Clay abrasive to paint????

[Toms94]

Ok, on another forum I found this post in response to a question about clay bar.

 

Clay bars are abrasive. This is how they work. They can/will remove the top most coating with repeated use. They will wear the paint, if used enough. Most of the time, claybar use is only removing a clear coat's embedded debris. Frequent "turning" of the clay must be done, or the debris will build and scratch the coating. If the clay is dropped onto a floor, the clay that came in contact with the floor must be discarded. It cannot be "kneaded" into a usable lump again. "Claybarring" a car is a relatively new thing in detailing. Remember: CLAY WEARS PAINT!

Now for the most part I would agree with what he said, but can you clay too much and "wear the paint"? I think that this guy has scared the pooh-pooh out of the original poster.

[Chris@Adams]

The clay that Adam's sales isn't that abrasive.Some clays are abrasive. And If it hits the floor its time for a new piece.

[Adam]

Hmm, I woudn't completely agree with that statement. "Wearing" the paint happens no matter what, washing drying, polishing, waxing, etc.

 

Still, pulling contaminants off of a finish with a light to moderate effort would require some serious effort to 'wear' the paint down.

 

If you clay your car, and follow with the polish, then wax, I wouldn't say that you are wearing your paint, as much as you are removing contaminants, correcting the finish, and applying protection.

 

Using a rotary buffer on a regular basis will 'wear' the paint, absolutely. Clay, not so much.

 

My $0.02:)

[Sooners]

Hmm, I woudn't completely agree with that statement. "Wearing" the paint happens no matter what, washing drying, polishing, waxing, etc.

 

Still, pulling contaminants off of a finish with a light to moderate effort would require some serious effort to 'wear' the paint down.

 

If you clay your car, and follow with the polish, then wax, I wouldn't say that you are wearing your paint, as much as you are removing contaminants, correcting the finish, and applying protection.

 

Using a rotary buffer on a regular basis will 'wear' the paint, absolutely. Clay, not so much.

 

My $0.02:)

 

Well said Adam!

[Toms94]

Well, that's what I figured....as a matter of fact I posted just that. Some people are just not completely informed. I even posted a link to AJ's videos here so the OP can see for himself.

 

Thanks for verifying what I already knew.

[IowaEmt1991]

Just you plenty of DS as lubricant and you will have no problem at all.

[TR6speed]

I clay my car when I feel the rough surface in the baggy test. Probably twice a year.

[Eidolon]

I suffered the problem of abrasion the first time I clayed my car. Then again, it had NEVER been clayed, not after being produced, after being shipped, after sitting on the dealer lot. So the paint was pretty well contaminated, even after a wash. I posted a thread here about it. See the discussion in the thread here on the Adams forums.

 

The diagnosis of the result was that I hadn't used enough detail spray. Next go around, I made sure to use more than I had the first time, such that it was rather running down the car. Whether because of the fact that there were fewer contaminants in the paint or because I used more spray, I didn't get the same terrible damage to the clear coat. In fact, I don't recall getting any.