So had the day off today..Was thinking I had some clay in closet unopened and I did so went out and got some lube and clayed my truck...As I was doing it some panels had light brown stuff on clay once I got done with it before I wiped it off...Is that normal? think it was manily along the bottom I could also feel the roughness down there not rough no more...just wondering if that is normal to get light brown stuff on clay....would have took pictures of it but didnt think of it

 

The last time I used clay, I recall the directions said to expect the clay to get dirty as you used it. This is actually showing you the crud coming off the paint. The "Mothers" brand said to simply work the clay into a ball in your hand, stretching and kneading it until the residue is gone then go back to rubbing the paint.

 

The normal process with clay is to wash thoroughly spray the clay and
the paint with clay lube and gently wipe in a back and forth motion.



It sounds like what you had on your clay was the contaminants it removed.



Kneed the clay into itself until you have a clean surface and repeat the process until the paint is completely smooth.



Feel the paint with your hand in a sandwich bag after claying to make sure the surface is smooth and decontaminated.



Did it look like this?

 

yup it kinda looked like that but was kind of a brownish orange color...cant remember which panels it was...Would it hurt to maybe do the truck again like next week just to make sure I got all of it

 

^Agreed

The best way is to make sure the paint is lubricated when claying and check the paint with a baggie to make sure it's smooth.

Repeat until it's smooth.

 

I'm gonna redo it next week when I detail it...probabily be like thursday or friday when I'm done mowing....It does get dirty,dusty so once I get everyone done then I spend a day and clean it up wash,wax do inside etc...

I'm thinking the guy who had truck before hasn't clayed it or waxed it.....he was an older man like in his 50's I would say

 

Yeah if its the first time its been clayed you will have a ton of deposits in the clay, totally normal and it shows you its working. Youll be amazed at how smooth the paint is once youre done.

 

I did notice a big difference in the paint in the sections I did do..Ran out of clay lube so when I get done working friday I will re do it but buy a bigger bottle of clay lube and re do it

 

I prefer a good clay lube but I have also had good luck with Megs Quik Detailer. It works good in a pinch.

Another thing I've started doing with most vehicles is using Iron-X BEFORE claying. Much better results!

 

do i have to use clay before waxing my new truck?? or is that just preference?? i want to do whatever is best for the truck but also dont have a lot of extra time between working, chasing my two year old around, and helping my pregnant wife out around the house. just making sure im not wasting time, thoughts??