Do you clay EVERY car that you detail?

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White95Max

New member
So far, I have clayed every car that I've detailed. I did notice though, that when I polished a small part of my dad's van with PI III MG and then AIO, it was very smooth afterward, even though it had never been clayed and was very rough beforehand.

So do you ask your customers if they want the car clayed and charge extra, or is it just part of your normal process?
 
If I am waxing a car I usually clay it. I just run the clay over the car when it's soaped up. I use the soap as the lubricant. It's very fast this way. Like Scott said sometimes I just clay the tops and tops of fenders. Depends on the situation.



JW
 
Scott - So you don't even clay the horizontal surfaces every time? I'm referring to first-time details here, not returning customers that have already had the claying.
 
ALL new details get clayed. Not just some panels, but ALL. It just wouldn't be a detail if I skipped that step. Clay really makes the surface smooth as glass.
 
Every time for me, doesn't take that long unless it's a station wagon.

Doing it while soaked in shampoo is a great way, I don't do it while the car is still wet after final rinse as water may dry up on paint before I'm finished and that means water spots



Will try the soap as lube next time.

I know one particular dealership here in south OZ that sometimes rotary buffs the paint to get fallout off

Problem is that only takes the top edge off the fallout, it doesn't remove it completely



It must be clayed.
 
NO. I do not clay EVERY car that I detail. Actually, I do not clay ANY car that I detail. And I would never ask my customers if they wanted the car clayed.



I have always used the proper professional cleaners, polishes and waxes that I know from experience will provide the results necessary to satisfy my customers. You should see the look on the face of my customers when I hand them a soft cotton towel so they can feel how smooth the surface of their car feels after it gets detailed. To me, satisfying my customer is the only thing that matters.
 
mirrorfinishman said:
NO. I do not clay EVERY car that I detail. Actually, I do not clay ANY car that I detail. And I would never ask my customers if they wanted the car clayed.
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No offense to you, but I would never bring my car to you.
 
Majority of all details I do clay the entire vehicle, but most of my customer's have vehicles that are in pretty decent shape to begin with (healthy paint), so I may just clay the horizontal surfaces & trouble spots (bug & tar, scuff marks, etc.).
 
Frank: Unless you use something like the ABC wash on your customer's vehicles, then I just don't know.



Claying is such a crucial part to removing imbedded contaminants. I don't clay every car I do because some customers could simply care less. A "clean" and shiny car is more than enough for them.
 
i do and most of the time its more of a spot clay, which ususlly takes me about 30 minutes or so. If im removing overspray then ill charge them extra but if im doing a detail for some one and lets say i charge them $75 then ill clay, smr, polish, wax .
 
It sounds like a lot of you just focus on the horizontal surfaces as far as claying.

But I've found that most of the tiny rust spots that the clay pulls out are found on the sides of the car. I figure this is the most important area to clay, so the rust spots are removed before they get any worse.
 
White95Max said:
Scott - So you don't even clay the horizontal surfaces every time? I'm referring to first-time details here, not returning customers that have already had the claying.
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Not every single new customer *needs* their car clayed. Usually, but not always. If I feel any grit at all, it gets clayed. Glass smooth, no clay.



The sides are the same way, if they aren't glass smooth, I clay. The top of the rear bumper almost always needs claying.
 
Scottwax said:
Not every single new customer *needs* their car clayed. Usually, but not always. If I feel any grit at all, it gets clayed. Glass smooth, no clay.



The sides are the same way, if they aren't glass smooth, I clay. The top of the rear bumper almost always needs claying.
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So you feel the car after washing/drying to see if it's smooth?

I don't think I've ever come across a car that I'm detailing that has ever been very smooth on horizontal or vertical areas before claying. :nixweiss
 
Fallout's favourite place is top of the rear bumper. Why I don't know

Lately the car's I have seen had fallout in the little crevices where the body and the windows meet. My second clay bar gets flattened really thin at one end so I can get in there.

Even had to remove fallout from my car's lower exterior trims
 
White95Max said:
So you feel the car after washing/drying to see if it's smooth?

I don't think I've ever come across a car that I'm detailing that has ever been very smooth on horizontal or vertical areas before claying. :nixweiss
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I can tell by washing with QEW if a car needs to be clayed. You will feel drag across the paint and actually hear the pad as it goes over grit.
 
I clay only if the client pays for it. If the vehicle needs to be clayed I will point it out to the client, let them feel the surface so they understand what I am talking about and explain the process I will use to correct it. If at that point they do not want to pay for the service I will not do it whether it needs it or not.
 
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