Do I have to clay?

M

M K J

New member
I have the Meguiars MF kit on hand. I have a few faint swirl marks on the trunk lid and the hood and roof look fine but do not "shine" after waxing the way the sides do.

Can I just wash with detergent to strip old wax and use the MF cut, then switch to the MF polish pad and apply Collinite and only do the panels I mentioned?

Do I have to strip old wax?

Do I have to clay?

I sound lazy but it's really a matter of time, in between drizzle. It's been drizzling every 16 hours around here for weeks.
TIA
 
If the surface is not smooth to the touch then yes it is recommended you clay. Stripping the old wax is a necessity too. If you can't get it all done in 1 day do it in sections. Wash/clay/remove old wax 1 day then polish the next day (provided it doesn't get rained on)

What compound/polish do you plan on using?
 
Any polishing that you do will automatically remove any old wax . I would definitely recommend claying prior to polishing. It will help to remove any imbedded contaminants that can act like abrasives and cause additional marring during your polishing procedure. It doesn't pay to cut corners here.
 
Get a fine nano skin sponge and wash the car with dawn, while it's soapy, run the sponge over the car, keep it slippery.....rinse.....done, ready for polish....
 
Trouble said:
If the surface is not smooth to the touch then yes it is recommended you clay. Stripping the old wax is a necessity too. If you can't get it all done in 1 day do it in sections. Wash/clay/remove old wax 1 day then polish the next day (provided it doesn't get rained on)

What compound/polish do you plan on using?
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For the BMW, The plan was not to compound at all, skip the Meg "Correction comp for MF" and just use the Megs "Finishing Wax for MF" on a MF finish pad. Do you think the Fin Wax will remove the few very faint swirls? Does it have any cut to it? It's just a few swirl marks on one corner of the trunk lid.

I tried Poly Seal Swirl Remover and Sealant after the Fin Wax step on my beater Nissan car as a TEST and I don't think that does much.
 
M K J said:
For the BMW, The plan was not to compound at all, skip the Meg "Correction comp for MF" and just use the Megs "Finishing Wax for MF" on a MF finish pad. Do you think the Fin Wax will remove the few very faint swirls? Does it have any cut to it? It's just a few swirl marks on one corner of the trunk lid.

I tried Poly Seal Swirl Remover and Sealant after the Fin Wax step on my beater Nissan car as a TEST and I don't think that does much.
Click to expand...

Definitely clay. You want a nice smooth surface before you polish, free of bonded contaminants. Sounds like you have a compound and a wax. Should probably get a polish. Least aggressive first, try the Fin Wax. If anything, it will probably only fill in the swirls and not remove them. Maybe pick up some M205 locally, or Megs Ultimate Polish if you want to pay less and get smaller bottle.
 
If you are in a hurry on the BMW and it only has a few swirls, you might just want to think about using a glaze such as Poor Boys Black Hole and then apply your wax to seal it in. Its not as good as polishing, but it is fast and effective at hiding a great majority of swirls.
 
As has been said, when correcting/polishing you always want to have a surface as close to perfect as possible. With the amount of time you're going to put into fixing the finish, take a little extra time and clay. If you're worried about time factor, break it up into a couple of days.
 
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