Clay ____________________________________________________________
Automotive clay is an extremely important step in detailing, yet it is often misunderstood and overlooked. Washing alone cannot remove the contaminants that clay can remove. Next time you wash your vehicle, gently slide your hand over the hood. The bumps and rough areas you feel are bonded contaminants.
Detailing clay safely sheers or shaves bonded surface contaminants from painted, plastic, and glass surfaces. Rail dust from shipping trains, fallout from factories, bug splatter, tree sap, brake dust, and paint overspray are all examples of bonded contaminants.
Some of these contaminants such as brake dust or rail dust carry a positive charge (as a result of friction), while the vehicle they land on carries a negative charge. The vehicle essentially becomes a magnet attracting ferrous metal particles to the vehicle surface which when moisture is introduced will create rust.
Detailing clay is similar to Silly Putty® and is small enough to knead in the palm of your hand. Once a vehicle is properly washed, a clay lubricant is sprayed onto the surface of the paint.
The clay is then worked back and forth across the area, shearing the protruding bonded contaminants from the finish. This process is repeated over the entire painted surfaces of the vehicle. Although it is a tedious process, the paint is left feeling as smooth as glass.
<Back to Step 1: Wash Go to Step 3: Polish>
______________________________________________________________________________________________________