Clay Is Clay...right ???
2nd Gear
Joined: Jun 2006
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From: Santee,CA
dimini asks a great question!Most of the members of our club have replaced their windshields recently.Those of us with older windshields have hundreds of tiny pits.Will a detailer help us,or a new windhield?I heard(a few years ago)that the soft MINI windshield can be clayed,to a certain extent.And I noticed the detail shop down the street has 3 different colors(types) of clay!So,clay is like sandpaper;i.e.,it comes in coarse,medium,and fine?
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I clay my windshield, and it really does get it clean. I have a newer windshield now so not many pits(yet
), but I found with the old badly pitted one it helped getting the grit out of the pits. Sounding like a facial how to
.
I also wax my winshield, as I find it helps the wipers get rid of rain. Don't use much, and buff really well.
Mark
), but I found with the old badly pitted one it helped getting the grit out of the pits. Sounding like a facial how to.I also wax my winshield, as I find it helps the wipers get rid of rain. Don't use much, and buff really well.
Mark
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Joined: Jan 2005
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From: Denver, CO
Clay is great for windshields! 
It will remove lots of environmental grime that regular cleaners won't remove. It will also help pull the gunk that lays down in the pits. However, it will not remove pits or abrade the glass.
The "abrasives" in clay are suspended in the clay and they don't function like "normal" abrasives. They do not act like the abrasives in polish at all. Whether on paint or glass, clay will not and physically cannot abrade the surface to remove things like pits/bumps (glass) or swirls/scratches (paint). It can only remove surface gunk and embedded particles. Clay abrasives function very differently from abrasives found in liquids and compounds. Because of this, you often see clay descriptions say "non-abrasive". This is stated to confirm that clay won't remove swirls, etc. Otherwise, you can see how it can lead to much confusion about what clay is and is not!
That said though, clay can really improve windshields and other glass just by it's super cleaning ability. I definitely recommend it!
-Heather
It will remove lots of environmental grime that regular cleaners won't remove. It will also help pull the gunk that lays down in the pits. However, it will not remove pits or abrade the glass.
The "abrasives" in clay are suspended in the clay and they don't function like "normal" abrasives. They do not act like the abrasives in polish at all. Whether on paint or glass, clay will not and physically cannot abrade the surface to remove things like pits/bumps (glass) or swirls/scratches (paint). It can only remove surface gunk and embedded particles. Clay abrasives function very differently from abrasives found in liquids and compounds. Because of this, you often see clay descriptions say "non-abrasive". This is stated to confirm that clay won't remove swirls, etc. Otherwise, you can see how it can lead to much confusion about what clay is and is not!
That said though, clay can really improve windshields and other glass just by it's super cleaning ability. I definitely recommend it!
-Heather
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From: Denver, CO
I can't tell you how many times I think of skin care when talking about car care... it sounds corny and strange but it's so true! Oddly enough, they really do overlap! 
-Heather
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From: Oswego, IL
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I found ClayMagic to be kinda sticky for my tastes. I like the Zaino clay and I use the Dawn / Water lube technique. I also use pretty small pieces and I drop them frequently (and throw them away immediately), so maybe I don't give them long enough to become 'yuckie' or 'fall-aparty' (a new favorite word-ism-ish type thingie)
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From: Denver, CO
That's right... I'll be on the screen claying my face... then the car! We can market it as a real multi-tasker.
-Heather
Vendor & Moderator :: MINI Camera and Video & c3 club forum
iTrader: (6)
Let me illustrate what an aggressive clay will do to the finish.
Here's what the finish looked like before claying
And here's what it looked like after claying
The clay I used was the Meguiar's Professional Red Aggressive Clay
Why did I choose to use this clay???
To remove these embedded shards of metal particles that the body shop that repainted this old 1950something truck--left behind!
Now obviously nobody should be using Aggressive clay unless you know what you're doing.
Using this clay, it took me about 6 hours to clay the truck. When I tested using normal mild clay, it would have taken me days. One section took over 50 passes of mild clay while with aggressive clay it only took maybe 10 passes.
