The clay just flew over the surrface!

[glen e]

A clay question:

I have a fellow in the neighborhood with a 3 year old Hyundai that he takes very good care of. We used Ultimate compound and a DA on it about 2 months ago and now he wanted to move to another wax, so he asked me yesterday to come clay it.

I used a ONR as a lube and the clay just flew over the surface, very little drag at all…is that normal? The clay showed a bit of black dirt but not much at all. Would the UC have gotten most of the contaminates the clay would usually catch?

I was surprised….sound right?

[Mr. Gloss]

I was always under the impression that a quality sealant and wax prevents environmental contaminates from adhering to the paint.

Prima products and BFWD keep my cars paint very clean between clay treatments.

[tropicsteve]

did you clay the surface last time before using the ultimate compund ? did you dilute the onr before using it as a clay lube ? i know on my vehicle, once i prepped and detailed the surface that any follow up claying was fast and smooth with very little residue.

[glen e]

did you clay the surface last time before using the ultimate compund ? did you dilute the onr before using it as a clay lube ? i know on my vehicle, once i prepped and detailed the surface that any follow up claying was fast and smooth with very little residue.

no, no clay when he UC`d - he had a hi tech wax on it - I think the Next 2.0

ONR mixed for clay lube strength per the bottle...

The reason I`m asking, is the baggie test revealed SOME bumps, I thought the clay would have more of the drag. It now feels much better. used GG clay.

[Beemerboy]

no, no clay when he UC`d - he had a hi tech wax on it - I think the Next 2.0

ONR mixed for clay lube strength per the bottle...

Your paints pretty clean from the last compounding.

Suggestion get a plastic sandwich bag, put that over your hand and run across the surface palm side down, if you can feel bumps then the ORN might not be letting the clay bite the surface.

[Todd@RUPES]

A clay question:

I have a fellow in the neighborhood with a 3 year old Hyundai that he takes very good care of. We used Ultimate compound and a DA on it about 2 months ago and now he wanted to move to another wax, so he asked me yesterday to come clay it.

I used a ONR as a lube and the clay just flew over the surface, very little drag at all…is that normal? The clay showed a bit of black dirt but not much at all. Would the UC have gotten most of the contaminates the clay would usually catch?

I was surprised….sound right?

To use one of my favorite things, analogies...

Take a racing slick vs. a treaded street tire.

If you spray water (lubricant) on the surface of a treaded treat tire the water will run off into the groves of the tire and you are left with a relatively dry tread block.

If you spray water (lubricant) on the surface of a racing slick it will pool up in a small puddle.

Likely the ultimate compound had enough power to clean (what was likely very fine) contamination off of the paint. While the paint may have had some contamination, it was likely dispursed and far-and-few between. The lubricant sat in a pool on the almost perfectly smooth paint and clay was able to glide extremely well over the surface.

If the paint has lot of tightly packed contamination, it gives the surface a texture similar to a treaded street tire. The lubricant will (to some degree) run into the valleys between the frequent contamination and the clay will grab at the surface more.

Polishing doesn`t always remove contamination, I have seen aggressive compounds and wool pads struggle with rail-dust. However on finer, less adhered contamination it can power right through it.

[glen e]

Thanks Todd - I just walked down two door and the paint feels smooth even with the baggie so I`m pretty sure his UC and then immediate wax contained the contaminate. By the way, we are prepping this for TPnS, CS and Poly spray!

[Beemerboy]

Thanks Todd - I just walked down two door and the paint feels smooth even with the baggie so I`m pretty sure his UC and then immediate wax contained the contaminate. By the way, we are prepping this for TPnS, CS and Poly spray!

That was the reason I asked you to try the baggie trick. Sounds like this is a garage queen and the compound that was used a few months back cleaned the surface.

[Todd@RUPES]

Thanks Todd - I just walked down two door and the paint feels smooth even with the baggie so I`m pretty sure his UC and then immediate wax contained the contaminate. By the way, we are prepping this for TPnS, CS and Poly spray!

Your welcome Glen, cannot wait to see the results of the combo! Let us know how it turns out and post some pictures if you get a chance!

[glen e]

Your welcome Glen, cannot wait to see the results of the combo! Let us know how it turns out and post some pictures if you get a chance!

Thx todd - he`s overseas for a while and wants to be here when we do it, so it`ll be a couple weeks - but look at my "trifecta" post in your section -done this morning...

[ca.detailchick]

I was always under the impression that a quality sealant and wax prevents environmental contaminates from adhering to the paint.

Prima products and BFWD keep my cars paint very clean between clay treatments.

It helps at best but doesnt prevent it.

At least thats my eperience where I live.

Everyone going to have different fallout and circumstances according to their washing habbits and location.

I still feel the need to clay my own vehicle every 3 months or so ,exposed to the elements 24/7.

[Rocket]

My truck sits outside 24/7 and I don`t seem to get much on the clay when I clay and wax the truck one a year. My mom`s car hadn`t been done since she bought it and when I clayed it I was surprised how clean the clay was when I finished

Sometimes cars aren`t too bad if they`ve been cared for reasonably

[Hoytman]

Polishing doesn`t always remove contamination, I have seen aggressive compounds and wool pads struggle with rail-dust. However on finer, less adhered contamination it can power right through it.

I found this out the first time I tried compounding my dad`s boat. It just felt like it was bogging the polisher down. So, I went and grabbed the clay. I had my dad feel where I`d compouned, then where I`d clayed. When he hit the clay he said, "shines better and feels great where you compounded compared to where you haven`t compounded." That`s when I informed him that the place he felt was the smoothest had only been clayed. Neither of us could harldy believe it made that much difference. I ended up claying the hole 25 walkaround cuddy Baha Cruiser...inside and out, then compounded and polished. Made a huge difference, but it cost me 2 Meguiar`s mild clay bars that would even stick together when kneeding. They just crumbled by the time I was done so I tossed them, naturally.

I`ll never let that sucker get that filthy again. But hey, I had only heard of clay just a few weeks before.

[Jaddie]

Dear Todd

You look quite young in your pictures, but you write with the wisdom of a man well beyond your years.

Thank you for sharing that wisdom.