I clayed in early April (Blackfire clay), used very soapy water as lubrication and the clay left some serious swirls from where it rubbed against the paint ...

The clay wasn't contaminated (didn't drop etc.) I turned it into itself after every body panel, The only thing I can think of was that it was too cold (mid 50s) ...

It was before a major detail so I didn't worry about it, and fortunately Menzerna polishes cleared everything up.

Has anyone else has ever seen this with clay?
Is Blackfire a particularly "hard" composite?

 

you rubbed too hard it sounds like. that's weird

 

Not supposed to swirl clay anyhow, are you? Thought it was straight back & forth motion...

 

Nope no swirls, back and forth/ up and down

 

how can you be positive it was the clay that caused the swirls?

 

I was just thinking the same. Are you sure the clay just didn't remove a bunch of gunk so you could then SEE the swirls?

 

Sounds like a possibility.

 

The first time I used a new piece of clay (clay magic), I thought it swirled (it was my brand new car, only 2 months old). Actually, it was a layer of clay left over on the clear coat. To get rid of it, use a paint prep product such as Klasse AIO.

 

Good points all ... lets see .. by "swirls" I mean microscratches in the paint. They were in straight lines in the same direction as the clay was being moved.

I suspect it was the clay and not previously undiscovered scratches because of the number and proximity of the scratches .. in some places it looked like I had brillo'd the car, all extremely fine, all in the same direction and bunched together. Like I said before I turned the clay in on itself after every panel, and did not drop it, but it certainly looked like there was some grit that I was then rubbing back and forth into the car.

aaronng - interesting theory, except I didn't see it until I was under the halogens in my garage. It definitely didn't look like residue, but that is a possibility.

Ohh and it didn't stick to the surface (there was one spot, but the scratches were everywhere) for the rest of the vehicle I made sure there was plenty of soapy water and it really did slide pretty well.

 

Entirely possible, ive done it several times. You have to remember, clay is an abrasive. And if under perfect conditions, its entirely possible to micro-mar the surface. Most micro-marring is easily fixed with a follow up polish, and a PC.

Also, keep in mind, too much lube, may actually make you want to push a little harder. If it glides to E-Z, you may feel as though your not making proper contact. Claying is one of those detailing tasks, that is miraculous, if done properly. I prefer using water, or slightly soapy water. I really think "Clay lube, or quick detailers" are too slippery, and just a marketing ploy anyway to have you run out of your QD so you can buy more! You really need to make proper contact, as opossed to "gliding over" the surface, to sheer or pull the contaminant. Have you looked here ?

 

Thanks Patrick - as a matter of fact your post was one of the ones that convinced me to take a run at this. Like I said up top, it was right before a polish so I wasn't that concerned with it, the Menzerna polishes worked great (applied with your pads of course )

I saw another post where they said clay it and wax and I'm thinking to myself ... no way could I have gone straight to wax after that claying. I was just trying to figure out if I should be doing something different for next time.

 

Good call!

 

Mine looked like how you described. All bunched and in the same direction. Feels smooth to the touch and when I was claying, it did not grab at all.. Could be micromarring though. AIO took it off, but not a weaker cleaner.

 

I bought one bar of clay for my car split in half and then used it to clay my car.
Can I use the same half I clayed with, or should I just throw it out and use the unused half?

 

Next time use about 1/3 of the bar. I usually get a few jobs out of a piece, but each piece is inspected prior to using. Also depends on how bad the surface is when you started.
The worst area for clay bars is the rear deck, and bumper areas.....