- Joined
- Mar 19, 2021
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- Location
- Memphis TN
- Vehicle(s)
- 1988 BII , 2021 BL on order 3-19-21
It sounds like his bar picked up solid debris and that scratched the paint.good to know. I worked with a guy who owns a number of high-end Vettes, Camaro, challenger, etc. His cars are immaculate. He built a washing bay in his new garage...yeah...anal. He tried the clay bar on his challenger which was a year one modern and keeps it up on blocks except the nicest of days. Said it really messed up his paint. Had to get it pro-detailed to get the marks out, I'd wager he did something wrong...but after that, I've been very hesitant.
There's only a few of things you can do wrong.
You need to give it good wash, the clay pulls out what is either stuck on or into the paint. You don't want it loaded up with regular dirt and grime.
You need to use a lubricant, they make special sprays for that. I use a quick detailer spray.
You need to fold it in on itself to move the dirty part and get a clean section.
Last is if you drop it, throw it away.
The plastic bag test will convince you.
IMHO, the big deal is that the clay gets the dirt out that washing doesn't. If you try to polish without doing the clay your polishing pad might pull that dirt loose and then you are going to swirl your paint. You can get those swirls out through more steps of polishing but doing a clay on the paint will help prevent that.
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