And here's what the finish looked like under the sun after I was finished polishing--though before adding wax--the white spots are divots in the paint.
Used to look like this
Before
After
Richard
Here's what the finish looked like before claying
And here's what it looked like after claying
The clay I used was the Meguiar's Professional Red Aggressive Clay
Why did I choose to use this clay???
To remove these embedded shards of metal particles that the body shop that repainted this old 1950something truck--left behind!
Now obviously nobody should be using Aggressive clay unless you know what you're doing.
Using this clay, it took me about 6 hours to clay the truck. When I tested using normal mild clay, it would have taken me days. One section took over 50 passes of mild clay while with aggressive clay it only took maybe 10 passes.
And here's what the finish looked like under the sun after I was finished polishing--though before adding wax--the white spots are divots in the paint.
Used to look like this
Before
After
Richard
Regarding abrasive levels, we have found that all of the "consumer levels" of clay work fairly similarly. The main advantage of the corser clay is that it seems to work faster but not necessarily better. In other words, fine grade and medium grade both have the ability to achieve the same end result, but the medium grade is likely to get you there faster. At the same time, the medium grade can more easily scuff the paint (especially the paint is super soft, like BMW, Ferrari, or body shop/resprayed paint, for example). I use the term "consumer levels" of clay because the manufacturer prohibits the retail sale of the heavy grade (read: most abrasive) clay to the consumer/general public. This clay can only be sold to body shops and the like. Bottom line: a vast majority of clay you will see out there is fine grade. Typically, those who sell medium grade clay will proactively note it.
-Heather
-Heather
Vendor & Moderator :: MINI Camera and Video & c3 club forum
iTrader: (6)
Seeing that these are unprocessed pix from my D70s--only thing done was they were resized from the original 6MP file, I'd have to say the color variation comes from the time of day. You can see that the warmth of the ground in the earlier pictures are different from the later pictures.
However, besides that, there are real changes taking place.
Compare these two. The Before picture has a layer of dirt embedded in the paint. Then it was polished. The end result is a super clean, swirl free finish that looks darker and more "optically pure"--as some might call it. Of course the fact this is the end of the day where the light is more diffuse and more red also impacts the paint color. But the Before pic looks kinda dusty--even though it's already been washed. The front of the hood still shows the paint is reflective--reflection off my house--yet the overall look is dull and flat.
BEFORE
AFTER
As well as these two. Notice that the second pic with the swirls looks lighter and more washed out. It reflects and distributes light differently than the first one where there are only light swirls. And that's why we strive to remove swirls from our paint. Not only because it looks ugly, but it impacts the overall paint quality significantly. The end goal is to have a swirl free, dark finish full of rich color and depth.
In the fender pics, the ground color is obviously different due to the lighting conditions. And of course direct sunlight pics tend to look harsher than diffuse--and that's why when you see detailers post pictures of their work--you always need to consider that a picture can really alter the true condition of the paint...unless you show a picture like this--that shows every surface imperfection under the sun.
However, besides that, there are real changes taking place.
Compare these two. The Before picture has a layer of dirt embedded in the paint. Then it was polished. The end result is a super clean, swirl free finish that looks darker and more "optically pure"--as some might call it. Of course the fact this is the end of the day where the light is more diffuse and more red also impacts the paint color. But the Before pic looks kinda dusty--even though it's already been washed. The front of the hood still shows the paint is reflective--reflection off my house--yet the overall look is dull and flat.
BEFORE
AFTER
As well as these two. Notice that the second pic with the swirls looks lighter and more washed out. It reflects and distributes light differently than the first one where there are only light swirls. And that's why we strive to remove swirls from our paint. Not only because it looks ugly, but it impacts the overall paint quality significantly. The end goal is to have a swirl free, dark finish full of rich color and depth.
In the fender pics, the ground color is obviously different due to the lighting conditions. And of course direct sunlight pics tend to look harsher than diffuse--and that's why when you see detailers post pictures of their work--you always need to consider that a picture can really alter the true condition of the paint...unless you show a picture like this--that shows every surface imperfection under the sun.
Last edited by OctaneGuy; Nov 5, 2006 at 08:26 AM.
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