Claying Question

[jumpmanmb87]

Does claying make swirls after your done doing it? and is there a way you could screw up claying?

[gb387]

With Clay just remember to use lots of quik detailer to lubricate the bar. If you drop the bar on the ground don't use it, toss it out! Its best if you cut the bar in half at set one aside just in case you drop the other. While you are using the bar keep an eye on it and knead the clay once it looks like its getting dirty. Very easy to do! I have never noticed the addition of any fine scratches or swirls from claying.

Can't really mess it up.

[Mike Phillips]

As long as you're using a fine to medium grade clay you shouldn't have any problems.

Problems happen when dirt enters into the process either because the car isn't clean or the clay bar is dropped onto the ground.

Like gb387 posted, use plenty of lube and you shouldn't have any problems.

p.s.

Is your question after the fact? Are you seeing swirls that you don't remember seeing before you clayed?

[jumpmanmb87]

claying questions

yes seeing swirls after your done

[Mike Phillips]

Re: claying questions

Originally posted by jumpmanmb87
yes seeing swirls after your done

Okay, this is a bad thing.

First things first, what are you working on, what condition is the finish in and what is your goal?

Before I dive too deeply into this, let's first cover the bases, what kind of clay are you using? There are different grades that offer different aggressiveness levels of cleaning ability. In most cases, most people should be using a Fine grade of clay.

So let's make sure you're not using an aggressive clay intended for use by professionals who typically will be machine cleaning the finish after clay and thus removing any clay induced haze or swirls.

Next, lets cover the basics.

Before claying did you wash the car and get it very clean?

Is the clay bar you're using clean and contaminant free? As in you haven't dropped the clay bar or used a clay bar someone else has dropped?

Get back to me on the above and then one more thing, a lot of times we talk about how hard or how soft a paint finish is as compared to traditional paints. Often times modern clear coats are harder than traditional single-stage paints but not always.

Here at Meguiar's we've seen some paints out in our Training Garage that are so soft that just to look at them the wrong way will instill swirls. So it could be the paint you're working on is so soft that even if you're using a fine grade of clay, the car is clean and everything else is perfectly aligned in the universe, it could be you are instilling swirls or light scratches from the claying process.

If this is the case we can still help you to remove the swirls and restore a show room new finish.

[Pete-FWA]

jumpmanmb87

Was it cold outside or in the facility where you worked? Was the surface temp of the paint below 60F? This can certainly cause problems with claying if either is too cold. Several years ago, I spoke with Meguiar's tech support and they suggested at least 60F surface temp when using any of the clay.