Detail spray is used as a lubricant to make the clay bar glide across the surface. Its principal use is for spiffing up a car between washes and is not a solvent. Professional detailers (of which I'm not, but I think AUSMHLY is) will tell you that the proper way to correct paint flaws is to start with the least aggressive method and work your way up from there as required. I've used a clay bar to good effect on overspray, but have not tried it on a drip. If your paint is "two-pack" with a clear-coat (which most modern finishes are) a local body-shop or dealer would probably use a buffer with a mild abrasive to remove the drip and do it in a few minutes.
Well said HealeyRick. Are you sure your not a pro detailer!
I'll chime in, although I'm not a professional detailer. I'm a 19 year PDR guy, Paintless Dent Removal. I've learned a lot through the years from the body shops and the detail shops that use my services.
So let's start what is your car
DerekJ... a single stage, two stage or three.
Single stage is old school, spray the car and it's shinny, your done.
Two stage, base coat (another name for color, which by the way is flat, no shine, may have or not have metallic) clear coat (the gloss, shine)
Three stage, base coat, Pearl, clear coat.
To find out if your car is single stage, use a white towel and rub some polish or compound on the car. If the towel turns the color, you've got single stage.
Two/three stage cars have clear coat, therefore no color will show on the towel. The clear coat is a much harder coating then single, so be careful when compounding a single stage, for you're removing paint. There should be enough single stage paint not to worry about... I should never use a compound or polish, you can. Just don't use a really aggressive compound over and over.
Compound or polish.
Be very careful using either one of these, for the trick is not to remove the paint around the paint run. If you use a towel and compound and press with your fingers, your fingers mold over the run and press on the flat surface next to the run. You'll be removing equal amounts of paint next to the run, as you are the run. You can try and use a flat surface like a popsicle stick or painters wooden stir stick as the surface to press down on over the run. Cut a small piece of towel and tape it to the small flat surface. Apply some compound and try and rub the flat surface only over the raised paint run. Checking all the time for what surface is being cut down.
What is clay.
Clay feels like Silly Putty. Remember Silly Putty. Great for pressing on colored comic strips then once the image is on the putty, stretching the image on the Silly putty. Clay will remove fallout, and any dirt grime that a car wash does not remove. Clay will also remove overspray. Clay does not remove any of the cars clear coat. I have not tried it on single stage, so it you do, look at the clay after. If it has the color of your car on the clay, be careful how much you clay. I doubt it will though.
How to use clay.
Clay come as small rectangle. Knead it in your hands to soften it up then press it sort of flat like a pancake, inch or so thick, 3-4" diameter. When you press it on the car, it will not move, so you need to use a lubricant to let it slide. Clay usually come with a bottle of instant detail (generic word). If you run out of instant detail or buy just a bar of clay, make your own lubricant. Fill up a spray bottle with any dishwashing liquid and water. Enough dish detergent so the water is slippery. Spray the area on the car you'll be using the clay and the clay will now glide over the surface. Use some downward force with the clay. Look at the bottom of the clay and you'll see the stuff it picked up. Once the bottom of the clay looks dirty, knead it so that it looks clean again. One clay bar should be enough to do the entire car. Do not drop it on the ground, for if it picks up one grain of sand, you'll be scratching your car with every swipe.
Ok, let's look into your paint run.
As mentioned, try to remove it with your finger nail, or have your wife try it...good call, lol.
Find out if your car is single or two stage. Two stage, the clear, will be a harder paint and safer to work on.
Compound.
As described above.
A razor blade.
Either a straight razor blade or an exacto knife. Take your time and shave the paint down. Once close to flat, wet sand.
Wet sand.
1500 wet sand paper. You don't want to use sandpaper with with your fingers. Your fingers will mould over the paint drip/mound and press on the flat service next to the paint drip. As you're moving the paint drip, your removing the paint on the flat service next to it. Don't want to do that.
Try using a flat surface, like a wooden popsicle stick. Make it about an inch long. Wrap a small piece of sandpaper around it, wet the sandpaper and the paint run area. Carefully slide and put pressure on the flat surface of the popsicle stick over the paint run. Slide it over it about 5 times. Then dry the area with a towel and look at the area that turned to no shine. That shows you were you're pressing the sandpaper. Right on top of the run, good for you, continue until the area is now back to being flat and the no shine area is smooth, no hint of a raised area of the paint drip. Now use some compound on that area to bring back most of the shine. Finish of with a polish which will bring back all the shine.
People are very nervous when using sandpaper on their cars, as they should be. 1500 is not that aggressive when used correctly. Follow my steps, use a little pressure in the beginning, 5 or so swipes, dry the surface, look at what you did, and it will instill confidence. Try it on one of your other cars, like in the trunk area, to gain confidence.
If you tried the sandpaper method on another car in an area the does not get looked at (inside trunk area) and feel confident, you might bypass the razor blade approach if you don't feel comfortable with that. Use the 100% sandpaper method. Take some time and slowly the paint run will disappear.
Cheers,
Roger
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