Possible problem with claying

bumpus

bumpus

New member
Hey guys, I'm hoping I can get an expert opinion or two on what happened. I clayed my car today, and there were about 3 spots where I noticed something still on the paint after I went over it with the clay bar. So I sprayed a little QD on the spot and went over it a few times with the bar. The spots removed easily enough, but now the paint has a strange look to it. It's black paint, and it almost looks like it has dull white spots in the area that I concentrated on. The car is brand new with only about 1500 miles on it, so the paint has only been touched by me(except for while the dealer had it, of course). By the time I got the claying done today, the temp had dropped and I decided to wait til Friday to seal/wax it back up. But I'm wondering if this is a problem, or will it go away once I wax? It worries me that a new car should have paint in good condition, and I've had black cars before and never seen this. My last car was a dark metallic blue, and I never had a problem claying it. Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated. Thanks guys! Great site, by the way:)
 
The only thing I can think of, is that there is hazing caused by the clay when you focused on those several spots. That would cause a dullness of the paint. Try going at the area with a polish and see if that fixes the problem.
 
That's what I think too, you somehow hazed the paint by claying those spots a bit too aggressively. It's a common mistake, yielding to the temptation to put a little more effort behind the clay. Should polish up ok with a mild abrasive. Just waxing/sealing won't do it though, you will need something with a little cut to it. If you don't have anything, Meguiar's Scratch-X is commonly available. Pretty mild stuff, it will probably take a few applications to solve the problem.
 
Thanks for the replies. Looks like the weather is going to warm up just enough today, so I'll see if polishing does the job. I'll let you know.
 
Speaking about claying, I just clayed my bonnet and I got a few scratches. It could be due to the dirt being removed and dragged across the paintwork. Anyway, M80 Speed Glaze removed the scratch easily using rotary buffer. I will try to minimise the pressure and spray on more lubricant the next time.
 
On my Honda, claying will make the clear dull, as it it was marring it. I went over the marring with a very mild polish (klasse AIO, which it technically a cleaner+acrylic) and it fixed up fine.
 
All the othe suggestions are possible. Another option is that your lubricant got thin, and the clay left some residue on the paint. Usually you can feel this happen because the clay will catch on the paint, leaving a smudge. Anyways, a MF usually rubs this right off.
 
Thanks again for all of the replies. Looks like it polished out! Now I need to get a PC and do it right:)
 
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