what will clay remove?

[Asonyexec]

about a month ago I did the AIO and megs #16 thing to my car, at that time i felt the paint a bit rough and deciided it maybe time to clay it. My question is, will the clay remove the AIO and wax?



THX

[imported_Sullybob]

You should still have some protection left provided you don`t clay super aggressively. With that being said, if your paint is pretty rough you might remove most of your protection by claying. Once you are done claying and the car is clean and dry feel the paint. If it feels very smooth and clean but very grabby or squeaky clean you will need to reapply your protection. If it still feels very slick you should be fine.

[Asonyexec]

THX for the info. It`s not super rough, very light as a matter of fact therefore I`ll go easy on the clay.

[J.J.]

Most likely it will remove the protection you`ve already applied. I think you will be happier with the results if you reapply AIO and LSP after calying.

[Accumulator]

Asonyexec- It all depends on how much protection you still have on there and how aggressively you clay. The latter will sorta depend on whether the contamination you`re trying to remove is under or on/in your LSP.



Your paint felt rough before you put on the AIO and #16, right? That means you waxed over the rough-feeling contamination (unless the AIO cleaned it off). So to get to the contamination you`ve gotta go through the wax.



Usually, you want to clay before you polish, let alone apply the LSP. Then any subsequent contamination will just be stuck to the wax and you can *very gently* clay it, just enough to clean the wax, not enough to take the wax off. But I`d bet that *this* time you`ll have to clay much more aggressively than that. This aggressive claying might even result in light marring, so be prepared to do a quick polish if it`s needed.



But in any event, you oughta always clay as gently as you can while still doing the job.

[Odin Mz3]

I`m not a pro but the clay should remove at least #16 since it`s quite a soft wax. AIO can probably hold it if you dont put to much pressure.



Anyone can comment that

[Bobby G]

I`d like to comment on the general misconception of what clay does and does not do.



Clay is an abrasive set in a "clay" medium. Think of it like "sand paper putty". If you apply it to your paint without lubrication, it will sand your paint.



Like sanding with a sanding block, clay removes "high spots" from your paint surface. Because clay is malleable, it removes what I like to call soft high spots. In general, this is dirt and other foreign objects attached to your paint and glass, but may also be oxidation blooming up from the surface.



Depending on the type and hardness of the surface protection you use, and the type of clay lubricant, claying may not remove your paint protection. If your paint protection system lies low and tight, clay will not remove it. If you use a quick detailing spray with a high concentration of alcohol, the QD may remove your protection due to the amount of QD spray you need to use to properly lubricate.



Clay works best when used with a lot of lubrication and little pressure. It responds well to speed because it likes to sheer off particles. Longer strokes are better than short (because each time your hand stops the clay is no longer hydroplaning).

[salty]

Very well put DavidB.

[wytstang]

No it won`t I just clayed my car (claymajic) and it did not remove my #16. I had the same thing you did on my white GT, AIO topped with #16. After claying it I rewashed it and it still beading quite strongly. I did however after claying and rewashing reapply AIO and topped it with #16 and wow my stang has a really nice glow to it.