Confused about clay removal

zesty-man

zesty-man

how do ya like it?
im getting really confused about clay...... from what i understand, clay can be applyed with the QD (lube) that it came with, or soapy water. however, what i dont understand is about clay removal... i read the article on clay on autopia, but i feel that it was vague in telling how to actually to remove the clay. i've heard 3 different ways on how to remove clay.....



1. wash the clayed car again

2. buff off with a microfiber

3. polish OVER the clay



which of these should i be using? what im aiming for is to save some time. also, does anyone have any suggestions about how to be efficient with your time when claying?
 
The claying process doesn't really leave any clay on the surface. The only thing that is left behind is some QD/lube and ocassionally some streaking. Usually a quick QEW wash or just a thourough QD is all that is needed to get the paint ready for polish/wax.
 
hmmm, thats an interesting point that you make. so, intead of washing the entire car again, i could use some QD to get the clay off?
 
zman, all I ever do is go straight from clay to the next step. There's no residue that I consider signifigant.



Tom
 
zesty your assumng that the clay bar will leave parts I assume. with a quality bar, you should only see some residue from the QD and bar sliding across. If you do see smears or residue left on the car, your bar is crumbling. Polish with ProPolish or A chemical spots. You should be fine.



I usually clay over the area with alot of QD, then follow up with a ww. Easy and simple. :)
 
The way I clay is usually like this.... I don't dry the car very well after I wash it and use some of the standing water to help lube the surface. Then I just wash the car again after claying it instead of using up a bunch of QD. Usually if I am claying then I am going to be using something like AIO afterwards anyway, so cleaning the surface is really just an extra step that I shouldn't need to do. I like to start with a clean surface whenever I start to polish though.



You could use QD to get the clay residue and streaks off, but you could also just wash it and save your product. QD isn't nearly as cheap as just washing the car and it will probably take you nearly as long either way. Its up to you. There is no one way to do it that is better than the other.
 
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