Clay didn't pick anything up?

[Slimy]

I've just gone over my car for the first time with some clay, and it hardly picked anything up. In fact, I only had to fold it up once to find a clean patch. My technique is definitely right as the crud it lifted from my girlfriends car was frightening! I got the same muck off one of her front wings as I did off my entire car, top to bottom!

Is it reasonable for a car to not get any embedded particles in it's lifetime? Bear in mind its a 2001 Toledo with 120k on the clock, and as far as I know this time was the first time it's ever seen clay.

[cap r 225]

Sounds strange that mate.

Have you tried washing it with Fary liquid or somat first to remove any wax/polish. Maybe there is a layer of wax between the paint and your clay???
Does the paint feel smoth like glass? you can usually feel any contaminates that the clay would pick up anyway!

Along shot i know but hey.

[MarkWales]

is fairy a good idea - I was always told its a no no

[cap r 225]

Apparently it's just good for stripping off all your old polish and wax, it's a mild degreaser you see!
I myself would only use it if i was going to clay my car and re-apply layers of protection, once a year like.
For every week you should use a good brand of shampoo.

[MarkWales]

I see thanks for clearing that up

[Slimy]

Originally Posted by cap r 225

Does the paint feel smoth like glass? you can usually feel any contaminates that the clay would pick up anyway!

Generally when I'm doing the clay I have the clay under my fingertips, but I've got the rest of my hand also on the metal to feel for contaminates. And it did feel mostly smooth while I was doing it (there's a few chips in the bonnet and the lower section of the doors, but clay won't be fixing those!).

I guess I should have just ran my hand over the metal before starting, to gauge how much work I had in front of me.

Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to see the panel once it was clean and polished, as the snow descended before I could finish!

[cap r 225]

Sounds like it just wasn't that bad to begin with then mate! Don't complain