I am soooo bummed out. For some reason I have horrible scratches in my claercoat from the clay bar. I used a clay Magic bar with plenty of lube. I waxed it right after( after I washed it a 2nd time). It looks like (the scratches) I used a wax with a heavy cleaner in it. I used Meguiar’s Gold Class. I have no idea what to do. Can I get the scratches out, or is hiding them my only "solution"? I read a bunch of the archives and I could not find anyone who has scratched their Mini up with the clay. I did not drop it. The day I did it it was about 65 Degrees out. :???:

 

This is rare. If you used the blue Clay Magic bar, it's a fine grade and made for consumer use.

My guess is that the scratches are pretty fine and are slight surface damage only. In this case, all you need to do is polish with a scratch remover polish formula and then use a fine polish to restore full gloss.

In my line I'd recommend Autoglym Paint Renovator followed by Super Resin Polish.

db

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I had a similar experience too. Fortunately, I stopped immediately when it happened. I think I had accumulated too much grit in the clay but it was too hard to kneed (Mcquire). Are there other softer, maliable clay?

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There are many different grades of clay and two different technology bases: plastic and elastic. You can tell the difference because the elastic clays stretch, whereas the plastic clays break off when you pull them. They both seem to do the job equally well.

If you want a really soft formula, try Mothers. The clay I carry is a fine grade with medium softness (it's easy to mold, but not mushy).

In my experience, the hard clays are more likely to scratch if they get overloaded with contamination or pickup a hard bit of grit, and the soft clays are more likely to leave behind clay smudges.

db

 

I've used Griots Garage clay with their SpeedShine as lubricant & have never had any problems. The GG stuff is usually a bit more expensive, but most of it is worth it. Sorry about your scratches- the advice about polishes is right on the money. Be sure to start off with a "fine" polish & see if that does the job- "grittier" polishes will do more to your paint than you probably want/need.

 

Polish will not remove your scratches, it will only "fill" them or cover them. For a better and more permamnent approach to your problem I highly recommend getting a tube of Meguiar's Scratch X Remover. This stuff sells for about $7 at any autoparts store and it really works at removing fine scratches and swirl marks from the clearcoat. You can apply the paste by sections at a time and you can apply it to the entire car if you wish. You may have to do 3 to 4 coats to see results. Lots of elbow grease but worth it.

I also use the Clay Magic Bar (I am preparing my '02 Cooper for tonight's Junior Orange Bowl Parade in Miami) and have never had any problems. It seems to me that your clay bar may have accidentally fallen on the ground when you were using it, thus picking up a lot of dirt and then leaving marks on the clearcoat when you resumed using it. Remember that if ANY clay bar falls to the ground you have to discard it immediately becuase it can damage your finish. Also you need to rework or re-shape the clay bar as you go. The idea is to prevent embedded dirt from scratching the clearcoat as you work on the vehicle. Use plenty of lube (Use the supplied bottle solution not just plain tap water).


other problem areas that can cause scratches are a car not properly washed, polishes or waxes that are too abbrasive (I only use Zymol or Zaino Bros products, Zaino system is the best IMO) and cloths or wax applicators that are not 100% cotton. Dirty rags can also cause a plethora of problems.

Don't panic, you can eliminate your scratches (Provided they are not deep ones or beyond 1500 grit grade) with the Meguiar's stuff. Buy a new claybar and make sure to get 100% cotton terry towels (Sparkly clean).

Good luck!

 

Thanks all for the advice!
I have been wondering what I could have done because as I said, I did not drop the bar. I think what I may have done wrong is that after I washed it with Dawn I did not dry the car and just sprayed the lube on the wet car. That is the only thing I can think of. ??
It will have to wait until spring before I get back to it.

 

I have a question about the clay bar process...

I have a "grit" on the horizontal surface of my rear bumper. Is the purpose of the clay bar to remove this? It looks clean but feels gritty...

 

>>I have a question about the clay bar process...
>>
>>I have a "grit" on the horizontal surface of my rear bumper. Is the purpose of the clay bar to remove this? It looks clean but feels gritty...


Yes, this is exactly the purpose of clay. If you want to know more about clay, Read This..

db

 

Fine Scratches are no fun.

You Need to get yourself the 3M Perfect-It Show Car Finish System.
It'll be worth EVERY dime spent.

If you are determined to get the showroom shine...
----------Remove compound swirl marks using a rotary buffer and 3M™ Finesse-It™ II Finishing Material 39003, 3M™ perfect-It™ Backup Pad 05718, and 3M™ perfect-It™ Plus Foam Compounding Pad 05737. --------------
I would use 3M all the time, especially when I did a 5 hour detail prep before a big show. I believe 3M offers some of THE best car care products in the world, I've been given all sorts of complimentary detailing products from everyone from Private Lables, Mothers, Zaino, Turtle, etc etc etc... none have compared to the finish and quality of 3M ( and I pay retail for 3M )
Freebies are nice, but only if they produce.

Here is the link for any sort of 3M product info you'd be looking for

{EDITED}
Go HERE ---> www21.3m.com/detail
{EDITED}
I really hope this helps

and no, I am not a 3M representative, dealer or even own the company.
I just use their product religiously

- WCC

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>>Fine Scratches are no fun.
>>
>>You Need to get yourself the 3M Perfect-It Show Car Finish System.
>>It'll be worth EVERY dime spent.
>>
>>If you are determined to get the showroom shine...
>>----------Remove compound swirl marks using a rotary buffer and 3M™ Finesse-It™ II Finishing Material 39003, 3M™ perfect-It™ Backup Pad 05718, and 3M™ perfect-It™ Plus Foam Compounding Pad 05737. ---------------www21.3m.com/dr/v2/ec_MAIN.Entry10?SP=10023&PN=1&xid=28181&am p;V1=559729&DSP=&CUR=840&PGRP=0&CA CHE_ID=0
>>
>>I would use 3M all the time, especially when I did a 5 hour detail prep before a big show. I believe 3M offers some of THE best car care products in the world, I've been given all sorts of complimentary detailing products from everyone from Private Lables, Mothers, Zaino, Turtle, etc etc etc... none have compared to the finish and quality of 3M ( and I pay retail for 3M )
>>Freebies are nice, but only if they produce.
>>
>>Here is the link for any sort of 3M product info you'd be looking for
>>www21.3m.com/detail.
>>
>>I really hope this helps
>>
>>and no, I am not a 3M representative, dealer or even own the company.
>>I just use their product religiously
>>
>>- WCC
I can't get the 3M site to work.

 

Ditto on the 3M advice. I've had a professional ding man work on my Cooper, and most of the prep or scratch removal compounds he was using were 3M. He had them in unmarked plastic bottles but when I worked him for what they really were, he let on. It's spendy stuff but I've seen it in action, and there are no other off-the-shelf products available that will do what their stuff will do any better. The hard part is finding someone local who carries it.

 

I re-edited my post above.

Go to 3M's Site
Order there.

The link was too long, their url's have a lot of code, and I probably linked it wrong...

Anyway here it is...

input it manually.

http://www21.3m.com/detail

Good Luck!

-WCC