i have clayed my new 7000 miles black car twice in the last 2-3 months. everytime i tried a new product, i would clay the entire car. i didn't do the sandwich bag test. i'm trying out yet another product (pinnacle) so was just wondering if i should clay my new car again. any tips/suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks. btw, i tried zaino, blackfire, and pretty soon, pinnacle.
is claying too often bad for the paint?
- Thread starter BretW
- Start date
Jngrbrdman
New member
Claying is only neccessary when you feel the roughness on the surface of your car. I don't think that you are going to hurt your car by doing it though. The only problem I can see is that when you clay you run a very high risk of putting micro scratches in your finish if you don't fold your clay enough and keep a clean surface on the paint. Normally you follow up clay with some kind of polish so you get rid of those scratches pretty much right after they appeared. Polishing your car too often can cause problems. That would be my only concern is if your were following up each clay attempt with a polishing.
A safe alternative to clay if you want to just get all the product off your car and start over is to just wash your car with Dawn. That will break down the waxes and sealants and get them off your car so you can start fresh. Clay is great but it shouldn't need to be done more than 2 or 3 times a year for most people.
A safe alternative to clay if you want to just get all the product off your car and start over is to just wash your car with Dawn. That will break down the waxes and sealants and get them off your car so you can start fresh. Clay is great but it shouldn't need to be done more than 2 or 3 times a year for most people.
i hope i didn't polish my car too much. here's a brief history of what i've applied on my car.
- dawn wash when car was 3 weeks old
- clayed entire car
- 1 layer of z5
- 2 layers of z2
- didn't like the zaino results so....
- clayed entire car
- 1 layer of bf2 gep
- 1 layer of bf2 afpp
- liked the results more than zaino but still looking for
even more depth and wet paint look so....
ordered stuff from cma and will plan to do the following:
- no more claying thanks to your suggestions
- meguiar's #9 (have minor swirls)
- meguiar's #7
- finish off with pinnacle souveran and crystal mist
- all this is done by hand
is this too much polishing? please let me know guys, thanks.
- dawn wash when car was 3 weeks old
- clayed entire car
- 1 layer of z5
- 2 layers of z2
- didn't like the zaino results so....
- clayed entire car
- 1 layer of bf2 gep
- 1 layer of bf2 afpp
- liked the results more than zaino but still looking for
even more depth and wet paint look so....
ordered stuff from cma and will plan to do the following:
- no more claying thanks to your suggestions
- meguiar's #9 (have minor swirls)
- meguiar's #7
- finish off with pinnacle souveran and crystal mist
- all this is done by hand
is this too much polishing? please let me know guys, thanks.
- dawn wash when car was 3 weeks old
- clayed entire car
- 1 layer of z5
- 2 layers of z2
- didn't like the zaino results so....
- clayed entire car
- 1 layer of bf2 gep
- 1 layer of bf2 afpp
- liked the results more than zaino but still looking for
even more depth and wet paint look so....
ordered stuff from cma and will plan to do the following:
- no more claying thanks to your suggestions
- meguiar's #9 (have minor swirls)
- meguiar's #7
- finish off with pinnacle souveran and crystal mist
- all this is done by hand
is this too much polishing? please let me know guys, thanks. [/B][/QUOTE]
If you liked the BF but wanted more depth, why not just apply souveran over the BF? I use Pinnacle Paste Glaz over Klasse AIO/SG and the paint looks great. The benefit of a Zaino or Klasse is long lasting protection, then a carnauba topper will give you the depth and gloss that you desire. Plus it's less work for you, why not try it?:nixweiss
- clayed entire car
- 1 layer of z5
- 2 layers of z2
- didn't like the zaino results so....
- clayed entire car
- 1 layer of bf2 gep
- 1 layer of bf2 afpp
- liked the results more than zaino but still looking for
even more depth and wet paint look so....
ordered stuff from cma and will plan to do the following:
- no more claying thanks to your suggestions
- meguiar's #9 (have minor swirls)
- meguiar's #7
- finish off with pinnacle souveran and crystal mist
- all this is done by hand
is this too much polishing? please let me know guys, thanks. [/B][/QUOTE]
If you liked the BF but wanted more depth, why not just apply souveran over the BF? I use Pinnacle Paste Glaz over Klasse AIO/SG and the paint looks great. The benefit of a Zaino or Klasse is long lasting protection, then a carnauba topper will give you the depth and gloss that you desire. Plus it's less work for you, why not try it?:nixweiss
Escape Artist
New member
Rad21 and anyone else with experience--what do you suggest when the carnauba topper starts wearing off?
What do you do then since it is topping (let's assume) a sealant such as SG?
What do you do then since it is topping (let's assume) a sealant such as SG?
You know, that's a good question... Personally I've just decided to keep topping it off with more wax, and not use SG again until I do the twice a year overhaul. For me the sealant is a twice a year thing and wax is a year-round thing. Some people say you can do a Dawn wash to remove the wax (it shouldn't strip the sealant) and this will let you put more sealant on, but I don't like the idea of using Dawn myself and there's been some debate about Dawn weakening sealants. I just err on the side of caution and keep waxing. Feels good anyway.mprogers said:
Another thing is it may be difficult to even tell if the wax has really worn off or not because you have a sealant underneath. It's pretty unscientific, but some have suggested when you see a change in the way the car beads in between washes it can indicate this. A good sealant should last until the next overhaul so (I think) most people only want to apply more sealant if they feel like it.
mprogers said:
mprogers,
You can just reapply the topper (souveran, Paste Glaz, P21S, etc). Since I use paste glaze, I follow up with a QD after each weekly wash and every 4-6 weeks reapply the paste glaz- it doesn't take much time. That way I still have the Klasse AIO/SG as a protective coating and Pinnacle Paste Glaz for that added deep glow. Just don't use a harsh soap when washing, use one recommended for cars (meguiars, eagle one, pinnacle, mothers, eimann fabrik, etc) and choose a decent QD, many are recommended here at autopia.
Brad B
New member
rad21 said:
I wouldn't quite go that far. I spot-clay my car, especially the top surfaces or the rocker panels that take more abuse whenever they "feel" they need it. Let your fingers be the judge.
A light claying doesn't even necessarily even take all the wax off and won't hurt the clearcoat- it just shears off the embedded debris.