Re: Thanks. Sounds like i was not quite "anal" enough

On the encouragement of several here, and the promise from meguiar's that it is "safe",
i bought a clay kit from Meguiar's. It came with two "soap bars" of clay, a rag, and some spritzy-stuff.

Long story short - i got lots of scratches.

Short story longer:

1. The clay seemed much harder than i expected, and therefore less able to conform,and less able to embed dirt safely. Normal?

2. How often do i need to turn and kneed this stuff? Its not very soft, and about two passes and i have diirt in it. Maybe the car needs to be cleaner - i washed it, dried it, and left it (a few days admittedly) in the garage.

3. admittedly, it did remove a lot of stuff. After using swirl remover and waxing, all was well, but this is NOT what i signed up for per the directions.

Soooooo what say you? Par for the course? Something odd about the clay i got? just need to get the car even cleaner before use (chip fab facility maybe?)?

Grant

I haven't done it in a while but you need to wash the car first. Then the "spritzy-stuff" is sprayed on the car (panel by panel) and the clay slides on it. Have no spritzy then do no clay. I never had a problem. The clay seems to knock off the crud that sticks to the paint and soap does not wash off. So far I've avoided waxing anything for 3 years - maybe I'll wax something next year.

As Mark says, the lube spray is vital. There should never be any drag felt on the clay. If there is, that's a sign you're not using enough lube.

Up here in the frozen north, I have to clay my winter car every spring, in order to remove the crud left on/in the paint from the salt and sand-covered roads. I've never had anything but great results using clay.

I kneed the clay frequently - anytime I see dirt in it. The clay isn't roack hard, but it's nowhere near as soft as the stuff intended for children.

HTH.

its pretty hard and i need to kneed more.

My that was awkward to write.

I have used the MeGuiars clay several times, but try to do it when it's warm out. I use LOTS of Quick Detailer as the lube and do small sections at a time, folding and kneading often. If you drop it, toss it. Here is the result of my last effort:

i'm not good at - or interested in - this detailing stuff

... although, I just had my tranny and engine detailed with the greatest gizmo ever!
I have the dirtiest car with the cleanest powertrain!
More on this when I get the chance to write it up.

BEFORE
[i83.photobucket.com]

AFTER
[i83.photobucket.com]

Happy Boxstering,
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

---

Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

Minus 40 degrees... Is that Fahrenheit or Celsius?

Quote
grant
i'm not good at - or interested in - this detailing stuff

I don't like doing it either, I just like the results. I have some back issues, I wish I had a lift, just so I didn't have to bend over to clean it. By the time I wash, clay, wax, I can barely walk, but only do clay/wax twice a year.

I once met a Triple Black Boxster owner at an event and his motto was, " I wash it once a year, whether it needs it or not."

left car out in rain 2 hours

washed it with hose and mitt

left it out again to rinse, without minerals in city water

brought into garage very wet

spritzed, kneaded much more carefully, conformed clay to car while stationary (pushed on it), did entire car with water + spritz.

We shall see. I think this may come out much better. If minor scratching, i'll deal with it in the spring.

Shoulder surgery next week, so no more polishing for me!

Grant

What did you use and where did you purchase it from?

dghii
2000 Boxster S 6speed 112k miles

I've never left the car wet. I wash the car with hot water and Dawn (since I want to strip off any remaining wax) and dry it, then use the Quick Detailer and clay.

Let us know how your experiment goes.

so I also have used it as a wax remover.

for those who lost the story line - i scratched my car clay-ing. Asked advice.

yesterday it was raining. So i gave it a wash in the rain and left the rain to rinse it (rain is soft water and dries spot-free).

Clayed the whole car, lightly anyway.

Good news: no scratches

BAd news - the wax was still intact (since i made no effort to strip it) - so i didnt get all the contaminants. e.g.: tape residue from track markings is still there. But most of the dirt specks and lumps are gone.

So its a good safe way to do a barely adequate clay job. maybe an excellent way if i had stripped the wax off. next time.

Grant

Glad to see the good name of clay has been restored. Art Clokey would be relieved. Gumbasia - the Mother of all Clay Bars

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaZzRUc2C0A[/video]

I've used the Meguires and Mothers clay kits without issue more than a dozen times on six different cars (pcars, bmws, fords, alfa). I cannot understand what could have happened. There are different grades of clay available from different detailer vendors. The kits I bought were retail from Walmart or Pep Boys. Where did you get your kit? Did you take any pics of your scratches?

dghii
2000 Boxster S 6speed 112k miles

I bought my clay from Griots Garage and they recommend that you store it in the container and to wet it with Quik Detailer so that it doesn't get hard. It should be wet and pliable. A great product when used properly.

Quote
george g
I bought my clay from Griots Garage and they recommend that you store it in the container and to wet it with Quik Detailer so that it doesn't get hard. It should be wet and pliable. A great product when used properly.

I have been using various Griot's products for years and just ordered their clay and Speed Shine (their recommended lubricant) detailer kit. Soon to be used on SilverBox . In my prior use of clay on my other cars I have never had it scratch the paint.

Another good use of left over clay is to use it on your glass to remove small specks of sap and other residue. It can really make a difference.

I have done some reading about clay and found that different companies sell it in different consistencies. I gather from the Griots' ad that theirs is fairly soft. I use Zainos products including their clay and haven't had a problem with scratching. Theirs is fairly hard but will soften-up when kneaded and held in my hands to raise its temperature.

How I do it:

1. Wash the car and leave it wet.
2. Clay the car using soapy water as the lubricant. I could use their spritzy lube spray, but soapy water works just as well and is lots cheaper. I also do the windows at the same time.
3. When I clay it, I don't use much if any pressure and wipe it back and forth like I am polishing the metal. The amount of hand pressure I use on the bar is the same I use when dusting a tabletop w/ furniture polish. Even using light pressure, the clay picks up lots of hidden grime that washing doesn't get rid of.
4. I knead the bar anytime I see any residue.
5. I wash the car again and dry it.

If you want to see the difference between claying and not-claying, run your hand over a non-clayed surface, then clay it and run your hand the clayed surface; it will feel like you are touching glass.

...matches (sorta) what i backed into the hard way. Wish i had known it first.

I think the big difference is when i want to clay seriously, i need to really wash the car - as in - "get off the old wax".

But i think that leaving it wet is a very important precaution, and wet and soapy even better.

Grant

Minus 40 degrees... Is that Fahrenheit or Celsius?