Do you dry before claybar?

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KgSolomon1

New member
Usually I wash my car with Z-7, dry it with the cali blade and the big blue mf towel, then go to work claying (either z-18 or mothers if I run out), then I'd go strait to Z-1/Z-2 (now ZFXed' Z2). However, I was told that I should wash and rinse, but dont dry. They said rinse, wash, rinse, clay, then wash again and dry. What do you all do?
 
I don't always dry. Leaving a little water on the surface helps save lubricant while claying. Don't use the standing water as your only lubricant, but it does help out. If you use too much lube then it has been known to saturate the clay and make it useless. I just strip what water I can off with the hose (using the Perfect Drying Technique in the Hall of Fame forum) and then I go from there. On a car that doesn't have any wax or anything on it, the perfect drying technique doesn't work so well. That's usually when I break out the CWB and try to leave some water on the surface.
 
first of all, I recommend you stop using the CA Water Blade to dry your car. It is a long, straight gouge waiting to happen. It doesn't itself scratch the paint, but dislodge one little piece of grit you didn't get when washing, and you'll be sorry. I saw this happen in front of my own eyes on my black car. Lots has been written about this on the forum.



second, you didn't say why you were claying - but it should NOT be part of your regular regimen. Claying can and will induce swirl marks. Claying is GREAT for getting rid of "above-surface defects" such as adhered road grime, tar, tree sap, bug poop. I've found I only need to clay once every year or two, because I keep the car well waxed and the adhered stuff comes off easily in the course of a regular wash.



Now to answer your question - perfectly OK to leave the rinse water on the car - however I would recommend using car-wash-soapy water. Water alone is a poor lubricant. Soapy water is fine, as is detail spray. If the clay ever grabs or smears on the car, you don't have enough lubricant.
 
But wait! Are you doing the claying in a garage or (like me) curbside? No way I would leave the car wet for claying, since I'm relegated to curbside detailing, because I know I would end up with hidous waterspots (not to mention the risk of little bits of dust blowing onto the finish). Or at least that's been my thinking .... Anybody want to put my mind at ease? I know that lots of you whom I respect talk about leaving the car wet and proceeding to clay (*cough* BradB *cough*) :D, but I just don't feel comfortable doing that in this particular situation.
 
I am in line with Lynn except I do all my detailing indoors.



Waterspots and airbourne particulate matter!! :scared



Clay should remove any newly formed waterspots but not scratches. :(





CWB :scared :scared :scared
 
Using the CWB is just like everything else... You have to be careful with it. The CCD is just as big of a :scared for me, but many people get it to work just fine. I wouldn't suggest not using a product just because some people have a bad experience. I've never had a problem with it and I credit that to the fact that I take care of the blade between uses and I wipe the blade after every pass. You can do just as much damage to your car with a dirty microfiber as you can with the CWB if you are going to be stupid with it.
 
I have never had a problem claying my car outside after washing. I don't do it in direct sun. Its pretty easy to clay one panel at a time with the car wet and with some diluted wash soap in a nice spray bottle.



After doing one panel I re-wash/rinse the panel to make sure nothing is left behind.



As long as you are not doing it in the direct sun I don't think you have any worries with waterspotting. Unless you are claying in a desert sandstorm I don't think you would have issues with airbourne particulate matter. It will only take you 30-60 mins to clay the whole car anyway.
 
I just wash and clay at the same time. I find the best lubricant is the car shampoo itself. Sure is a lot less work too!
 
The first time I used clay, I dried the car down and sprayed it with lubricant. Now, I just leave the car wet and spray the lubricant on, clay a panel, and then rinse off. I also rinse the whole car down occasionally so that the panels don't go dry.
 
True Jngrbrdman and Pat300ZX but with black and its unforgiving nature, even the smallest of particulate matter (ie pollen) and the tiniest surface marring can be fatal to an Autopian's view of his/her detailing efforts. Call me paranoid but the CWB is one tool I never consider using. Then again I had my doubts about MF's a while back.:nixweiss



DF Towel ,

Excellent idea about claying as you wash ( 2 bucket method and good pre-rinse prior to claying step.) :xyxthumbs
 
I use some of the free standing water as lube. I do however get the leaf blower out and blow out all the nooks and crannies first so that I do not get other fallout. For example I was putting a small amount of pressure on the from near a reflector and some crud and dirt came out. I do not want to have that get into the clay. With the LB all I had to do was give it a quick blast and it is another problem I dont have to worry about.
 
I always dry prior to claying. Especially if you wash during the day. Even if your in the shade, the heat (and humidity) are enough to dry the water onto your finish. I've experienced this. I also like using the QD as-is. Mixing it with water may dilute it and lessen its viscosity.



With respect to the CWB, I understand where Greg is coming from. If I had a black car I wouldn't let it touch my paint. MF's and the like are safer because they have a nap that can draw in any leftover dirt, hopefully keeping it from scratching.



I use the CWB and I can see some places where it has scratched. It's making me think long and hard about whether or not I should continue using it.
 
When I wash, I have a spraybottle with sorta-strong wash solution (or the bottle of CMA Glide) hanging from my wash bucket and a piece of clay there too. As I find an area that needs clayed (tar, bug, whatever), I just



-wash and rinse the panel normally

-spray the sorta-strong solution/Glide on and clay the area

-quickly rewash and rinse the panel (not as meticulously as normal)



I DO work inside, but I also clay-as-I-go when doing a whole-vehicle claying (most recently a two-step claying with Griot's followed by CMA Block/Glide). Works fine, even when doing the MPV (which isn't exactly small). Just rinse the vehicle from time to time to keep it wet.
 
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