Hello all,
I am going to try claying my MINI soon. I have read that you can use regular soap and water when claying as the lubricant- anyone have experience doing this? I saw it on the autopia website:
http://www.autopia-carcare.com/inf-clay.html
I also assume that it is best to wash the car with Dawn or a similar soap that will remove all the wax before claying? One last question- will clay remove hard water spots? I'm a bit nervous about claying for the first time as I sure would hate to screw something up. Looking forward to the responses.

 

If you need more info on claying your MC or MCS. The best person to contact is Richard (OctaneGuy) Why don't you PM him.

 

First of all, Claying and the use of Dawn are two separate issues. Use Dawn if you want to strip the carnauba off your car in prep for a new wax or sealant. It's not necessary to remove the wax for Claying.

To clay you can use a quick detailer or a quality auto shampoo as a lubricant. I prefer shampoo because it's cheaper, and if you are doing a whole car, just easier.

Claying can "sometimes" help in reducing the visual effect of spots but only if these are actually simply etched in the outer surfaces of the wax. (which acts as a sacrificial layer over your clear coat) If water spots are truly deeply etched into your clearcoat claying does very little.

The proper process to use for spot removal is 1. Vinegar bath, which is an acid which will de-crystalize the hardened ring-which is what you see. 2. Then buff with an abrasive/swirl remover.

If you have questions about technique, let me know. It's very safe and easy to do. The results are worthwhile.

 

Hmmm- the vinegar makes sense. I wonder if I could start putting a little in with the soap everytime I was the car- the water is super hard around here. I'll give the clay a try without using dawn first and see what it does. Thanks for the great info.

 

Not unless you want to strip off your wax with every wash!

Using a ph balanced shampoo when washing will help the hard water situation a lot. And remember to not let the car dry on its own. Be sure to keep it wet until you can dry it by hand. This way it won't spot. And "sheet" the water off with a slow stream of water with your hose when you are done. This gets rid of 90% of the beads on the surface. A quality wax job will help protect it and make your drying job MUCH easier. Get some MF Wafflewevetowels for drying for sure!

 

Thanks Brad, I'll post pics when I get it done. I have a Sonus Ultimate Drying Towel and that thing is great- soak up a lot of water.