What Is This? - Claying Related

[Marc08EX]

I've probably encountered this 3 times already and it's driving me nuts... Before I clay the car, I don't see any visual embedded contaminants but I can definitely feel them in the paint. So I start to clay the car and spots like these instantly show up!!!





Please remember I don't see these things before I clay the car... It only shows up after I do a first claying pass...

It makes my clay look like this:



Do you guys know what this is and why does it only show up after the first claying pass? I can get rid of them but it requires multiple passes.

Thanks!

[davey g-force]

Re: What Is This? - Claying Related

Strange - can you feel them with your hand once they "appear"?

[Marc08EX]

Re: What Is This? - Claying Related

Strange - can you feel them with your hand once they "appear"?

I'm not sure as I've never tried doing so. I'm sure I would be able to because they're like embedded dirt sitting on the paint surface. Multiple passes of the clay takes them out but it deteriorates the clay soooo fast...

[G_S_DB]

Re: What Is This? - Claying Related

So you can feel the bumps but can't see them until you clay. I would have to guess that the bumps would be some sort of sap-like material that collects the regular dirt from the clay as you drag it across the sticky stuff. So:

Dirt on paint > Clay > Dirt on Clay >Wipe Clay on Bumps > Dirt on Bumps

So really all your doing is making the invisible visible with the dirt from the clay.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: What Is This? - Claying Related

So you can feel the bumps but can't see them until you clay. I would have to guess that the bumps would be some sort of sap-like material that collects the regular dirt from the clay as you drag it across the sticky stuff. So:

Dirt on paint > Clay > Dirt on Clay >Wipe Clay on Bumps > Dirt on Bumps

So really all your doing is making the invisible visible with the dirt from the clay.

This does seem to make some sense, especially considering Marc is in the Phoenix area and the residue on the clay looks exactly like the sandy dust blowing around there. Heck, when I was leaving Barrett-Jackson on the last day back in January (a very windy day, I might add) I was walking through the parking lot looking for the back of the Meguiar's Tahoe (black with a large Meguiar's logo on the liftgate) and every car was the same color - tan. With the wind blowing so hard it literally coated the back of every car in a thick layer of this sandy dust. The Meguiar's logo on the back of our Tahoe was completely obscured.

It's no stretch to think some of that stuff becomes embedded in the paint over time. Why it shows up when you start claying probably has something to do with it collecting together to some degree during the claying process. It's unusual, but it could happen.

[Marc08EX]

Re: What Is This? - Claying Related

So you can feel the bumps but can't see them until you clay. I would have to guess that the bumps would be some sort of sap-like material that collects the regular dirt from the clay as you drag it across the sticky stuff. So:

Dirt on paint > Clay > Dirt on Clay >Wipe Clay on Bumps > Dirt on Bumps

So really all your doing is making the invisible visible with the dirt from the clay.

Hmmm it seems that the consensus is some sap like material. Maybe it's what it is. However, I always use a clean part of the clay or re-knead it at least to ensure a clean surface of clay is being used. Once I make the first claying pass then those little brown specks show up and my clay turns brown fast.

This does seem to make some sense, especially considering Marc is in the Phoenix area and the residue on the clay looks exactly like the sandy dust blowing around there. Heck, when I was leaving Barrett-Jackson on the last day back in January (a very windy day, I might add) I was walking through the parking lot looking for the back of the Meguiar's Tahoe (black with a large Meguiar's logo on the liftgate) and every car was the same color - tan. With the wind blowing so hard it literally coated the back of every car in a thick layer of this sandy dust. The Meguiar's logo on the back of our Tahoe was completely obscured.

It's no stretch to think some of that stuff becomes embedded in the paint over time. Why it shows up when you start claying probably has something to do with it collecting together to some degree during the claying process. It's unusual, but it could happen.

Thanks for the response Mike!!!

Funny you said that Mike because we just had a big dust storm last night where a huge wall of dust swept through the city engulfing anything in its path. Black cars looked brown on the road LOL! I'll post a picture tonight of what our car looks like.

Anyway, this also happened to our Altima which we bought from California. The most prominent areas where it had this was the roof, trunk and the whole rear end. I really thought it was either rail dust or embedded metal particles stuck on the paint pretty good. They looked like tiny rust spots... I'm just not sure. The one on the yellow mustang didn't look like that. It looked like brown dirt. Could dirt/sand stick to the paint like that? Also, what makes it invisible at first?

[davey g-force]

Re: What Is This? - Claying Related

Once you have taken care of the brown spots by claying, is it the same spots that show up next time? Or new ones?

I'm still perplexed by this one...

[Michael Stoops]

Re: What Is This? - Claying Related

Funny you said that Mike because we just had a big dust storm last night where a huge wall of dust swept through the city engulfing anything in its path. Black cars looked brown on the road LOL! I'll post a picture tonight of what our car looks like.

You aren't kidding Marc - I just saw some incredible video and time lapse images of that dust storm.... incredible stuff!!!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43650426/ns/weather/

And Davey G-Force, with you being in Sydney you know all too well how a dust storm can turn day into night. Happened to you guys not all that long ago, right?

[davey g-force]

Re: What Is This? - Claying Related

And Davey G-Force, with you being in Sydney you know all too well how a dust storm can turn day into night. Happened to you guys not all that long ago, right?

Indeed it did Mike!

It's not all that common - I think it was in September 2009. It happens when there's a combination of very dry conditions and very strong westerly winds.

Here's a photo of our Harbour Bridge during the dust storm:



And here's what happened to my car - PARKED IN AN UNDER COVER PARKING LOT!







And the obligatory "after" shot:

[davey g-force]

Re: What Is This? - Claying Related

Wow, those Phoenix dust storm images are unbelievable!

[Tuck91]

Re: What Is This? - Claying Related

I have a client that rides down a dirt road every day for hours and I do his Jeep a couple times a year.

You can wash it for as long and as hard as you want but I would still pull sand/dirt out of the finish onto the claybar.

Marc, I think your just pulling up a lot of embedded dirt in the finish, which is a good thing.

I need to pick up some of that IronX stuff, the pictures on other forums do look quite impressive.

[juliom2]

Re: What Is This? - Claying Related

have you noticed the bumps lifting the paint.......????

[Marc08EX]

Re: What Is This? - Claying Related

You aren't kidding Marc - I just saw some incredible video and time lapse images of that dust storm.... incredible stuff!!!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43650426/ns/weather/

Mike going a little off topic here but here are some pictures of our car after the dust storm. Our area didn't get hit as bad as what you see in the video..






The area around my work got hit pretty bad... Here's a picture of a black Toyota Prius I came across in the parking lot:





Nasty stuff right?!

And Davey, I didn't know that Sydney gets dust storms as well!!

[Marc08EX]

Re: What Is This? - Claying Related

I have a client that rides down a dirt road every day for hours and I do his Jeep a couple times a year.

You can wash it for as long and as hard as you want but I would still pull sand/dirt out of the finish onto the claybar.

Marc, I think your just pulling up a lot of embedded dirt in the finish, which is a good thing.

I need to pick up some of that IronX stuff, the pictures on other forums do look quite impressive.

Yeah it's indeed a lot of embedded dirt. I also want to try out IronX to see whether it's rail dust or not. Do you think I can spray Sonax FE on the paint since it's pH neutral anyway?

have you noticed the bumps lifting the paint.......????

I'm sorry but what do you mean by this?