Clay bar???

L

LQ9SS

New member
I am sure this topic has come up before. But is it absolutely neccasary to clay bar before polishing???



Me personally, I am not believer.
 
what's the point of polishing, if you have bonded contaminants on the surface? if you polish, and don't clay, you won't bring your lsp to it's potential and the paint's surface won't be smooth as well as dirty...
 
LQ9SS said:
I am sure this topic has come up before. But is it absolutely neccasary to clay bar before polishing???



Me personally, I am not believer.
Click to expand...



I'd suggest you do a small section then look at your clay and see if it has black streaks on it. Run your hand over the section you just clayed and compare it to the rest of the vehicle. Chances are you have imbedded dirt you aren't aware of. You should clay about once a year.
 
No, it’s not absolutely necessary to clay your car before polishing it.



Of course, it’s not absolutely necessary to polish your car at all.



In fact, it’s not absolutely necessary to wash your car.



It’s not absolutely necessary to have a car that looks good.



None of the techniques discussed around here are absolutely necessary.



The discussions around here aren’t really about what’s absolutely necessary. They’re about getting the best results.





PC.
 
The clay bar helps produce a "baby butt smooth finish" and gives you the best possible surface base before beginning polishing. You don't have to clay, but to get the best possible shine I'd include it. After the first clay, you may not have to do it again or only 1x per year.
 
LQ9SS said:
I am sure this topic has come up before. But is it absolutely neccasary to clay bar before polishing???



Me personally, I am not believer.
Click to expand...



so I will take it that you never clayed before?



try it ...it's cheap, easy and the amount of stuff you can pull from a car is crazy
 
I love claying cars...actually one of my favorite steps. Unless a car is newer than six months old, or it has been been recently clayed, I clay every vehicle I detail. It's crazy the stuff it will pull off of your paint.
 
If the vehicle has not been clayed & LSP'ed before, it is a requirement before polishing. I can't imagine polishing paint before claying knowing I just pulled out a load of junk while claying.
 
LQ9SS said:
I am sure this topic has come up before. But is it absolutely neccasary to clay bar before polishing???



Me personally, I am not believer.
Click to expand...



Not a believer? Any particular reason?



Give your car a nice wash and dry it off. Then go grab a ziploc baggy or some cellophane from a cigarette box and stick a few fingers in the plastic. Now run that plastic lightly over your windshield (if you don't want to rub your paint). If your windshield has any embedded contaminants you will feel them. Now if you run your hand over that same spot without the plastic over your hand you may not feel it. I forget the reasoning that the plastic amplifies the feeling of the contaminants though.



At any rate, what I'm getting at is get a feel for how your window feels. If it feels all junked up clay it (rather than your paint if you are a skeptic) and then then re-test your window with the baggy on your hand again.



You'll feel the difference for sure. You should feel the claybar snag on the contaminants and after a pass or two it's suddenly gone. :laugh:



Claying is probably one of my favorite parts of the process. It's painless and if the car is well kept it shouldn't take you but 20-30 minutes to clay the vehicle.



I'm starting to ramp up with the SuperBee-esque rants. :shocked
 
EisenHulk said:
I love claying cars...actually one of my favorite steps. Unless a car is newer than six months old, or it has been been recently clayed, I clay every vehicle I detail. It's crazy the stuff it will pull off of your paint.
Click to expand...





Case,

No clay for new cars? What about industrial fallout and rail dust? First thing you should do is clay a new vehicle. (I say this as if I do it every time :think:). Come to think of it I need to clay the GTI.



Preventing rust blooms from rail dust is fun to boot! :cooleek:
 
Looks like I should rethink my process. That's a very good point that I haven't even been considering. Luckily, 99% of the cars I've done thus far don't fall under the "new car" criteria I posted earlier. Ok...From now on, all cars get clayed.



Thanks for looking out, man.



Mindflux said:
Case,

No clay for new cars? What about industrial fallout and rail dust? First thing you should do is clay a new vehicle. (I say this as if I do it every time :think:). Come to think of it I need to clay the GTI.



Preventing rust blooms from rail dust is fun to boot! :cooleek:
Click to expand...
 
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