Is clay the best thing to clean the paint?

T

tedy

New member
I have been using clay for several years, but seems like it only "cuts" and "levels" paint surface.

It sure levels and makes the paint smooth as hell, but it doesnt clean the pollutant left inside the paint.



I have read a detailing book. A product from Japan called "Matex" which deep cleans pollutant off paint surface w/o any wiping. It is gentle and nontoxic.



You spray it on the paint surface and wait until it turns into purple color and just rinse it off. The surface becomes smooth and free from pollutant.



The book suggests using Matex instead of clay, since clay just cuts off whatever sticks out of the surface but the Matex deep cleans it.



Any one heard similar product before?
 
tedy- I'm not familiar with the Matex, but it sure sounds interesting. FWIW, if/when I feel the clay isn't doing the job, I'll use AutoInt's ABC, which sounds similar (at least in concept).



But that is seldom an issue for me really- with a good coat of [whatever LSP] on the vehicle, contamination never really gets "into" my paint, it just gets into the LSP and is easy to clay away.
 
Clays should be used on an as needed basis not each week. Clays don't provide any leveling effect they basically shear or pull off contaminants. There is a product called fall out remover that can be used instead of clay by a company called Mark V in Corona, CA. Be careful, it's pretty strong stuff.
 
I dunno where this "clay removes LSP" thing came from. I'm sorta a broken record here, so "sorry for the following semi-rant" to those who've read all my other posts on this subject.



I use clay to remove bugs, tree sap, tar, you name it. I do it where/as needed with almost every wash. My LSPs last for *months* (going on *eleven* with the SG on the MPV, and that's with no QDing). The clay simply does not remove an appreciable amount of my LSPs. I'd have noticed by now if it did, as I've been doing this for years (ever since "mild" clays came out).



I just clayed the front of the S8 again, following a long roadtrip (lots of bugs that had been on it for the whole time). No problem, still beads, etc. just fine. No evidence at all that I've stripped my UPP (still very slick and shiny- you can tell when a finish has UPP on it).



It's all a matter of how gently/not you do the claying. You just want to pull contamination off/out of the LSP.



Fallout removers shouldn't be necessary if you keep your vehicle well protected with wax or sealant.
 
Agreed fall out removers are pretty agressive but he asked the question.



I don't necessarily agree with the clay comment though. Clays do a good job of removing semi permanent coatings. While they may not remove all of it all the time they do a significant amount of damage to the coating. Water beading is not always an indication of a wax or sealant being present.
 
Dennis H. said:
..I don't necessarily agree with the clay comment though. Clays do a good job of removing semi permanent coatings. While they may not remove all of it all the time they do a significant amount of damage to the coating..
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Well, we can agree to disagree on this one :cool: As I say, it's all about *how* the claying is done and I might do it very differently from most people.
 
Ok, I'll agree to disagree about the damage to the wax but I certainly agree with the different strokes for different folks.
 
No disrespect but I have been doing the same as Accumulator for over two years. I never reapply my LSP until I reach my usual routine intervals for detailing. I do QD between washes though.
 
No disrespect taken. I think I am just coming from it at a different angle. Unless you have access to some very expensive equipment there is no certainty that a protective coating is intact and there's no way to measure any damage that may occur when the clay passes over it. There's no way of know how much was there before you started claying. Without knowing if the protective coating is or is not, damaged or not, it will be difficult to know how it will wear the next time an acidic bug hits it or water spots from a freak rain storm. I guess what I'm trying to say is better safe than sorry. It's a good idea to wax after you clay. Then again I could be splitting hairs.
 
It has been my experience that the first important step in a wax process is the deep cleaning, and the best product for me so far was a buff type paint cleaner. I have not had to use a claybar, and that was due to the fact that I keep an adequate amount of wax on top of the paint, and I am dilligent with keeping the paint surface clean.



Claybar is a good way of cleaning your paint from airborne particles, but I have found that buff polish cleaning is the best medium in getting all of your paint surface clean and prepped for wax.
 
Dennis H. said:
No disrespect taken. I think I am just coming from it at a different angle. Unless you have access to some very expensive equipment there is no certainty that a protective coating is intact and there's no way to measure any damage that may occur when the clay passes over it. There's no way of know how much was there before you started claying. Without knowing if the protective coating is or is not, damaged or not, it will be difficult to know how it will wear the next time an acidic bug hits it or water spots from a freak rain storm. I guess what I'm trying to say is better safe than sorry. It's a good idea to wax after you clay. Then again I could be splitting hairs.
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I dont disagree w/ you here.

The way I test if the coating is still there is to see the bead pattern on the surface.



If a surface was just sealed or waxed, the bead pattern should be very small and regular.



I do see a little increase in bead size and distortion on bead pattern. However, compare to un- sealed(/ waxed) surface, beading is still acceptable.
 
Dennis H. said:
Agreed, prep is everything. Clay might be an important step in the prep. It performs a different task than a polish.
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agree. clay does not remove swirl marks and fine scretches.
 
Fallout removers vary significantly. I was using Car Chem's powder type, was thinking of using Malco's Gel type which you wash on with some shampoo mixed in and rinse off but instead have opted for Autosmart's glass and trim safe Liquid type

Same easy method, contains a very small amount of acid due to some new standards in EUROPE so I was told



Having said that though, fallout remover is just that and will not remove other contaminants and this is where clay comes in. You could use that after fallout removal to clean the other crap off and even PREPSOL the body to get rid of old wax, grease and the like. I haven't used clay yet but will be getting the fine clay magic bar soon.



It's old technology just like wax but it has it's place

The Fallout remover will make the paint really smooth and the clay will make it even smoother again afterwards



There is liquid clay but don't know if that's a gimmick or real deal
 
I hate to buck the trend but water beading is not always an inidication of a sealant or wax. I've seen freshly waxes surfaces not bead water and I've also see surfaces with all the wax removed bead water quite nicely. None the less it is an indicator but the paint surface play a huge roll with surface tension.
 
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