What if clay bar doesn't pull everything up?

[kblehman]

I had my first clay bar experience this weekend, and I was fairly pleased with the results. But I have a question.

To get used to using a clay bar I tried it out on my minivan with Backfire clay bar lubricant. It worked well to pull visible spots, tar, and other imperfections off the paint. But even after going over an area 2-3 times, I could still feel bumps through the plastic bag.

I hadn't really polished and waxed my van for 2+ years, so I suppose there's a lot of build up on the paint. If I can still feel imperfections, do I need to use something a little more abrasive like a polishing compound? (I try to avoid rubbing compound.)

If a clay bar doesn't make the paint feel as "smooth as glass" like they say, do I need to use something more aggressive?

[zzyyzx]

When detailing, you always want to start with the least aggressive method first and work up to more aggressive means. Clay is a great starting point. If you feel that you've done a good job at claying and there are still blemishes, it's time to try something a little more aggressive. Depending on the blemish (swirls, paint bubbles, etc.) you will need a different methods. Obviously, make sure that your plastic bag is clean (it would suck to go through all this to find out it was your bag that was dirty and not the car!!!)

Try some polishes first. Meguiars makes some great products, especially for people who detail their own stuff and not lots of cars. If you have access to one, try applying it with a Porter Cable (PC) orbital buffer. It's VERY difficult to mess up your paint with this tool.

If that's still not working after you've moved up to some more aggressive polishes, try using a Rotary Buffer on the car. I STRONGLY suggest you have a professional do this for you as you can easily burn through paint with a rotarty if you're not skilled with a rotary.

Finally, if the rotary isn't working with polish, you can try wet sanding. But again, leave this to someone experienced with the skill. Basically, if you're not a detailing enthusiast with some experience, I would suggest you stick with the PC or below.

For lots of great info on detailing, check out Autopia . It's a great site with lots of info on detailing.

Good luck and let us know how things work out.

[kblehman]

Thanks. I'll give McGuires polish a try.

[nizee]

I would try those non-abrasive cleaner first (this are chemically safe cleaner), before i go for abrasive polish. I believe Meguiar have one (Meguiar Cleaner Wax? or Klasse AIO or Wolfgang Pre-Cleaner or P21S pre-cleaner). Once you did that, it should clean most of the imbedded particles in the paint. Bring your car out in the sun, look against the reflection sun and see if you need a abrasive polish to remove those micro-scratches.