Could clay have damaged the paint?

[GreeceLightning]

Sorry to bring this up again in a new thread, but I couldn't locate the old one.

I posted yesterday after washing my Mum's yellow Ford Ka (small hatchback) and after having clayed and then waxed it was noticing patchiness on the paintwork i.e. areas where the paint was slightly brighter than others.

During the claying phase I was noticing a fair bit of yellow colouring coming on to the clay, particularly off the roof.

That said I was given advice by someone on this forum that it was probably the wax I had applied i.e. too much on a hot day. They suggested I try applying another thin layer of wax to see if when wiped clean this patchiness came with it.

I tried this today to no avail. I always thought that clay was totally non-abrasive but I've now read it can be. Is there anything else I could try? Would a re-wash with shampoo do the trick or could I have permanently damaged the car's finish?

[rusty bumper]

Sounds like you picked up some paint oxidation on your clay. Assuming that the car has single stage paint that is, and from the sound of it, I think it does.

I would try using something like ColorX to remove the oxidized (dead paint), and that should even out the color. Course, it might take more than one application if you're doing this by hand.

The only way that clay can damage your finish, is for a foreign object to get embedded in it (like a grain of sand), and then it will scratch your car.

[GreeceLightning]

Hey, thanks for putting my mind at ease. I'll purchase Color X and give it a try.

But forgive my ignorance on a couple of things:

By single stage do you mean just one single colour, i.e. non-metallic, non flip etc...

And what is paint oxidation?

I used this same cleaning process on my Civic with metallic paint, I guess this could be the reason why there were no problems with that but there were problems with the Ka.

[rusty bumper]

Originally posted by GreeceLightning
But forgive my ignorance on a couple of things:

By single stage do you mean just one single colour, i.e. non-metallic, non flip etc...

And what is paint oxidation?

Single Stage paint is just that. It has no extra coat applied to it like Clear Coated paint does.

Here's a link that can help explain the difference...

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7546

Paint oxidation is where the surface of the finish has dried out due to lack of proper cleaning; polishing & waxing, and exposure to the elements. This layer of dead paint has to be fully removed in order to bring out the proper shine & depth of the finish.

Even clear coated (two stage) paint can oxidize...

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4339