THIS is why you clay bar before polishing!!!

For those that aren't familiar with detailing, clay bars are used to remove dirt, dust, and other contaminants that are embedded in you paint [or clear coat] that simply washing your vehicle couldn't remove. The clay removes these contaminants, leaving you paint smooth as glass, and ready for polish and wax. If these contaminants are left in the paint when you start polishing, the polishing pad will pick them up and use them like sandpaper to make even more swirl marks.

I washed the wife's car the other day really well, and decided to use up the rest of my "cleaner wax" while I was at it. After washing really well with a new microfiber mitt and drying the car with a new microfiber towel, I felt the paint and could feel all the surface contaminants (no plastic bag was needed), but I thought I'd give it a shot anyway.

This is where those contaminants ended up:



I didn't get pics of all the new swirl marks I made, but hopefully you get the idea of what a clay bar is supposed to pick up and remove before your polisher spreads it everywhere.







UPDATE:
I got a chance this last weekend to finally do it right. The bottom-right corner is fresh clay, and the rest was a first pass on a 2'x2' area on the roof. The hood was even worse, and the front bumper was so bad that I had to throw the clay bar away afterwards (thankfully I did that last).

 

Good thing it wasn't your truck, SHEW!

 

Has she filed for a divorce yet?


Haha jk
If I jacked my husband's Jeep up I don't even want to know what would happen. He'd probably take a rock to my truck writing "fix this" to the primer.

 

Did you get the swirls out? I need closure!

 

Next time, use emery cloth

 

She's the kind that won't wash it for 4 months at a time. She's just happy that it's shiny and she doesn't have to do it.

 

I need to clay bar too. Probabaly should wash it first, been a month or better

 

I waxed mine Monday and washed/dried it off today, Friday. After I waxed it Monday evening it rained hard enough to almost get the sidewalk wet. Didn't even rain enough to settle the dust. Well it did settle on my freshly waxed truck. Black looked filthy and I could not stand it any longer...

 

Mine being white, hides a lot of that. Can barely tell it was scratched from tree limbs

 

precisely why I didn't wax it last wash...needs a clay BADLY along with some sap removal

 

my truck looks great, for one day, 6-8 times a year

 

So true.

 

Remember, a clay bar can also induce some micro marring all by itself. In theory, the contaminants removed from the paint surface get buried in the clay. That's the theory, but they can also induce marring before they get buried. When you're polishing with a foam pad, contaminants removed from the paint surface should also get buried in the pad. In theory, removing contaminates with clay first should be safer for your paint than just going right to a polishing pad. But I've seen some pretty crazy damage caused by clay too.

 

Very true, but the amount of marring caused by the clay bar should get corrected by the polish. Also, the amount of marring from the clay bar should be considerably less than just a straight polishing pad. Yes? No?

 

If claying your truck causes severe or noticeable marring, one didn't wash their truck correctly.

 

I'm not sure to tell you the truth. But everyone says that you have to use clay before polishing to avoid marring. But then the clay can also cause marring - which should be corrected by polishing. Hmmm.

Truth be told, I've very successfully polished a number of vehicles without using clay with no ill effects. Now if there was a ton of surface contamination, clay would have been a no-brainer.

My basic process is to check the surface first after a good washing to see how bad it is. If it's not too bad, I'll skip the clay. If it's bad, clay gets used before polishing. Here's one I did a while back without using clay: http://www.thedetailerscafe.com/smf/index.php?topic=2463.msg25323#msg25323

 

Haha! They look good in the rain too!

 

As the OP showed I wouldn't skip clay. Whatever contaminants are on the paint are going into the pad which is going to cause other problems. Just because you can doesn't mean you should skip claying.

 

That's because polish should be your final step. Here's the thing: the particulates in polish are all the same size, and much smaller than the size of the contaminant particles. The clay is meant to grab-lift-and-remove the contaminants BEFORE you polish so that the larger contaminant particles don't cause marring during your final polish. Also, if the clay is marring the paint, then not enough lube is being used. Clay should glide over the paint surface. If it's sticking or rubbing/dragging on the surface, then the contaminants that it's picking up are also rubbing and dragging on the paint. More lube will provide enough of a barrier for the clay to do its job and minimize the amount of marring before polishing it out.

Yes, it really depends on how much surface contamination there is, and the plastic bag test is the best for this. If there isn't much, you could get away with just polishing. But if there's a lot (like I had in the OP), then clay is a must!

Nice job, BTW!

 

Hey folks, newbe clay question. I wash my truck weekly and keep quality sealant and wax on it. Being retired I don't put on a lot of mileage and was wondering how often should I clay it. It's 7 weeks old and has been clayed once. Thanks for any comments. Dave