imported_Denzil
New member
David Fermani said:
That's expected.:cooleek:
Always clay before polish?
- Thread starter imported_animes2k
- Start date
That's expected.:cooleek:
Accumulator
Well-known member
It's funny, but I don't get as much contamination there as in the areas I mentioned. Maybe because I stay farther back than most people do :nixweiss Now bugs in the warmer weather are another story...I clay them off at every wash.
imported_Denzil
New member
Accumulator said:
Don't remind me... I HATE bugs. :werd:
My own cars are okay relative to the car of any new client I get. The rust contamination here is CRAZY. I get maybe one or two uses out of a bar before I have to throw it away because they start to scratch the heck out of the paint. I've been charging most of my clients an extra $30 ($60 total) for the clay step because the rust is so bad - I usually show them a clean bar, take 4 or 5 strokes across their paint, and then show them the now orange bar from rust - they usually don't complain when they see and feel it. After a few strocks it sounds like I'm rubbing sand paper across the paint.
Coincidentally, I just learned how to use my camera phone and upload pictures. The pictures below of clay were from my detail today on a 740i - the amount of rust I pulled out was on par for a car around here that I've never detailed before. Fells like 4000 grit sandpaper before claying - seriously. Makes for a fantastic before and after turnaround however
Here is a pic of my clay before starting the trunk
I had to re-knead the clay after only about 4 or 5 strokes on the trunk becuase I was pulling so much rust off:
Coincidentally, I just learned how to use my camera phone and upload pictures. The pictures below of clay were from my detail today on a 740i - the amount of rust I pulled out was on par for a car around here that I've never detailed before. Fells like 4000 grit sandpaper before claying - seriously. Makes for a fantastic before and after turnaround however
Here is a pic of my clay before starting the trunk
I had to re-knead the clay after only about 4 or 5 strokes on the trunk becuase I was pulling so much rust off:
Accumulator - I'm going to order the Auto International decontamination system, though I fear I won't be able to get many customers to pay for the extra time. But I think you have the right idea. I just moved to San Diego and can't believe the rust I'm finding in nearly every car I detail - and if they are not garaged...forget about it - I will pull enough rust out to ruin a clay bar for sure. Good news is the ocean is certainly hard on the cars around here, and most of my details have been of the $250 variety for Compounding, etc.
Accumulator
Well-known member
RAG- Yikes, that's a lot of contamination all right. Remember to clay while the "B" is dwelling. The guys at AutoInt say to use a bugsponge instead of clay but I'm too paranoid about it marring the paint.
I wouldn't be worried about the bug sponge, as I rarely let clients pay for a clay only - I almost always insist on polishing because I hate doing things half A@#. When there is a lot of rust particles, the clay scratches the piss out of the paint anyway, even when kneaded frequently. BTW, I did another car today that felt like sand paper there was so much rust - seriously. When the rust is like this, there's no being gentle (unless you want to be there all day) so I just muscle into it and hopefully I can clay the car in less than an hour or hour and a half (is usually takes about 10 forcefull stokes per spot to get heavy rust out). Any clay/rust scratches polish out easily, much more so than washing swirls.
I want my wife to get a "fly" lense for her Nikon so I can take extreme close-ups - I could show people rust they wouldn't beleive on 4 or 5 cars per week.
I want my wife to get a "fly" lense for her Nikon so I can take extreme close-ups - I could show people rust they wouldn't beleive on 4 or 5 cars per week.
I try to make it a point to clay or decon every car that I plan to polish.
I find that even with just the decon, my pads last a lot longer, and
stay effective longer than when I try to machine polish without
cleaning the paint. I also notice a significant reduction in swirl markings
when the paint cleaning is done first. A few "professionals" in my area
don't waste their time with the claying or decon; they want fast and easy.
So it doesn't surprise me one bit when their cars come out looking like they
were buffed with a brillo pad.
