How to remove it?

[radkonn]

I'm extremely new to the world of delailing, and I now have a new respect for professional detailers. I thought it was simply washing and waxing a car. Well, I've been reading through some posts, and I'm taking baby steps in the process. I don't have an orbital buffer so everything will be done by hand. The car is a 98 white Nissan Altima that has never been waxed up to this point. I washed the vehicle and clayed it, but I can't seem to remove all the surface contaminants. It almost looks like there is a thin grey dust on the paint. The clay seems to remove it if I spend enough time rubbing it, but it is hard to remove all of it. I'm planning on going to Pepboys or Autozone tomorrow and just need a product list. What products and steps should I do to it?
Thanks

[trubluscrew]

I'm defininately not a professional (just an enthusiast (sp?)). And I'm definately not the best on this board. But I'll give my 2 cents

Try using a more agressive clay, like Overspray clay (C-2100). If the regular clay (consumer line) is removing the "dust", but taking a lot of effort, the more aggressive clay should cut the time. The good news is that it is comming off. Unfortunately, your car is 7 years old, and that is lots of time to get contaminates into the paint. Keep us posted

[Lt1Corvette]

The clay should be removing the majority of the surface contamination. You most likely will have to do several passes over an area and feel free to give it a little muscle. Following that I would recommend going over the car with Scratch X. That will most likely remove the remainder of the contamination and give you a clean and smooth surface.
I did a 94 4runner about six months ago that hadn't been waxed in over 8 years and had been living outside by the beach. The initial passes with clay removed a good majority of the oxidation and contamination. However, it took a dedicated paint cleaner to completely restore the finish. Don’t forget you coat of polish and wax following the cleanup.
Good Luck

[radkonn]

Thanks for the quick replies. I just have a couple more questions..

1. Are you suppose to do the 5 step process everytime you detail your car?

2. They recommend using a paint cleaner with the clay bar in step two. What cleaner should I get? Is scratch X considered a cleaner?

3. Should I get a cleaner polish or pure polish for step 3? Does a cleaner polish negate the need for a paint cleaner in step 2?

4. I have the Gold Class Clear coat paste wax right now. I guess this is considered a polish/wax, so do I skip the polish? Sorry for all the questions, but I'm trying to learn.

Thanks again.

[Murr1525]

1. When you get your car to a good condition, and wash regularly, you will be able to cut down your steps 'every single detail'. You may need to do 2 'full' details, or even 3 to really get your car to its peak appearence. After that, I think a lot of people would wash every week or two, maybe wax once a month, then more of a full detail 2-3 months.

2. Yes, scratch X is a paint cleaner, and should be good for your car. Deep Ctrystal #1 is also a paint cleaner, but may not be 'strong' enough for your needs.

3. A cleaner polish can negate the need for a pure polish, though I am sure some of our 'car crazier' board members will use both. Deep Crystal #2 is a pure polish in the consumer line that you should be able to find. #83 is a very good cleaner polish from the professional line, though pep-boys, etc may not sell it.

4. It has some polishing ability, but I think most would consider it much more wax than polish. A polish will always make your results look better, though the white color of your car may not show as much of the difference as a darker color.

Hope this helps, or ask away some more..

[RamAirV1]

You are on the right track. Claying is very time consuming, and you are working on a neglected finish. So expect it to take longer than normal.

Claying is my least favorite detailing task, but it is a very necessary one, and it can take a lot of time! The suggestion to try overspray clay is a very good one.

RamAirV1

[radkonn]

I appreciate all the help. I went out and bought DC #1 and DC #2. I finished claying it yesterday before it got dark. It took me about 4 hours of scrubbing, but it came off. My shoulder feels like it is about to fall off. Sometimes I wonder if I'm using too much lube, or is that possible? I went through a whole bottle of QD and didn't want to use up my other bottle for lube, so I found some Zymoil detail that was on clearance, $1.25. I stocked up on it, so I can use that for lube and save QD for maintenance. This isn't my car; I just wanted to try detailing on a car before I do mine. I can't seem to get this **** off the front of my car and will probably need your advice. I'll post pics and questions about that one when I get done with this car.

Thanks again for the help....

[scrub]

Re: How to remove it?

Originally posted by radkonn
I washed the vehicle and clayed it, but I can't seem to remove all the surface contaminants. It almost looks like there is a thin grey dust on the paint. The clay seems to remove it if I spend enough time rubbing it, but it is hard to remove all of it.

Take a look at this thread. Overspray Removal - 56k Dial-up Warning!

Did the contaminants look like that? It sounds like some over spray from somewhere. Was your car ever in the body shop? If there was any type of spray painting around (whether at home or at work) the wind might have carried the paint mist to your ride. Nice huh?

[RamAirV1]

Yeah sounds like overspray, or maybe even raildust. You may not live near train tracks, but raildust can travel long distances. I have experienced a similar above surface contamination by driving near foundries. I have no idea what is happening there, but the results on my paint are similar to rail dust. I guess I will just call it foundry dust.

Your claying experience sounds just about right to me. Like I said, you are on the right track.

RamAirV1

[radkonn]

I finished the car and it looked better than I expected. It didn't take long to apply the cleaner, polish, and wax. The claying was the hard part. The owner of the car does live about a mile away from a rail road track. She has to drive by it everyday going to and from work.

[Murr1525]

Congratulations on a job well done....

Claying definately helps the other steps go faster in my opinion.. and if you work on her car more in the future, things should go even faster. Maintaining results is always easier than catching up. And the wax will help keep the raildust from being as much of a problem, though claying often will probably be nessecary.

Keep up the good work, and good luck with your car.

[RamAirV1]

Rail dust is one of the worst things to get on the finish of a car. As you can see it is very difficult (and time consuming) to remove. If it weren't for clay bars, we would have to remove a lot of paint to get rid of the rail dust.

RamAirV1