I can still feel some contamination after claybar

[spencers94]

Hey everyone,
Today I washed, clayed and waxed my moms 1999 Volvo and this was the very first time it had been clayed. It turned out very nice and I followed up with the Deep Crystal Carnauba Wax. Awesome results, but I grabbed a plastic sandwich bag to test after and I could still feel little bumps. I used the Simoniz claybar because it seems to be a bit more aggressive and it was probably necessary since the paint had a lot of gunk in it. I used the Gold Class Quik Detailer as my lube. Does anyone know why there are bumps remaining after claying? Do I need a more aggressive clay bar? A different product to get the rest of the stuff out?

[Mr. Slick]

Re: I can still feel some contamination after claybar

Maybe gold class has too much lubrication. I know ultimate does. Have you tried the regular quick detailer?

[spencers94]

Re: I can still feel some contamination after claybar

I've used the regular stuff (red bottle) but I stopped using it because it would streak a lot. I'll give the regular one a try again at some point and see if that helps.

[mcleod52]

Re: I can still feel some contamination after claybar

Maybe try a quick wash again after the clay bar. I know some people do that.

[The Guz]

Re: I can still feel some contamination after claybar

How long had it been since the car was clayed prior to claying this time?

[spencers94]

Re: I can still feel some contamination after claybar

Maybe try a quick wash again after the clay bar. I know some people do that.

That's what I did prior to checking the paint again. Even after waxing, the paint still felt a bit rough. It was much better though.

[spencers94]

Re: I can still feel some contamination after claybar

How long had it been since the car was clayed prior to claying this time?

This was the first time in it's life, so 17 years. I am not kidding. My parents took decent care of it and the paint still looks new, no oxidation of any kind, but it was never clayed. Just washed and waxed from time to time and then used a cleaner wax periodically to put fresh wax on.

[The Guz]

Re: I can still feel some contamination after claybar

It sounds like not all of it was removed considering it had not been clayed in that long. It would probably require a few more passes per panel to get rid of all that contamination.

[Priyaka]

Re: I can still feel some contamination after claybar

You may also want to consider decontaminating the paint using a product like Iron-X before claying. Iron-X will remove below surface contaminants in the paint, and also make the claying go easier and faster.

Also, Meguiar's makes an excellent clay bar.

http://www.meguiarsdirect.com//search/clay

[spencers94]

Re: I can still feel some contamination after claybar

You may also want to consider decontaminating the paint using a product like Iron-X before claying. Iron-X will remove below surface contaminants in the paint, and also make the claying go easier and faster.

Also, Meguiar's makes an excellent clay bar.

http://www.meguiarsdirect.com//search/clay

Oh ok. That sounds like a good idea. So for the process, do I wash and dry as usual and then apply/remove Iron-X and then clay/wax as I normally would?

[The Guz]

Re: I can still feel some contamination after claybar

Good article to read on ironx.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-articles/86146-aggressive-approach-washing-car.html

You don't necessarily need a foam gun when doing this.

I would go over the areas with clay once again since you already have that. The clay bar you have is actually a good one. The clay magic clay bar is a tad more aggressive than the clay bar in the Meguiar's clay bar kit. But not as aggressive as the mild Meguiar's clay bar. You might actually need a new clay bar.

[roushstage2]

Re: I can still feel some contamination after claybar

I was going to suggest, depending on the outcome of your second try, you might need to step up to the Meguiar's Mild Clay Bar (the blue one...C-2000 or something like that).

[Top Gear]

Re: I can still feel some contamination after claybar

I think, as excellent as Meguiar's clay and detailers are, there's only so much you can do with a piece of clay. It's also very easy to introduce scratches. Sure, you could work small areas with hot water first and then some careful but vigorous claying, but if you have a DA or can get or borrow one, compounding will be the next step to try. First you'd start light, and then do more passes as needed. That's a whole other area of discussion, but it will certainly work. If you use a general compound like Ultimate Compound/M105, or even a polish like Ultimate Polish/M205, and using a foam pad, you'll be hard pressed to do any damage, and instead you'll get "powered claying" for a baby smooth surface, although it will still be a lot of work. I realize you may not have all the gear, but we're here to help. The alternative is spending weeks of your free time breaking your fingers using clay and feeling like you're not doing it right, etc. Fortunately, once you get a baby smooth surface and are somewhat regularly using a DA, you'll probably never need to clay the whole car again.