Claybar more abrasive than Rubbing Compound?
Here is a cut and past of a new member of the car club I belong to. This person has 20 yrs experience in a body shop and has a totally different skew on detailing....this is an example of his response when I questioned him about clay vs rubbing compound and their abrasiveness. Does any of this sound correct to any DC member? I just do not want to digest this as reality, however I have no experience inthe body shop. Maybe he know`s something, however the established Pro`s here know something related directly to Detailing not body shop work. Your reactions or comments would be greatly appreciated.
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"The rubbing compound is actually less abrasive because it does not cut in to the surface as much. Here, the liquidity of it is softer than the clay lube. The clay bar actually acts like fine grit sandpaper, which you don`t want, especially with thin paints. The paint scuff is actually layered in top of the surface of the paint, and by using the thinner, it is enough to wipe it clean by the properties in the thinner, which on the painted surface, the thinner will not rub into the top layer and remain there. Also, since the thinner dries fast, the residue does not remain for a period of time.
The thinner is used as an initial step to clean the area, which if any paint or dirt is on the surface, it will get rid before you add an abrasive component to it, which creates more damage.
I consider the least to most abrasive in this way:
Thinner/reducer (as a cleaner)
Polishing compound
Luquid rubbing compound (by hand)
Clay bar
Sand paper
Zoomer (a tool that strips paint very easy)
Bead blasting
When I completely redo a car, I usually have the body dipped in hot acid, which strips everything down to the raw metal. After I have neutralized the acid and repaired the metal if necessary, I zinc chromate it and do the filling with lead or metal based filler if necessary and prime/paint the car.
When repairing dents, I pound those out as much as possible and make everything as smooth as I can by the dollys and hammers. Usually, I don`t have to use a filler at all. On the rewelded seams, I tig weld them in and grind everything smooth. I use both tig and mig welders plus the gas one for some jobs.
On most of my paint jobs, I spray at least 7-9 coats of color, then block it, then clear that with 5 coats of the clear. That I can rub smooth. After everything is done, Imight have 4 coats of color and 4 coats of clear. If I`m doing a custom job with flames etc., the clear is at least 8-10 coats, but that is blocked at intervals of 4 coats (shoot 4 coats, block, then shoot 4 more coats). Here, no lip in the paint is seen or felt; the surface is smooth."
