing it`s job on the paint).....otherwise, I would have just used the other half of the bar. This was my first time claying, so take this with a grain of salt. I also went through nearly half the bottle of lube..........don`t know if that was too much but, once I got going, it was kind of fun and using more lube than I should wasn`t a concern at the time

FWIW

ernie

**99323ic** · 05-20-2002, 04:40 PM

Ernie - I was pretty much in the same boat as you and did the same trick of squeezing out as much moisture as possible.

I think we both have the basics down pat