Hi, All--

My Pepper White MINI Cooper S is having some body issues. :-(

On my hatch and anywhere near the exhaust, I have a lot of contamination in the paint. I wash about every two weeks, and I have recently picked up the Meguiar's Clay Bar kit. I followed the instructions according to the box and their video on youtube, but the clay doesn't seem to be removing ANYTHING. There is still rusty fallout specs in my paint, and black soot still peppers my paint. :-(

Can someone provide me detailed instructions on how to clay properly? I thought a clay bar would be my saving grace in this matter. If not the clay bar, is there another product someone would recommend?

 

Best thing is to make sure you wash with dawn first to remove the wax or the wax is protecting the rust specs from the clay bar...

 

Making sure the old wax is gone so you are not just pushing it around is important. Dawn is good for natural waxes but for synthetics you'll have to use alcohol or a product like P21S Total Auto Wash or P21S Paintworks Cleanser.
Once the old wax is out of the way, the key to clay is lubrication and repetition. Light to moderate pressure and multiple passes. I get those black dots on the rear bumper and clay will remove them. As for the rust stains, perhaps clay will help if they have not stained the paint. PW is notorious for staining. Again P21S Paintworks Cleanser or similar chemical cleaning product may help to at least lighten the stain. Vinegar might also prove useful. You can also try to polish the stains using ScratchX or Prima Swirl.

 

Thanks for the tips so far, everyone.

It looks like a lot of the rust specks stained the paint. I will try some Dawn first and be on the lookout for paintworks products in nearby stores.

Hopefully I'll have some good news to report soon!

 

Since you will be tempted to use lots of pressure to get the rust out (you should refrain from doing this), be sure to keep plenty of lubrication to prevent swirls or scratches. I have been using Griots paint prep before waxing. Use that before claying, If you have that or 90% alcohol. it will help get rid of any waxes.