Wash after Claying?

No, it is not normally necessary. Some may choose to do so or do a alcohol wipe down to ensure the surface has absolutely nothing on it prior to polishing.
 
It all depends on how much muck you clayed off. I always rinse at least after claying, but sometimes I pull off so much crap that a wash is absolutely necessary. Like on this Range Rover I did last summer...



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This is what it looked like during the clay process!
 
shine said:
No, it is not normally necessary. Some may choose to do so or do a alcohol wipe down to ensure the surface has absolutely nothing on it prior to polishing.
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So the alcohol wipe down could be done before AND after polishing? Never down the IPA wipe down before, will try later this month when I do a full detail.
 
shine said:
Apollo, just curious what you were using as a clay lubricant?
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At the time that picture was taken I was using Auto Magic Body shine, but now I use ONR and water or sometimes just a constant stream of water. That Range Rover was probably the dirtiest clay detail I've ever done, but I've had some pretty nasty ones in this country, because nobody else in the country uses clay... the detailing world is still very primitive here. This is what the clay looked like afterward



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I basically clayed some, then washed it off with soapy water, clayed it again and so on until it was contaminant free... it took some time :). I think the guy said the car hadn't been washed in more than a year :nervous2:
 
That's quite the contamination on the Range Rover!



gth181a said:
So the alcohol wipe down could be done before AND after polishing? Never down the IPA wipe down before, will try later this month when I do a full detail.
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Yes, some choose to do both before and after. For example, ONR and other QDs can leave some polymer protection behind that could interfere or alter compounding/polishing.
 
I've been using 50/50 91% for everything prior to sealant and LSP, works very well. I would only think to wash the car for a second time if there's a lot of dust from compound or something, but claying is fine with the 50/50 afterwards.
 
I clay while the car is still wet from washing. I use Gliptone Body Gloss QD as a lube for now because I have about 5 bottles of it. I just spray the QD right onto the wet surface and do one panel at a time, rinsing with the hose after the panel is done. When I'm done the entire car I just do a quick wash to make sure I got all the clay residue off and none of the QD is left behind.
 
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