I clayed my brand new car and left marks all over

M

Mistakes

New member
Gents,

A couple of days ago, I washed my car (which I had washed a week prior and just got dusty from a couple of drives) with a foam gun, rinsed it and proceeded to clay it.
Now I have marks all over the car.

Yes I used plenty of lubricant. No, did not drop the clay.

Here is what I did. I am looking for expert help on how to fix this. :yikes:

- I did not dry the car prior to claying and I see from all the reading I did while waiting for my account to be approved that I should have.
I thought the water will help keep everything "lubricated".

- I used a Meguiare Smooth Surface™ Clay Kit and used the Quick Detailer spray that came with it
URL]


- I did not spray the clay before starting/ touching the paint. Mistake # 2 apparently. Anyone noticed my screen name?:unsure:

- I did one panel at a time and folded the clay over and over before moving on to the next panel

- The clay did not catch much. The paint was mostly free of contaminants.

- I did not dry each panel after claying

- I used the foam again when done, rinsed and washed the car one panel at a time with the two buckets method.

- Dried the whole car up with 3 large microfiber towels: first one to get most of the water off. Second while using a liquid gloss liquid formulated to be applied while drying the car (Chemical Guys) and third towel to dry the windows and get all the small spots water runs down from after leaving the 4 doors, gas tank cover and trunk opened for a while and to do the door jambs etc.

I`ll post pictures later in the day to show the damage done. The paint is smooth as glass but those marks...


Left the car alone since, no wax or anything. Didn`t even drive it I am so bumped out.

Looking forward to learning from this.

Thank you everyone.
 
Clay is an abrasive ... were you rubbing it or letting glide .. none the less it`s done and we all make mistakes .. what`s important is learning from the mistake and learning how to repair mistakes .. you will probably need to do a light polish, preferably non-abrasive and your new finish will return ..
 
I was careful to not press on the clay and just drove it in regular smooth vertical movements. But I am sure there are times I pressed more than I should.

Could you please let me know how to do a light abrasive polish and what I need for that?

Can`t wait to post pics later.
 
welcome to the forum

sorry to hear about this. when I first had my car I used to use the brush at the car wash so I know first hand we can all learn from our mistakes

please let us know what color and make/model your vehicle is

sounds like you will need a light polish at minimum or you could try a good glaze in the meantime like poorboys white diamond or black hole depending on the color of your paint

here`s some good info on the autopia site
Car Detailing How To Information
 
Thank you all for the warm welcome.

I am def. motivated to learn from this mistake.
The irony is that I never had this problem claying my cars before (prob. incorrectly also). Now it happens on my brand new Singapore Grey 2017 7 Series.
:sad:

I am Googling the products you mentioned right now. Thank you.
 
I`ve seen this before. I detailed a friend`s gt500 and 2 months later he came back to me very frantic because he had clayed his car and left scratches all over it. I used a LC white polishing pad with Poli-Seal on my PC and it took care of the problem. What tools/supplies do you have?
 
So far you are all saying this can be fixed. it`s awesome.

None besides the basic wash and wax stuff I got from Chemical Guys on a bulk order last year.

I don`t think what they sell and their customer service are great anyway so I need a shopping list and want to start from scratch.
 
I also am not a fan or foam gun then rinse & dry.

I would guess you also rubbed some stuff around on the paint with the clay.....
 
The best thing to do is research. Yes, getting input from the members here is an excellent way to get started since most of them are professionals when it comes to detailing, however, read about the different products and everything they can and can`t do just to familiarize yourself with the products.
 
Mistakes- Welcome to Autopia! Sorry to hear about the clay-induced marring.

When claying, keep in mind that the instant the clay picks up something abrasive it basically becomes sandpaper (no, the abrasive stuff doesn`t get "safely trapped in the clay", away from the paint). So I knead/replace my clay *very* frequently, usually after a few square inches worth of panel, sometimes more often than that.

And for full-vehicle decontamination I`m all about *chemical* decontamination, which is basically just doing a sequence of washes with the "special stuff".

Also, as noted, (while I always use the foamgun at every wash) foaming in-and-of itself won`t clean a vehicle very effectively, gotta use some kind of mechanical agitation (e.g., a wash mitt) and that same potential for "becoming sandpaper" applies; once the wash medium picks up contamination it can mar the paint.

Note that the direction of movements ("straight lines"/etc.) only matters if marring *does* occur, it won`t *prevent* marring. (It matters because straight-line scratches are only most visible from one viewing angle while circular/etc. ones offer additional such angles right up to all 360°)

But anyhoo...what`s done is done and it oughta be easy enough to fix.

Big initial Qs- Do you already have a polisher? If so, which one? Having a good Random Orbital/Dual Action ("RO/DA") polisher is gonna be pretty much non-negotiable; you *DO NOT* want to attempt full-vehicle correction by hand.
 
xspwrstang said:
Oh no!!! Get ready to get 100 different lists..lol
Click to expand...

:rofl:rofl:rofl:rofl:rofl

as inferred above, this can be a crazy hobby / profession ... you can get an opinion from everyone and they might all be different.. this is not a science so you really do have to do a little experimenting for what will work for you ..

I would look a machine .. maybe a Porter Cable 7424xp , good beginners machine , maybe Flex 3401vrg if you are more ambitious .. there are a few others out there too ..

I would definitely go with a non-abrasive polish to start .. We have Professional Polish which is pad dependent and if you get a machine with a pad kit you will be able to get more aggressive if needed.
 
Welcome! BMW`s Singapore Grey is such a nice color :)

As everyone else has mentioned - the clay maring is fixable and is expected to some degree prior to polishing out your paint regardless of how much lubricant used.

Before you do anything else here are 2 important things for you to consider a)how much time do you want to spend fixing the paint and b) how big is your budget to correct the paint?

By this I mean - you want to learn how to correct the paint = polish? Or do you just want to remove the marring as fast as possible and be done = AIO solution?

Based on the above, we can help direct you in the best direction for interest level + budget requirements.
 
Ronkh said:
I also am not a fan or foam gun then rinse & dry.

I would guess you also rubbed some stuff around on the paint with the clay.....
Click to expand...

^^ This.
But hoping for the best, I wonder if all you have there is the sticky Mequires consumer clay leaving "clay marks" more so than actual "damage".
 
You could always reach out to a local detailer on the forums here for some assistance. Sounds like a one step paint correction which shouldn`t cost that much in the scheme of things. You could always apply the LSP (wax/sealant) after he polishes out the car and save yourself some money there.

It would be a good learning experience and you could determine if the hobby/obsession is for you before diving in and buying a polisher and a bunch of products.
 
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