Doing something wrong with clay bar??

[Cwilliams]

Traded my 2012 Dodge Ram off for a 2007 Dodge Ram 2500 and washed it and dryed it then did the clay bar with detail spray as lube. Followed the steps In the video and everything went well. Clay was nice and gliding from the detail spray and I spent about an hour so doing the whole truck going over some spots multiple times. Finished claying and wiping off any residue and the truck looks good but I went and got a baggy and put over my hand and the truck still feels very grimy and sand paperish. Did I do something wrong or forget something??? Clay bar was unused and about a month old stored at room temperature.

[Kingsford]

There are different grades of clay. I assume Adam's sells a fine grade to make it easier and safer for all. Sometimes if you have a fine clay it requires going over an area more than once, maybe a little more pressure on the clay, maybe you were using too much detail spray. There are a ton of variable thats could do this. 

 

My suggestion is to go over one area that you feel needs to be clayed and not move to another area until you get that one area perfect. This will show you how much time, effort and technique you will need to use for the rest of the truck. 

[Chris@Adams]

Sometimes it takes multiple passes. Don't be afraid to apply a little bit of pressure. Just do a test spot so you will know what it's going to take to get smooth.

[Cwilliams]

I didn't just make one pass across each spot. I applied pressure and swiped multiple times each spot. I will try something new and hopefully figure something out.

[Dan@Adams]

If the clay isn't doing the trick for you, you could try Revive Hand Polish to smooth out those areas more if you have any of it available. Were you planning on polishing by hand or with a machine before applying a wax or sealant?

[Chris@Adams]

Is this the original paint? If not you could have dust or dirt in the paint. Thoughts?

[Cwilliams]

Was going by hand. I have the blue revive. Buttery wax. And paint sealant. What would be the steps for these 3??

[Erictski]

Was going by hand. I have the blue revive. Buttery wax. And paint sealant. What would be the steps for these 3??

Revive - wipe residue

Paint Sealant - buff residue

Buttery Wax

 

I have not topped Paint sealant with Buttery yet so not sure if you need to wait a certain amount of time before waxing or not.  You can go ahead with your Liquid paint sealant as soon as you buff off the revive residue.

[Cwilliams]

Thank you very much

[Beemer]

I haven't used the blue clay yet but in my claying experience you can almost feel the particulates "breaking away" from the paint as you clay. It should get noticibly smoother while you clay.

 

If it doesn't you may not be using enough pressure.

[Dan@Adams]

Eric's order of operations is correct, just wait about an hour or so after applying the Liquid Paint Sealant if you would want to put a coat of Buttery Wax on top of it

[Bill-V8V]

Like already mentioned, do a small area and don't move to the next section until you get the first section the way you want it. I've spent more than a few hours claying a full size truck but it really depends on how contaminated it is. Plus I am slow, (insert joke here Rich), really slow when claying lol

 

An 07 if it has lived outside and never been clayed before could be an all day job. But once you get it done right and get a layer of protection on it you will have much less work to do the next time it needs to be clayed. 

[pirahnah3]

I can Echo Bills comments about time with the clay. 

 

I did my full size truck the first time and it took me a bit over an hour if not an hour and a half, and it only had about 10k miles on it which for me is only a few months. 

 

I did it again now and she was at 30k and it took me barely 25 min to get the whole truck done

[BluedogGMC]

I would hit it again and check a smaller spot until it feels right.

Is it the newer Blue Clay or the older Grey Clay?

[Kingsford]

I didn't just make one pass across each spot. I applied pressure and swiped multiple times each spot. I will try something new and hopefully figure something out.

 

Right. Thats not what I meant. I mean do multiple passes in each spot. Wipe off the Detail Spray and do the same process over again.

[Kodiak]

I've had the same issues with the blue clay bar. I switched to another brand until a new clay is released

[GXPaycheck]

Use more muscle! Don't be afraid to scrub.

[chops1sc]

I prefer to use an iron removing spray before claying. To me, it seems to help the clay focus on what I cannot see (having a white truck shows the tiny iron deposits bad). I also found this produces a smoother surface to head into the next step.

[GXPaycheck]

I prefer to use an iron removing spray before claying. To me, it seems to help the clay focus on what I cannot see (having a white truck shows the tiny iron deposits bad). I also found this produces a smoother surface to head into the next step.

Deep Wheel Cleaner!

[Ricky Bobby]

Chops has it right. Sometimes a decon spray like DWC takes the "big stuff" out and dissolves it then the claying is much easier