Unusual claybar marring - please help!

On the last 2 vehicles i have clayed i have noticed unsual marring. it looks like ultra ultra ultra high grit sanding marks! I have been using Riccardo Yellow clay and have tried using ONR as lube, i also tried some mothers california gold QD aswell as Riccardo clay lube with no better sucsess. I did also try a new bar of clay aswell. The picture taken is from a 2003 Acura TL i did, you can see the vertical marks that the clay made, they apear all over the vehicle at the right angle... kind of like a hologram



i obviously must be doing somthing wrong, any advice?

 

There are several variables which are likely responsible for the marring visible in the image. In my experience, Acura paint is soft. Additionally, the amount of lubricant used and pressure applied have the capacity to impact the presence or absence of marring following the claying stage. I recommend using more lubricant and less pressure; when adequate lubricant is used the clay should slide effortlessly across the finish. Also, do not very little to no downward pressure on the clay. Hope this helps.

 

There are a lot of clays that actually mar your paint no matter what you do. There's only a few out there that may not mar your paint but IME, just about every clay I use mars the paint, even with very generous lubrication.

 

so marring to that kind of extent is normal? maybe i am getting starting to get "the eye"... halogens probably help too...


i would also suspected that the soft clear of the Acura was to blame, however i got nearly the same results on my 96 Cobra i am doing right now, i have found the clear on that car to be very hard. I do try to keep pressure light, guess i could be gentler tho I have found that somtimes the clay will "suction cup" itself to the panel, is that normal too?

 

The clay bar should not stick to the finish. If this is happening you may not be using enough lubricant. Additionally, I always spritz the clay after it has been kneaded as well as the panel. In certain environments where the lubricant is evaporating quickly, you may need to be applying lubricant as you are running the clay across the surface. I agree with Denzil certain clay bars are prone to marring (namely those formulated for medium to aggressive applications); however, I rarely experience marring to the extent showcased in the image you provided.

 

For ONR i have been using 1 cap full per 32oz bottle. I tried bumping upto 2 capfulls but it did not seem to do anything but make it more blue. I did notice that the Mothers California Gold QD was *very* slick and felt kinda like the puck on a air hockey table.

 

On the bright side, that marring can be cleaned up with a finishing polish /pad combo or an AIO.

 

Another factor I have found to play in this is that clay is really effective at removing LSPs. This comes into play here especially if you had an LSP on there that had filling properties. After claying, you may have simply revealed defects that were already there that were being masked by glazes and waxes.

 

We had the exact same thing on a metallic blue Honda Jazz when using Meg's Fine Clay. I think it is a combination of badly contaminated paint and the super soft clearcoats on most Honda's/Acura's

Pic illustrating similar marks

 

Looks like you used too much pressure and went over the areas too many times. It is easily fixed by polishing.

 

The vehicle was polished and came out awesome, i was just concerned that i was causing unneeded damage to it... heres a finished pic of the same door

 

I personally never clay without polishing, as you're always (or have a very high chance) of doing *some* kind of marring!

 

I would have to agree with P1et, if your going to clay you'd best be following up with some sort of polishing.

 

Ill counter this by saying I have induced marring on soft paint that still had some serious beading indicative of LSP presence after rinsing. Even after a generous presoak in the forum touted LSP removing prewash stuff AND LSP removing shampoo

Said LSPs required a few claying bouts with a slippery TAW lube. Stuff was bulletproof.

It was ridiculous what it took to get it off

Since then I have never put faith in claying removing any left over LSP.

 

In my experience, claying is frequently effective at removing whatever LSP is present; the lubricant you use may have protective properties. Conversely, I have had a difficult time removing Collinite 476 via claying. In this instance, I followed with a wipe down using Hi-Temp Prep-Sol to remove the wax. Additionally, if I use a quick detailer as clay lubricant, I always follow up with a Hi-Temp Prep-Sol wipe down.

 

never come across it before but have heard many rumours of jap paints being thin and soft.