Claying before buffing?

D

dom418

New member
Hey guys, I used my PC for the first time this weekend. I first clayed the car followed by 3M fine cut rubbing compound, then 3M hand glaze then I finished it off with Pinnacle wax. It came out really nice. My question is is claying necessary if you are buffing out a car with rubbing compound? Or did I just waste my time?
 
IMHO, yes. Claying and polishing perform a similar job (cleaning/prepping the paint) in different ways. One does not omit the need for the other.
 
You can clay without compounding or polishing.

But you should try to avoid compounding or

polishing without claying first.



Hope that makes sense..
 
Yeah, claying and compounding/polishing are two different things that are supposed to accomplish different tasks (even though there is some overlap).



Pulling [stuff] out of the paint with clay is different from abrading away both the paint and whatever's on/in it.



You did not waste your time and the claying almost certainly contributed to the good results.
 
But DavidB stated recently that clay did not in fact pull stuff out of the paint, but instead sheered it off at the surface.



If this is the case then thats pretty much the same effect as compounding...
 
I'm not about to :argue with DavidB ;)



Maybe I should've said "pulled it "off" the surface and from slightly below the surface". I *think* this is just a matter of semantics, but I don't see it as truly *shearing* contamination off exactly at the level of the surrounding paint or LSP. While clay doesn't always get *all* the (imbedded) contamination, it certainly does seem to get more than what's just lying on the surface.
 
butchdave said:
But DavidB stated recently that clay did not in fact pull stuff out of the paint, but instead sheered it off at the surface.



If this is the case then thats pretty much the same effect as compounding...
Click to expand...



No, not quite. Claying (as well as any other paint cleaning

procedure) is meant to remove bonded contaminants. It

is not really meant to level or bring up the gloss of a painted

surface like polihing would. Granted, there are some clays

that are agressive enough to affect a leveling of paint (similar

to wet sanding). But that is only because that kind of clay

is geared toward removing heavy contamination. As a

by-product, it can abrade paint to a certain degree.

However, even an agressive clay would need a compound

or polish to level off the marring it could induce. Whatever

shine you see from claying is not because it can work

like compound or polish; the shine you do see, is a result

of contamination being removed, allowing for better clarity

of the paint surface.
 
Let's be really clear:



1. If you clay a single stage paint (no clear coat) that's in good condition, you won't see paint transfer onto your clay.



2. If you compound a single stage paint your pad is going to turn the color of the car... you are abrading the paint away.



Yes, using a compound will remove surface contamination, but it's by far the worst way to accomplish the task.



Why are you using a compound? I hope it is for one of the following reasons:



1. Remove scratches and other small defects.



2. Remove severe oxidation or severe swirl marks.



3. Blend a paint repair or knock down orange peel.



If you are using a compound for any other reason, you will be abusing your paint.



I may have to start handing out excessive compounding citations!



db
 
I would never use rubbing compound in place of a good clay job. I used the compound to remove many hairline scratches and bring back the car's color from years never being waxed. I hope I didn't make it sound like I buff out my car monthly or else I would be down to bare metal by now.:p The car came out better than I expected and I am happy with the results. I just wanted to be sure I was following the right steps. Thanks for everyone's input!
 
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