Claying unnecessary when using DACP?

[hkgs300]

I want to use DACP on my car w/ PC. Paint condition is fair, it has some swirls and scratches.



Do I need to clay if I use DACP? Assuming that I did not clay for 6 months? Is claying unnecessary when DACP since DACP will 'scrub' the surface anyway?

 

[SK2003TypeS]

I'd still clay. If you have something in there that you can't see, the "scrubing" action may create something unsightly. Do the sandwich bag test. After 6 months, I think you'll feel something.

Oh, and next time, you may want to post this in the University forum.

Good Luck.

 

[M-M]

I alway clay before any swirl remover.... I figure the DACP is supposed to break down but what ever is stuck to my paint won't. And I don't want that stuck in my pads.

 

[hondaguy2582]

you could use clay after polishing to get anything that the polish didn't get out. I am starting to change my theory on claying cars. If a car is not taken care of, then i wouldn't even bother claying first, just use a polish to get most of the contaminants out and then clay to finish the process. I say this bc i came across tree sap and tar on a car, and i tried bug and tar remover, didn't work, and neither did clay. I tried meguiars medallion cleaner, and it took off the tree sap and tar without hassle. Don't waste good clay on cars that are neglected, use it on cars that are kept in good condition that are usually washed at least twice a month.

 

[Accumulator]

I'd clay BEFORE doing any polishing. 1Z recommends polishing first, and they make good stuff, but here they are just plain wrong.



If you have any embedded ferrous deposits (like "rail dust") you want to pull them out of the paint. This is easier to accomplish if you DON'T polish first- you WANT the contamination to be NOT SMOOTH so the clay can grab it better. It's like (whose analogy is this? I forget- but *I* didn't come up with it!) having a splinter in your skin. You would pull the splinter OUT before you did anything else, like smooth your skin with a pumice stone or apply a lotion.



And as SK2003TypeS and ERIK said, you might as well get all the crap you can off your paint before you start rubbing it in with a pad and polish.



There are always situations where the norm doesn't apply, like hondaguy2582's experience. But claying first is generally the way to go.

 

[hondaguy2582]

just remember, know the car that you have. Don't bother with clay if the car was never washed period , use a paint cleanser first to get rid of most contamination, then try claying. The reason i say this is because ive tried claying cars that were never detailed, and i had to fold my clay more than once in half a panel because it had so much paint contamination. In that situation, its not worth it to clay first. This is the only time I will apply einzetts theory on clay, but I usually always clay first on cars that i normally detail. Imo, it saves time to inspect a car first b4 you decide to clay, because you could waste over an hr claying a car thats paint is so contaminated, youll have to throw out the clay bar afterwards(this has happened to me, and most detailers never get enough of clay for that reason).