When I run into someone that just wants the compound/ polish, and not a
paint cleaning, I charge for the pad, because I know it will not be used on
any other car after that. I just keep those pads in seperate bag labeled,
"cheapskate bastids" :chuckle:.
I find that even with just the decon, my pads last a lot longer, and
stay effective longer than when I try to machine polish without
cleaning the paint. I also notice a significant reduction in swirl markings
when the paint cleaning is done first. A few "professionals" in my area
don't waste their time with the claying or decon; they want fast and easy.
So it doesn't surprise me one bit when their cars come out looking like they
were buffed with a brillo pad.
When I run into someone that just wants the compound/ polish, and not a
paint cleaning, I charge for the pad, because I know it will not be used on
any other car after that. I just keep those pads in seperate bag labeled,
"cheapskate bastids" :chuckle:.
Accumulator
Well-known member
Rag- I hope I've gotten my caveats across about the decon system not being a miracle-worker 
I also hope you'll let us know how it works for you. I'm truly curious about whether it'll be the solution to your problems.
And yeah, I have a macro lens for my SLR and it's great for pics of paint. Now if I'd just get around to scanning/uploading/linking/etc. some of them
I also hope you'll let us know how it works for you. I'm truly curious about whether it'll be the solution to your problems.And yeah, I have a macro lens for my SLR and it's great for pics of paint. Now if I'd just get around to scanning/uploading/linking/etc. some of them
USDM...I'm with you here. Rust, and other contamination, is abrasive and if it's coming off during the polishing process you are going to have problems with swirls via rotary. So I place big emphasis on claying everything thing out first.
Accum...I'll be sure to report my results once I use it. I washed my Uncle's one year old Dodge Magnum today and it has an ENORMOUS amount of rust in the paint (enough to ruin a couple clay bars) - only 6 weeks after I clayed the heck out of it for him last. Two months before that I did a Clay and heavy polish after it got out of the body shop. Both the factory paint and repainted portions seem to be equally affected. This car will be a good test for the system.
Accum...I'll be sure to report my results once I use it. I washed my Uncle's one year old Dodge Magnum today and it has an ENORMOUS amount of rust in the paint (enough to ruin a couple clay bars) - only 6 weeks after I clayed the heck out of it for him last. Two months before that I did a Clay and heavy polish after it got out of the body shop. Both the factory paint and repainted portions seem to be equally affected. This car will be a good test for the system.
Just to firmly support what Accummulator has indicated,
either decon system (from FK1 or Autoint), will work fairly well
by themselves. But they are not miracle workers. Claying is still
a recommended procedure, especially if you have stubborn stuff
on the paint. I've used both systems pretty regularly for a while,
and i can tell you emphatically, that you wont always get the
truly smooth feel with just the decons alone; clay is definitely
needed to put things over the top.
The big advantage of using the decon kits is that you can do these
in place of a carwash (since they are essentially carwash systems
anyway). In fact, unless the paint is a complete mess, I can manage
to massage the remaining garbage with a softer claybar, like the Sonus
Green bar. After that, any compounding or polishing I do is breezy.
It's these little additional steps that will almost always guarantee your
work will be steps ahead of the local competiton (unless, of course,
they're autopians as well) :grinno:
either decon system (from FK1 or Autoint), will work fairly well
by themselves. But they are not miracle workers. Claying is still
a recommended procedure, especially if you have stubborn stuff
on the paint. I've used both systems pretty regularly for a while,
and i can tell you emphatically, that you wont always get the
truly smooth feel with just the decons alone; clay is definitely
needed to put things over the top.
The big advantage of using the decon kits is that you can do these
in place of a carwash (since they are essentially carwash systems
anyway). In fact, unless the paint is a complete mess, I can manage
to massage the remaining garbage with a softer claybar, like the Sonus
Green bar. After that, any compounding or polishing I do is breezy.
It's these little additional steps that will almost always guarantee your
work will be steps ahead of the local competiton (unless, of course,
they're autopians as well) :grinno: