Should I wash, clay and wash again?

[BMW335i]

Is this neccessary? Can`t I just rinse off any clay residue or will this come to haunt me when I polish?

[David Fermani]

Either washing it off or leaving the residue on the finish really makes no difference. The harmful, abrasive contaminants are embedded into the clay and not left on the finish. I actually like leaving the clay lube (Body Shine) on the vehicle for polishing. It also saves time from having to rewash and dry the car again. $$$

[Bbasso]

I like to rewash, when clayed then dried I see a film on the car. That is dirt that you will be buffing back into the paint that you just clayed.



Washing after will get better results. IMHO.

[lp2137]

Some people clay as they wash so that may be an alternative you might want to look into. You just have to make sure you get enough suds to keep the clay lubricated.



I tried it once and I found it hard to wash, rinse and clay since I don`t have 3 hands but other people have used it and have been successful with it.

[David Fermani]

Some people clay as they wash so that may be an alternative you might want to look into. You just have to make sure you get enough suds to keep the clay lubricated.



I tried it once and I found it hard to wash, rinse and clay since I don`t have 3 hands but other people have used it and have been successful with it.



Just make sure that your clay won`t react to the soapy water, breakdown prematurely and not perfrom properly. Most do.



When I buff with the lubricant residue still left on the vehicle, it tends to make the finish feel a *little* softer sometimes. I`ve never seen it act abrasive towards the finish.

[percynjpn]

If you plan on polishing as the next step, all you need to do is wipe the paint down with a wet towel, rinsing it in fresh water as you go.