Clay bar left 'swirl scratches'?

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efnfast

New member
Not really scratches in the paint per say, but the same type as swirl marks (hence me calling them swirl scratches, hehe) - I clayed my G35 and whereever I used it there were the fine 'scratches' in it.



I then tried it on my Z06 and no scratches.



I know G35 clear and paint is VERY soft (as opposed to corvette which is extremely hard) ; could the softness of the paint led to those marks? For what it's worth, I used the entire bottle of clay lubricant, so it wasn't underlubed, and was constantly kneeding the clay.





A quick polish over with a Cyclo and Meguiar's 80 took them out completely, so no permanent damage, but I can't figure out (as I've never clayed my G35 before) *** was causing it to leave so many fine 'swirl' scratches in the paint.....
 
I use the Sonus Ultra Fine clay bar, and it leaves little marring marks on my paint as well, however having a Honda, the paint is extremely soft. Knowing this, I never clay unless I'm polishing afterwards or applying a layer of KAIO to fill them in.



I think that's just the way it is.
 
bwlucas said:
I use the Sonus Ultra Fine clay bar, and it leaves little marring marks on my paint as well, however having a Honda, the paint is extremely soft. Knowing this, I never clay unless I'm polishing afterwards or applying a layer of KAIO to fill them in.



I think that's just the way it is.
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Same car, same problem. I have managed to reduce marring by greatly increasing the amount of lube i use. It is a little wasteful, but with my lube - 2:1 sonax shampoo, and fine clay, I spray as I clay, spotting if I hear any large particles, wiping down and then reapplying the lube. If you do it right, you get a silky feel when the clays move over the panel.



Also, minimal pressure! Minmum. It does mean that for things like tar spots, you sometimes need to make about 40 passes



but its slow. took and hour to do the passenger door, but no more marring.
 
Yes, it can leave some marring of softer clears.



It is easily removed though. Do you have a PC? You should be able to remove it with a PC, and a good paint cleaner with a white pad.
 
My 04 G35 Coupe is the same way. I don't remember which clay was used as it was either the blue Clay Magic or Meguiar's white "mild" clay but I got the same marks.



I then did a quick application of Poliseal, white pad, PC speed 6, and it looked great. BUT the Poliseal only hid the marks and didn't remove them as they came back after a couple of washes. Now this may be because, as I said, the Poliseal application was quick. If I would have really worked the Poliseal it may have removed them.



I've come to the realization that claying needs to be followed by a polish. This is especially true for most cars that I receive since they need a heavier clay to remove the contaminants.
 
Interesting to hear that people are getting marring with the Sonus Ultra-fine...must be some mighty soft clear!



I'm assuming that the marring happens despite:



- Using plenty of Glyde lube

- Making sure the clay is soft and pliable before touching the paint with it

- Claying with minimal pressure

- Kneading/replacing the clay often enough that contaminated clay isn't moved across the paint



As I find the Sonus green so mild as to not even cut through glazes (e.g. Meg's #5) without a little doing, I'm always surprised to hear that people get marring from it :think: It's never even marred the black ss window surround paint on my vehicles, and that's some might softy paint.
 
I am new to detailing and understand that there are some clears that are softer than others, but could it possibly be that the swirls were there all along and any fillers were taken off with the clay thus showing them. Please understand that I am not trying to offend anyone by asking this. I am just curious.



Thanks.
 
Accumulator said:
Interesting to hear that people are getting marring with the Sonus Ultra-fine...must be some mighty soft clear!



I'm assuming that the marring happens despite:



- Using plenty of Glyde lube

- Making sure the clay is soft and pliable before touching the paint with it

- Claying with minimal pressure

- Kneading/replacing the clay often enough that contaminated clay isn't moved across the paint



As I find the Sonus green so mild as to not even cut through glazes (e.g. Meg's #5) without a little doing, I'm always surprised to hear that people get marring from it :think: It's never even marred the black ss window surround paint on my vehicles, and that's some might softy paint.
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My paint is so soft that I don't even "dust" my car anymore with a quick detailer. Automatically puts swirls in. But having said that, I could probably knead the clay more often. I generally do a 2x2' section before flipping to a cleaner side and picking out any of the large pieces followed by kneading.



Crush said:
I am new to detailing and understand that there are some clears that are softer than others, but could it possibly be that the swirls were there all along and any fillers were taken off with the clay thus showing them. Please understand that I am not trying to offend anyone by asking this. I am just curious.



Thanks.
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For me personally I know it's not since I can now polish my paint back close to perfection every Spring.
 
I "clayed" for the first time yesterday and also got those fine scratches. It was cool (maybe 45 or 50 degrees) and overcast, and I also used the (cold) water from my hose as a constant or "flood" lubricant. Needless to say, the clay was pretty hard!



I didn't actually notice the scratches until I brought the car into the garage where I have flourecent lights. But polishing the car with the PC on 5 took care of all the scratches. I think it came out awesome! Especially since it's really my first time doing a full detail job.



In fact, I had to pull over on the way to work to look at it and take some pictures:
 

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Van said:
I "clayed" for the first time yesterday and also got those fine scratches. It was cool (maybe 45 or 50 degrees) and overcast, and I also used the (cold) water from my hose as a constant or "flood" lubricant. Needless to say, the clay was pretty hard!
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Noting how you went about the claying, I'm not surprised you got that marring. Glad to hear that it came out easily enough. If you keep the clay warm and use a good lube, the next claying might turn out marring-free.



bwlucas said:
My paint is so soft that I don't even "dust" my car anymore with a quick detailer. Automatically puts swirls in. But having said that, I could probably knead the clay more often. I generally do a 2x2' section before flipping to a cleaner side and picking out any of the large pieces followed by kneading.
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Heh heh, don't feel bad about not being able to QD/dust, I can't do that without marring things to *some* extent either.



That 2' x 2' area sounds like the problem...I'll sometimes knead/etc. the clay after only doing a few *inches*, sometimes with just one "pass". Remember that "contaminants in clay = sandpaper" idea ;)
 
Accumulator said:
Heh heh, don't feel bad about not being able to QD/dust, I can't do that without marring things to *some* extent either.



That 2' x 2' area sounds like the problem...I'll sometimes knead/etc. the clay after only doing a few *inches*, sometimes with just one "pass". Remember that "contaminants in clay = sandpaper" idea ;)
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This will be my first summer with ONR after using it all winter. It's probably one of the best products I've ever picked up, no more QD for me. Car had a light pollen dusting on the black paint, took me one bucket of ONR and 20 minutes to bring it back to that just waxed stage. :xyxthumbs



I'll try that out the next time I clay again.
 
I think I may have run into a sort of clay marring tonight as well on my Civic. I'll try and get some pictures up later. Blackfire and ONR mix for lubrication, mixed twice as strong as they recommend even. It was colder tonight though so I am thinking that might have been the culprit.
 
99blackSE said:
I think I may have run into a sort of clay marring tonight as well on my Civic. .. It was colder tonight though so I am thinking that might have been the culprit.
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Yeah, that sounds likely. The whole cold work environment issue could end up being pretty significant here...
 
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