tutone56

I've been reading some very good information regarding detailing. I am wondering - If I will be polishing the entire vehicle is there a need to clay first? It seems to me that the polisher (DA) used with a light swirl mark remover polish would remove all the contaminants that the clay would have. Any thoughts?

CutterWolf

If I were you I would clay it first, its always nice to start out with a clear suface before you go to buff on it.

wilkinda

I clayed mine just before I had the clear bra added. Even though the car was just a few weeks in my possession it made a big difference in the depth of the gloss. I was amazed at what difference using the tac clothe before and after. I had no idea the cars can pick up that much crap on them just in sitting and shipping from the factory...

I say clay as well

Nuke

Although I baby the Stang, my SUV is sort of my sacrificial lamb so-to-speak. I use a cleaner-wax on it and always figured that it would take out any surface contaminants. The last time I waxed the SUV I had extra time and decided to clay it before the cleaner wax. The shine was definately deeper.

VistaBlue GT

You always want to start the process with claying the car. a claybar will remove any contaminents that is stuck to the paint that regular washing will not remove.. it should also leave your car smooth as glass, thus allowing you to start with a clean slate. when moving to the next step whether it be a polish or if you just wanna wax it.

tutone56

Well I guess I will clay it. Thanks for the advice guys.

Art161

Good decision to clay. Clay removes the contaminants on top of the surface. If you polish without first claying, then you can scratch the surface. Also, polish does not do a very good job of removing stuff stuck to the surface. I was working on a friend's car. I polished and waxed it. It looked good, but the surface felt rough. Claying took care of that. Clay picks up crud you can't even see without a magnifying glass.

mygt500

exactly....even brand new cars need to be clayed before any paint work/detailing
good choice!

whyask

so in esence its better to clay frst then wax and buff the **** out of her then ...? .. I wanna get one more really good cleaning before she is stored for winter.. 40,xxx miles and shes never been clayed before !

mygt500

Well then claying will really show a huge difference in the feel of the paint after it is clayed.......it removes stuff like rail dust from railroads, industrial fallout, bugs, and anything that can penetrate the paint.....after done the car will feel like smooth glass and then it is ready for a polish/glaze and a nice coat of carnuba wax.....the paint will POP!!!!!!!