How many times should...

[buzznode]

I have to clay the same area?

I've got a Ford Fusion that's 7 months old. I'm doing the ziploc-baggy on my hand test after each round with the clay bar. So far I've done 5 rounds with the clay bar and still have some grit feeling when I run the bag over the area.

It is definitely is better than a non-treated area, but should it take working a given area this many times?

I've also noticed that the clay isn't really getting very dirty. How much pressure should I be applying? Should I use back & forth motions are circles or a combination of both?

I'm using Meg's Smooth Surface Clay & Quick detailer. Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[Aeolis]

Re: How many times should...

When I clay i go over everything once. work for a few min every panel. It shouldnt take forever to clay a car. few times back and forth and it should turn to glass. a brand new car shoulnt be rough to the touch. possibly more pressure?

[Fly Bye]

Re: How many times should...

7 months old.


I've done 5 rounds with the clay bar and still have some grit feeling when I run the bag over the area.

[Bill Davidson]

Re: How many times should...



Something seems strange. You should only have to clay a vehicle once. Maybe 4-5 passes over the same inch, while working the clay (if it isn't too contaminated). You likely shouldn't need anything more aggressive than smooth surface clay for a 7 month old car.

I'm wondering if your vehicle was perhaps repainted or if there was perhaps a mishap during the paint job. Is it like this on all the panels?

You can pretty much press on the clay as hard as you want, as long as the clay is able to retain a pancake type shape and you are providing enough lubrication that the clay is not sticking as you work it.

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: How many times should...

This should not be happening. Are you using enough lube?
You say the clay is not dirty after you pass over a area. I wonder if you are not using enough pressure?

I would use more qd, keep your work area small about 2 foot square, and apply more pressure in using the clay. Go over each area 5-6 times. Then wipe dry.

Hope this helps.

[Fly Bye]

Re: How many times should...

You can pretty much press on the clay as hard as you want, and you are providing enough lubrication that the clay is not sticking as you work it.

I would use more qd, and apply more pressure in using the clay. Go over each area 5-6 times.

[FinalTouchDetail]

Re: How many times should...

Are you sure it isn't an area that is at the beginnings of clearcoat failure? That will feel very rough, will never clean up with clay, and will not dirty the claybar.

Edit - I see that it's 7 months old, so clearcoat failure is very unlikely.

Is there anything that you can visually see in the area that is giving you trouble?
Are you having success claying other portions of the car?
Use moderate amounts of pressure, not like you're scrubbing, but also not like you're just letting it slide over the surface.

[buzznode]

Re: How many times should...

First off, thanks for the responses everyone.

Here's some additional information that might help explain what's going on...

Granted the car is only 7 months old, but it travels quite a distance to and from work. First my wife drove it to her job and now I'm driving it. Any ways the car has 15,000 miles on it already.

The area I was cleaning was the front part of the hood (on a Fusion the very front of the hood has a fairly steep slope for about 3"). I assume that since the car is driven about 90% of the time at highway speeds that contaminants are being slammed into the front of the car and "sticking" more-so in that area than anywhere else.

Since I was obsessing about it throughout the night, I got up at 5:30 this morning and continued working on the car.

With more rounds the area is still improving and is really pretty good. I have also started applying a bit more pressure AND using a lot more QD.

On a side note, the back area of the hood (by the windshield) cleaned up very nice and IS smooth. I've also made 1 pass over one of the front quarter panels and it feels really good too, although I'll probably do a second round where I still feel some grit right at the wheel well.

So all that being said, I think part of the issue is the amount of grit that has built up on the front of the car, but also my lack of claying experience. This IS the first time I've ever clayed.

Thanks again for all your help and I'm sure I'll be asking more questions as I progress through the detailing process.

[Murr1525]

Re: How many times should...

It may be a situation where a little stronger clay would have made the job easier, but no way to know until you try.

The Detailer Line Mild Clay is a little stronger, but probably no need to go buy it since you are making progress.

And if you keep up with it now in the future, should not be as hard to clay in the future either.

[FinalTouchDetail]

Re: How many times should...

Without ordering new product you could also try the claymagic claybar which can be had at most local stores.

In the future you could consider ordering a more aggressive clay from the detailer line that Meguiar's carries.

[xantonin]

Re: How many times should...

If the clay bar is returning clean, then the surface of the paint simply isn't flat and polished. It's a rough surface, but a clean rough surface.

This is sort of "normal" depending on the paint job. My father had his front bumper repainting, and it was like this as they had used a blended spray painted method, and didn't clear coat it.

I have to clay a 7 year old car's roof about 5 times, and each time I folded in the clay bar it came back dirty again.

Eventually I gave up and figured if it wasn't clean after that many times, the pad will just have to absorb it. The roof was significantly smoother but not as smooth as my car.

Anyway I went ahead and polished it anyway, and the buffer seemed to smooth it out now. I'm sure the car was NEVER detailed or clayed so the surface was likely similar to the rocky mountains

Upon closer inspection of the car I was talking about, the paint seemed to have a lot of "pits" in it that were preventing it from being smooth. Could have been rock chips, or some a dust storm, or something. Either way, polishing fixed it.

[bmrfan]

Re: How many times should...

Its possible something has really "bonded" to your Fusion's paint and you may need more "aggressive" clay.

*** WARNING *** Aggressive clays WILL haze paint while removing the bonded contaminants - plan on additional polishing steps.

A friend's car was parked near a parking lot that was having the parking lines repainted. Fine drops of paint landed on his car and essentially "cured" onto the clearcoat.

We tried "mild" clay and it removed 75% of the paint drops.

Next we used Meguiar's "aggressive" clay and removed another 20% of the paint drops.

After using the "aggressive" clay, the clearcoat had some haziness which was corrected with M80 (I didn't have any M105 at the time).

[Fly Bye]

Re: How many times should...

If the clay bar is returning clean, then the surface of the paint simply isn't flat and polished. It's a rough surface...

Clay is supposed to make cleaning/buffing the paint easier. Just because a finish is not flat, doesn't mean that a clay bar will not pick up bonded contaminates.

but a clean rough surface.

If the surface is clean, then there is no need to clay.

[Markus Kleis]

Re: How many times should...

Before you buy anything else, try doing it again with plenty of lubrication and lots of pressure. Really stubborn contaminants can sometime require an exasperating amount of pressure to remove.

As long as the area is plenty wet, don't be afraid to use some pressure.

[fullbirdmusic]

Re: How many times should...

Before you buy anything else, try doing it again with plenty of lubrication and lots of pressure. Really stubborn contaminants can sometime require an exasperating amount of pressure to remove.

As long as the area is plenty wet, don't be afraid to use some pressure.

I thought that while claying, we didn't have to use pressure to pick up the contaminants? Whenever I use a bit of pressure, the clay likes to stick, no matter how much lubrication.
Does it really make more of a difference? I mean, it makes sense, I'm just wondering!