Claying just ruined my paint.

[dbizzaro]

Hey,

I just clayed the right rear panel of my car using the clay magic kit and it totally ruined my paint. I don't know what to do. Please help!!! I have the porter cable video and of course the porter cable orbiter. I also have speed glaze 80. After I clayed the panel I knew something was wrong so I tried to buff out the problem with the speed glaze. It helped but this is going to take forever to get out.
Any suggestions Please.
I posted a photo on my website

http://www.dbem.net/car/clay.jpg

Thank you, D

P.S. Whats the next polish up from Speed glaze 80

[SL1CK]

Re: Claying just ruined my paint.

I can't really tell whats wrong from the picture? Can you describe what its like?

[Phalcon51]

Re: Claying just ruined my paint.

Can you be a little more specific about how it ruined your paint? What steps did you use to clay the paint? What did it do to the paint? A picture of the paint under a halogen or zenon light or just sunlight might provide a better photo of the damage.

[dbizzaro]

Re: Claying just ruined my paint.

It didn't scratch the paint it scuffed the paint. I wish I could get a better photo of it. I just adjusted the photo to try to bring out more of the problem. By the way this car is a 2006 Escalade.

[sneek]

Re: Claying just ruined my paint.

I'm going to guess that you purchased the aggresive clay?

[matt colvin]

Re: Claying just ruined my paint.

Either you used an aggressive clay or didn't keep the clay kneeded to a clean area. What did you use as a lubricant? I'm assuming that the clay magic kit comes with a quick detail spray of some sort.

More info please. Also, if possible, a little bit better picture (angle wise) would be great help.

The next most aggressive cleaner polish is #83

Edit: I just saw where you said you did just one panel, so hopefully the clay being clean shouldn't be an issue.

[roushstage2]

Re: Claying just ruined my paint.

It looks like you didn't use enough lubricant, and the clay started to rub off on the paint.

[kellyinkc]

Re: Claying just ruined my paint.

Looks like not enough lube to me. I use a LOT when claying.

[dbizzaro]

Re: Claying just ruined my paint.

I think I might have picked up a little dust on the clay but I never thought this would contaminate the clay. If I did what should my next step be? Should I use more #80 or should I go to #83.

[kellyinkc]

Re: Claying just ruined my paint.

Try some clay again. Use lots of lube and clay the area again. Knead the clay and form a pancake. Always us the least aggressive product first.

[BlueZero]

Re: Claying just ruined my paint.

Make sure you wash your car before you clay. Get off all the lose dirt and grit, and use lots of lube.

Hope it works out for you.

[Phalcon51]

Re: Claying just ruined my paint.

A little more info is still required. What color clay magic clay did you use? What steps did you take before and during using the clay? Did you wash the car first? Did you spray the area with any type of clay lube or quick detailer or soapy water before you rubbed the clay on the paint? Did you knead the clay into a flat pancake shape first? How much pressure did you apply when rubbing the clay? Did you feel the area go from slightly rough, or a little drag on the clay to smooth and friction free and then move on to the next area?

What is your overall plan for the car? Are you doing all the polishing by hand, or do you have a Porter Cable random orbital polisher with foam finishing pads? Which products are you planning to use?

Understand that clay is slightly to moderately abrasive depending on the grade of clay you use. This can slightly dull or haze the finish, but on a very minor scale. Using a PC (Porter Cable) is probably the best way for an enthusiast to bring the paint back to a better than showroom shine.

The hazing you see on your paint may be from rubbing the clay too dry, which may actually leave some clay behind on the paint, or rubbing dirty clay with excessive pressure. If you used an aggressive grade of clay, or too much pressure, the hazing will be more noticeable. Either way, the proper grade of polish (with diminishing abrasives) used with the proper equipment and technique should solve your problem. You can do it by hand, but it's an awful lot of work. If you don't have a PC, consider getting one if you're serious about bringing your finish to the next level (Meguiars sells one with a lifetime guarantee). Ask specific questions here, and give as much info as possible and the people on this forum will get you on the right track.

[JG_Detailing]

Re: Claying just ruined my paint.

It looks like you didn't use enough lub on it. That happened to me before. All I did it spray form lub on and the clay was removed from the paint.

[Chex]

Re: Claying just ruined my paint.

I do agree that maybe that was done in a surfas with little lubrication and not very clean at all, so it all depends on how large the dust particles were to know what to use, because even though clay is amazing, using it improperly will make it behave like sandpaper.

Question:

I did know aggressive clay needs to have a polishing step after being used, but is it because it is mildly abrasive? or because the chemicals used in it are stronger and "dry" the paint? because as far as I know, clay bars are not abrasive

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Claying just ruined my paint.

At this point, just to be on the careful side, wash the car and then inspect the finish, if you see clay hazing, or any kind of scratching or micro-marring from your claying process, then do a Test Spot to a small area using a cleaner/polish by machine, or a paint cleaner by hand and see if you can fix one small area, if you can then duplicate this process over the entire car. If you can't then come back here and we'll continue to troubleshoot till we see you through to success.