I have read a number of posts on many sites about clay leaving scratches.

In my experience, clay has never left my paint scratched.

Instead of the clay itself scratching the paint, I believe it is the contaminants in the paint that become absorbed in the clay that scratched the paint.

I theorize that once the contimants / dirt are removed, that the true condition of the paint is just more apparent.

I would suggest being extremely careful in continuously turning the clay to a clean spot to avoid this, or using another bar of clay.

However, I might add that the paint I have clayed has never been too bad to begin with.

It may happen that if the paint is in really bad shape that the clay absorbs so much dirt, etc. that it becomes unavoidable.

Just thought I'd add my $0.02 (and another $2.98 will buy you a cup of coffee at Starbucks).

__________________
Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

I completely agree with Paul, above. I have black pearl paint, and if any color shows scratches, it's black. Never had a problem with scratches from clay, but I could certainly see it doing so if one doesn't turn and knead it frequently during the job. I also read somewhere that you should rub it in relatively short, back and forth strokes, rather than large swirl patterns.

__________________
Steve
'93 400E