Is it really necessary to clay?

[VitoB]

Allow me to explain....



The whole point of using a clay bar, or at least how I understood it, is to safely remove contamination that has bonded to the paint, without abrading the surface.



Until now, when I detail a car that only needs some protection applied I do the following:



-Wash

-Clay

-Wax



I am questioning if the results would be just as good if not better, if I did this:



-Wash

-Polish car with PC using a gentle paint cleaner (example: Meguiar's #80, Menzerna Final Polish II)

-Wax



I think with the PC, the paint would be cleaned better than rubbing a bar of clay on it since the machine has some power behind it. Wouldn't the polisher remove the contamination the clay bar would have removed?



I am curious as to what others think of this...

 

[Dan]

I can tell you've never used clay before. Spend the $15, and come back and tell us how much you liked it.

 

[steelwind101]

Hi!



If you run a machine polisher over a non clay'd car you will get all the contaminents on the pad, that will then abuse your paintwork by marring as you move it around. In other words its a big no-no.



AMongst other reasons that has to be the best!

 

[VitoB]

I can tell you've never used clay before. Spend the $15, and come back and tell us how much you liked it.

Yes I have used a clay bar before several times, I am not a beginner, I know exactly how it's used. I also know how it makes the paint smooth as glass, just wondering if you're going to polish a car if it's a wasted step.

 

[Poordude]

I have used uc on a yellow pad with a pc & contaminents will not come off. A quick rub with even a mild clay & they are gonzo.

 

[VitoB]

I have used uc on a yellow pad with a pc & contaminents will not come off. A quick rub with even a mild clay & they are gonzo.

Well that pretty much sums it up then, I will definitely continue to clay every car that I detail.



Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Dan]

I have used uc on a yellow pad with a pc & contaminents will not come off. A quick rub with even a mild clay & they are gonzo.

Agreed. Plus even if you use a chemical solvent heavy polish that would remove the containments, you end up trashing your pads.

 

[Dan]

Yes I have used a clay bar before several times, I am not a beginner, I know exactly how it's used. I also know how it makes the paint smooth as glass, just wondering if you're going to polish a car if it's a wasted step.

Wasn't trying to be insulting, just that if you had used clay vs polish, you should have noticed a HUGE difference in feel of the paint.

 

[VitoB]

Wasn't trying to be insulting, just that if you had used clay vs polish, you should have noticed a HUGE difference in feel of the paint.

No offense taken. There is definitely a difference for sure, and come to think of it, claying was probably the first thing I learned in detailing, I don't think I've ever waxed or polished a car without claying it first. I will stick to the claying.

 

[WaxManRonnie]

Yes I have used a clay bar before several times, I am not a beginner, I know exactly how it's used. I also know how it makes the paint smooth as glass, just wondering if you're going to polish a car if it's a wasted step.

If your questioning your steps, then your not

Fully understanding what the clay step does.

The only thing you can do is determine by your

standards whether or not the car needs it.

 

[imported_mystic04]

use the Clay first before you polish. I never polish or wax without using clay why spend time polishing paint with a bunch of crap still laying on the surface kinda defeats the purpose of polishing ,if your going to polish with all the grit and grim still sitting on top of the paint your just doing more damage in the long run by not doing the clay first.It dosen't take that much more time to clay to make a nicer job it's what will set you apart from the other guy in town.

 

[Accumulator]

Noting that I'm a *BIG* fan of clay and have been using it since the early '90s, I even spot-clay at *every* wash....



I still find it interesting that we got by just fine, for decades, without clay Even on black ss lacquer; it's not like there were issues that weren't resolvable until detailing clay came out.



Yeah, yeah, I do agree... you oughta do it, at least generally speaking. But no, I really don't believe it's absolutely necessary for good results, at least not in some cases. And I often think that people oughta use decontamination systems more than they do; sometimes in place of clay, sometimes in conjunction with it. I can *almost* take the "why you gotta use clay!" argument and apply it to the decon stuff instead.



Just sorta thinking out loud....

 

[Alexshimshimhae]

its ok people stand back the situation has been contained! no need to kick him in the shins! (i've pondered the same thing myself lol)



btw i would like to know more about paint decontamination

 

[Accumulator]

.. i would like to know more about paint decontamination

Alexshimshimhae- Go to http://www.autoint.com and read up on "ABC".



Decontamination is (generally) a chemical process, whereas claying is a mechanical one. Both have their place and their pros/cons or rather, reasons why one or the other (or both, used together) might be better for certain jobs.

 

[Alexshimshimhae]

seems to not have an "order" button...

 

[Rob Tomlin]

Noting that I'm a *BIG* fan of clay and have been using it since the early '90s, I even spot-clay at *every* wash....



I still find it interesting that we got by just fine, for decades, without clay Even on black ss lacquer; it's not like there were issues that weren't resolvable until detailing clay came out.



Yeah, yeah, I do agree... you oughta do it, at least generally speaking. But no, I really don't believe it's absolutely necessary for good results, at least not in some cases.

Well, you can say that about a ton of things when it comes to detailing, can't you?

 

[Accumulator]

Alexshimshimhae- I've always called them up and ordered over the phone. But a lot of vendors (e.g., maybe Autogeek) seem to handle their stuff these days.



That reminds me that my pal Ron K. has apparently retired He was a great contact...



Rob Tomlin- Heh heh, yeah...and I guess I was just wasting bandwidth But I do sometimes think it could be interesting to do a car "all the wrong ways" or maybe rather "all the obsolete ways" and see how nice it would still turn out. Sometimes people here act like nobody coulda had a decently detailed car until all the modern stuff became available.