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Spring cleaning: Clay your car (pics)

ImolaR

Ready to race!
Location
Florida
Decided after having the car for 1.5yrs and not having compounded it, that it was time to do some paint correction. Did a bunch of research on claying cars, you can watch AMMO NYC's fantastic Youtube videos for great advice on when and how to do any kind of car detailing.

It was a very simple job, clean the car thoroughly, then section by section follow the instructions on the packaging. It takes some time and effort, but not as much as hand waxing the car, which Ive done many times. I was finished with the entire job in about 1.5hrs, from dirty to dry.

Here are some photos, Im very happy with the results! (car has no wax on it in the photos.)

I bought a kit from Mothers, came with two bars of wax and the instant detailer, which is used as a lubricant for the clay (post claying).















 

EmptyHeaded

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
enSUNitas
Looks great!

Even better, decontaminate with Iron X and THEN clay. ;) And make sure you get some sort of protectant (wax, sealer, ceramic coating) on there so you don't end up with even more contaminants.
 

KevinC

Autocross Champion
Location
The land of Wyatt Earp & Doc Holliday
Car(s)
'19 Golf R, '21 M2c
Looks absolutely fantastic! I used to have a Scirocco 16V in T-red.. love the color.

Is T-red clear coated today? There was a time in the past when it was not. It looks like you have red paint on the clay, which would imply that it's not. Not a bad thing IMHO, but I'm curious if it's still the case today.. anyone know for sure?
 

EmptyHeaded

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
enSUNitas
The "red paint" you see on the clay is iron deposits.

Generally, iron buildup on cars is especially prevelant in large cities due to large amounts of metal 'dust' in the air. Also, if the OP never decontaminated his car since it was purchased, what you're seeing on the clay may likely be rail dust from being transported (or if he lives close to an area with trains).

I usually decontaminate my cars once a year. My practice is to give the car a good wash and rinse, then spray down with Iron X and rinse again, light clay (which usually gives fairly minimal results if the Iron X did its job), a final wash and rinse then use whatever protectant I'm feeling at the time.
 

rr1santos

Ready to race!
Location
san diego
i thought you want to clay then iron x??
 

ImolaR

Ready to race!
Location
Florida
Thanks all.

Not sure if theres a clear coat on the car, I would imagine that there is.

I am currently living close the major rail line on the East Coast of FL, trains go by about twice a day bringing up all kinds of stuff from the Port Of Miami and Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale. Yes this is the first time Ive performed any kind of paint decontamination to the car. I know you aren't supposed to preform any right away because they paint needs time to fully off gas and cure (not 1.5yrs though lol).
 

EmptyHeaded

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
enSUNitas
i thought you want to clay then iron x??
Nope, definitely Iron X first. Depending on the severity of the contaminants, you may even be able to skip claying after a thorough spray down. If anything, it will definitely cut down your claying time.

I am currently living close the major rail line on the East Coast of FL, trains go by about twice a day bringing up all kinds of stuff from the Port Of Miami and Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale.
Dude, yeah... no wonder you've got so much buildup!! Trains are obvious offenders for kicking up iron dust. Do yourself a favor and invest in some Iron X. Your car (and your aching back) will love you for it! :)
 

ImolaR

Ready to race!
Location
Florida
Dude, yeah... no wonder you've got so much buildup!! Trains are obvious offenders for kicking up iron dust. Do yourself a favor and invest in some Iron X. Your car (and your aching back) will love you for it! :)

Will do, thanks! The car is moving to NYC, but will be used about 1/10th as much. Of course subways and other nasty stuff will be around so it may be worse up there..just looking around in a station or on the subways cars you can see the orange dust. Its literally everywhere.
 

skr9

New member
Location
Boston, MA
Looks very shiny - good results. I've used the clay prior to detailing on previous cars and always happy with the results.
I live next to Logan airport here in Boston, so I get dust/contamination of a different kind, but always keep to keep the car as clean as polished as I can. Thanks for the tips!
 

EmptyHeaded

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
enSUNitas
Additionally, @ImolaR, DEFINITELY get some sort of protectant on your paint. Iron build-up is a bad thing for any sort of paintjob, so you want to make sure you're doing what you can to keep it protected once you've cleaned.

I would recommend a sealant like Blackfire Wet Diamond or a liquid wax like Collinite 845. Both are reasonably easy to apply, are durable (the Collinite more so than the BWD), and will give you good paint protection for a good 6-9 months.
 

nate704

Go Kart Champion
Location
Virginia
Will do, thanks! The car is moving to NYC, but will be used about 1/10th as much. Of course subways and other nasty stuff will be around so it may be worse up there..just looking around in a station or on the subways cars you can see the orange dust. Its literally everywhere.

Sorry to hear that. don't expect any clean car in NYC.
 

alexspeed3

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
USA, Illinois
Learning a lot from this discussion. Is what you refer as sealant same as wax?

To properly do a detail I am understanding the following:
Rinse
Ironx
Rinse
Clay
Sealant then wax?
 
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