Not happy with my detail, will this help???

[jeffsford]

Ok I am trying to do a detail job for my wifes 04 honda civic. Never had a detail and we were pretty bad about bringing it to the car wash. Well I caught the detail bug last week and spent a pretty penny so far and getting some supplies.

She has either a lot of dust or overspray all over her car. Spent a good 2 hours claying just her hood, then used colorX then a coat of NXT 2.0. Was going over it yesterday and didn't really look as good as I want it to. Still had a few light swirls and scratches and water marks that I think could be done better.

Still was a little gritty so I ordered the middle of the 3 clays, and was wondering if I reclay the car, then apply Deep Crystal paint cleaner, followed by the DC polish, then a coat of NXT, will this help me out?

How aggressive do I need to be when applying the paint cleaner?

Also can I rub the clay too hard or is the middle clay still a safe clay to be aggressive with? Thanks again and hope everyone is enjoying there weekend.

[Murr1525]

Re: Not happy with my detail, will this help???

If you are still feeling gritty after the clay, it may be the clay you need to apply with more passion / use the more agressive clay.

The paint cleaner should be applied with passion to remove swirls, not remove grittiness.

[PorscheGuy997]

Re: Not happy with my detail, will this help???

What color clay did you start with? After claying, what color did the clay pick up?

If the paint is still rough, go ahead and clay it again. You can clay the paint as many times as you need to get the paint smooth.

The Smooth Surface kit (white) and mild (blue) clay will not marre the paint when used properly. The aggressive clay will add some slight marring, but it removes heavy overspray, tar, and tough bonded contaminants. If the Smooth Surface and mild clays are not working, use the aggressive clay.

I really don't see the reason to rub harder on the paint. It's better to make multiple light passes than press harder.

Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner is very mild - less than ScratchX and definately less than ColorX.

Your best bet would be to pick up some ScratchX and work that by hand. If that does not work, M105 will definately help with the defects. It may take multiple passes to fix using quite a bit of effort. Since M105 is fairly aggressive, follow it up with ScratchX to remove any hazing.

[jeffsford]

Re: Not happy with my detail, will this help???

[quote=PorscheGuy997;254911]What color clay did you start with? After claying, what color did the clay pick up?
quote]

I first used the clay from the kit. I just ordered the mild one.

So the Deep Crystal paint cleaner would be a waste of money if I already have ColorX or would it be still be useful since ideally I am trying to get the best shine I can get?

If so I guess I would just need more elbow grease with the colorX.

[Murr1525]

Re: Not happy with my detail, will this help???

DC#1 and ColorX applied with some passion will end up pretty similar.

Its really a matter of:

- If the surface feels gritty, you need a stonger clay, or to do more passes / apply more pressure with the mild clay.

- If the surface needs swirls/defects removed, you need a stronger paint cleaner for that such as ScratchX of #105.

- Or both.

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: Not happy with my detail, will this help???

I realize its a lot of work. If after using the c-2000 clay the paint still feels rough, I would get the scratch-x. You might be able to just do the roof, hood and trunk.. It may take multiple passes, but the results will speak for themselves.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Not happy with my detail, will this help???

Spent a good 2 hours claying just her hood,

Also can I rub the clay too hard or is the middle clay still a safe clay to be aggressive with?

Yes you can rub too hard with any clay and instill scratches, you want to be careful when you come across bonded contaminants that are not coming off easily.

Try shrinking your work area down, that is work a smaller section with the Mild Clay your ordered and see if you get better results.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Not happy with my detail, will this help???

So the Deep Crystal paint cleaner would be a waste of money if I already have ColorX or would it be still be useful since ideally I am trying to get the best shine I can get?

If so I guess I would just need more elbow grease with the ColorX.

Or get some M105 Ultra Cut Compound as it will work better and faster for cleaning paint by hand. Will probably help with anything the clay isn't getting off the paint too.