Clay question

So last night after work, I decided to wash my car and clay it for the first time.Black 08 Volvo C30 Made sure I had a clean mitt and used the 2 bucket method (first time doing that and holy cow was that rinse water dirty!), washed it then dried it off. I used meguiars smooth clay kit that had 2 bars, a rag, and some quick detailer. It picked up a lot of stuff but I can still feel and see some stuff in the clear coat. It is definitely 10 times better than it was and from a distance looks fantastic, but rubbing my finger across it I still feel stuff. I used almost the whole bottle of quick detailer trying to get the clay to pick it all up. I ended up dropping the clay while going over the front again so I just put the car back in the garage and called it a night. So my question is: Do I need to get a more aggressive clay or use a nano sponge or what? Some of the spots are Behr interior paint from my wife using a power painter on a windy day while I was gone. As cringeworthy as it sounds, I try using my finger nail to break that paint away but that didn`t work. I need help guys!

I know there are different clay bars, with varying degrees of pickup. I like to think of it like sandpaper, similar to fine grit, medium grit, etc. I have some Poorboy`s clay, and after doing a panel with it, it still felt gritty. I`ve had some Meguiars clay, so I used it. After using it, the panel felt amazing.

Knowing that, I can assume that 1 of 2 things is happening...

1. Meguiar`s clay is a "medium" clay, and Poorboys is a "fine" clay.

or

2. I needed to make more than one pass with the Poorboys clay.

Maybe try a clay mitt?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tachessher

...

Knowing that, I can assume that 1 of 2 things is happening...

1. Meguiar`s clay is a "medium" clay, and Poorboys is a "fine" clay.

or

2. I needed to make more than one pass with the Poorboys clay.

Maybe try a clay mitt?

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From autopia`s store, Meguiar`s has a Mild clay, and an Aggressive clay. Poorboy`s is a medium.

Going over an area with additional "passes" can help, though.

A very good all-around claybar that is sold over the counter is still the blue ClayMagic claybar..
Just use a good claylube and press down a little, watch what you are doing, and dont miss any spots..

I like to use 1 nitrile glove on the hand that is going to be holding the claybar the most,(because its sticky), and the other un-gloved hand is going to feel the paint to make sure it is perfectly smooth..

And, depending on how dirty the paint is - if it has never been touched with a claybar in decades, etc., it will always take longer and more passes to get all that gunk off.. Look at the bottom of the claybar after 1 pass - turned a different color because of all the gunk it removed, right ?

The store here sells a really good claybar cleaner that you can use to scrub the claybar with ( like you would use soap to wash your hands), that will take off a tiny layer of the scrubbed part and with it all the embedded dirt,, etc...

I used this product for years because I didnt want to keep kneading the claybar, pushing the dirt back into it, to find a clean spot to use..
Why not just clean that gunk you just picked up off that spot on the bar, and keep going ?

And for sure, the claybar will last way way longer if you just clean it and not knead all the gunk back into it and then throw it away...

You can also if you drop it, just take it and cut a thin slice out of it - the part that hit the ground and/or wash it up and its all good again, if you have removed all the gunk out it... Is it the same uniform color it was before you dropped it ? Then its clean...
Dan F

LowflyingC30- Welcome to Autopia!

Just a few sorta-random thoughts:

-I consider clay to be a consumable; I`d rather go through it quickly than risk damaging paint by using contaminated clay

-I`d rather go over it multiple times with a reasonably gentle clay and gentle techniques than instill marring by using/doing something more aggressive

-I tear my claybars into smaller pieces so it`s no great loss if I drop one (which I just throw away or relegate to "nasty duty only")

-Many people (not including Yours Truly, but anyhow...) find that either a rinseless wash or even a mild water/carwash shampoo mix works fine as a clay lube

-If you spend...oh, let`s see, I dunno....more than [INSERT huge number] hours claying and it`s still contaminated, then maybe you oughta look into another approach (in that case, I`d consider a Decontamination Chemical)

I`ll add my limited (not as advanced as say Accumulator or Stokdgs) take on clay. After using the wonderful BlueMagic claybar, I broke down and got a clay towel (I own a large SUV) due to either dropping or depleting clean clay with my various cars. Two big benefits of the towel - larger surface area (faster removal) and can be rinsed if you drop it or it gets too dirty with contaminates. I lent it to a neighbor months ago due to his struggling on massive paint overspray on a new car. he was blown away on the speed and ease of the towel compared to the claybar. Just my $0.02

-grungy

grungy- Heh heh...so much for my "advanced take" on this stuff... in that I`ve never used the Decon Towels! I just can`t grasp the concepts behind how that can be done without instilling some marring and I simply don`t try doing stuff like this unless I get the ideas behind it figured out first.

Hey Accumulator - yes it may induce marring that is visible, but if you plan to polish after first time claying the prep time saved is worth it. Now for additional clay sessions I would agree unless the marring (like on a DD) is not too noticeable.

I still use clay prior to correction... the product just work better than the towels substitutes. I do use clay subs but only on AIO jobs and wash/ wax type of deals where speed/ price is more important than defect removal.

To the OP:
Use a fallout remover prior to claying (Iron X, etc...)
On black is going to hard to notice bonded tar... but picking up Tar X wouldn`t hurt either.
Then use your clay. The previous steps will prolong the life of the clay because the aforementioned would eliminate some of the contaminants.

Meg`s OTC clay is very, very mild. Mother`s OTC clay is more aggressive.

As has been said, Clay Magic Blue or Red are GREAT quality bars. Meg`s Detailer mild and aggressive are great too (convinced they are the same as Clay Magic but could be wrong.)

Ah, the "...since you`ll be polishing anyhow"-type responses just show how different people`s detailing regimens can be so different, ditto for the idea of living with marring (that could be safely removed) on a Daily Driver.

Ok, first I wanna say thanks to everyone who commented. I think I`m going to get some ironx and rewash it and use that and then clay it again. If that doesn`t work like I want it to I just bought a claying towel to try out as well. I`ve had fun cleaning my car thus far but it now appears my car`s paint is in worse shape then I thought so that sucks. Thanks for all the suggestions and tips guys!

LowflyingC30- Brightside opinion: if the paint is in worse shape then you`ll probably end up doing some correction so you don`t need to be obessive about being as gentle as possible while decontaminating it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Accumulator

LowflyingC30- Brightside opinion: if the paint is in worse shape then you`ll probably end up doing some correction so you don`t need to be obessive about being as gentle as possible while decontaminating it.

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I understand what you mean but I currently do not have a D.A. so any corrections I try to make will be by hand. I`m going to try meguiars clay again and just keep going with it until I decide it`s working or I need a new approach. I ordered the clay towel and I see what you mean when you question how it doesn`t mar or scratch. So much to learn.

Lowflying C30- Yes indeed, lots to learn. Just go cautiously with the Prep Towel so you notice any problems *before* they`re all over the vehicle. Maybe it`ll work great for you, maybe it won`t. But find out by working an inconspicuous area first and be sure to really *INSPECT* said area so you know for sure. Too many people think [whatever they`re doing] works fine...until they pull it out into the sun and have a sad discovery.