Claying a new Vehicle

[Pro Detail]

I am a big fan of claying a new vehicle, I recently responded to the poll posted on claying a new vehicle so I'll copy over my response

Using a clay bar on a new vehicle is very important to remove stubborn contamination that may have occurred during transit of your new vehicle. Quite often we see new vehicles with lots of tiny specs of rail dust that will not typically come off with a normal wash and dry. Prepping your new vehicle will help remove these pieces of rail dust and other contamination as well as help reveal your true clear coat underneath.

Lets be honest, dealerships do not care about your car the same way you do. They are trying to get you in and out of the door as fast as possible and have every trick in the book to help hide imperfections so you do not notice them until a later date. They often use products that are heavy in fillers and can hide and conceal things such as swirl marks, water spots, bird dropping etchings, etc. By using a clay bar on your paint you will help reveal the true condition of your clear coat and then decide if it needs more attention to remove imperfections.

I always recommend stripping down what the dealer put on and starting with a fresh coat for a couple of reasons. First you do not know what type of product was used, how long ago it was applied and how long it should last. If they used a natural carnauba wax, chances are it won't last longer than 2 - 8 weeks. You also wouldn't want to apply a sealant over the wax because the sealant is not going to bond correctly to the wax and the durability will only be as long as the coat underneath. By starting fresh, either by washing with Dawn, using a clay bar, or polishing, you can be sure you are adding a fresh coat of sealant or wax, which in most cases will be much higher quality form of protection than what the dealership put on.

[Anthony Orosco]

Originally Posted by Pro Detail

I am a big fan of claying a new vehicle, I recently responded to the poll posted on claying a new vehicle so I'll copy over my response

Using a clay bar on a new vehicle is very important to remove stubborn contamination that may have occurred during transit of your new vehicle. Quite often we see new vehicles with lots of tiny specs of rail dust that will not typically come off with a normal wash and dry. Prepping your new vehicle will help remove these pieces of rail dust and other contamination as well as help reveal your true clear coat underneath.

Lets be honest, dealerships do not care about your car the same way you do. They are trying to get you in and out of the door as fast as possible and have every trick in the book to help hide imperfections so you do not notice them until a later date. They often use products that are heavy in fillers and can hide and conceal things such as swirl marks, water spots, bird dropping etchings, etc. By using a clay bar on your paint you will help reveal the true condition of your clear coat and then decide if it needs more attention to remove imperfections.

I always recommend stripping down what the dealer put on and starting with a fresh coat for a couple of reasons. First you do not know what type of product was used, how long ago it was applied and how long it should last. If they used a natural carnauba wax, chances are it won't last longer than 2 - 8 weeks. You also wouldn't want to apply a sealant over the wax because the sealant is not going to bond correctly to the wax and the durability will only be as long as the coat underneath. By starting fresh, either by washing with Dawn, using a clay bar, or polishing, you can be sure you are adding a fresh coat of sealant or wax, which in most cases will be much higher quality form of protection than what the dealership put on.

Again, a very informative post, great job.

What clay will not do though is remove rail dust (iron ferrous materials) because most are embedded in the paint so using clay on a paint with rail dust only shaves off the top portions of the rail dust.

Rail dust can be seen plainly on white cars because they appear as rust blooms. To fully remove these the paint usually needs a decontamination wash of sorts. This flushes out the paint, it's usually an involved process but once performed properly rarely needs to be re-done.

Anthony