So I tried to find a definitive answer and got nowhere. What I want to know is, how to tell when claying is necessary? Here are the exact conditions I'm talking about: 1. Do I need to clay before every wax application or only before I apply a paint sealant every few months? 2. Is there a 'test' I can do to the pain to know if I need to clay before applying a new coat of wax? I've heard about running your fingers/using a plastic bag over the paint and feeling for gritty or non glassy surface. Is that all it takes? 3. If all I'm doing is washing, applying an extra layer of wax after a few weeks, do I need to clay? Seems like that'd remove the sealant and I'd have to start all over. Where I'm getting with is that some people show "sealant x beading after 6 months" pictures. Did that person not clay for 6 months and did not do any quick detailing/waxing in between or can I wax my car without having to clay every time (thus keeping the sealant intact)? So far my car paint looks spectacular, not a single hairline scratch or swirl mark, I want to keep it that way but having to clay every 3 weeks is getting a bit time consuming. Thanks for any replies.
I clay everytime I'm "stripping" the wax. Every time that i want to start fresh and apply completely new coats of protectant.
Anytime I'm doing a polish job I clay the car. Yes if you take a plastic bag you can feel the contaminantes after you wash the car.
You certainly do not need to clay every 3 weeks...i think that's a bit too much. obviously you clay when doing a full polish or taking your old wax off. but once you put sealant on and wax, just was with 2 buckets, and apply a layer of wax if desired. otherwise the sealant and wax should protect for more than 3 weeks at a time I would assume....
What we normally do as has already been stated is before a correction of the paint because it needs it, we wash really well , and then claybar the car to remove the embedded things that washing didnt remove, leaving a really clean, free of contaminates, surface for the LSP to adhere to better after the correction stage. Im thinking that if you have your paintwork looking and feeling great, then you dont need to clay anything until you decide by rubbing your clean, dry hand over a clean dry panel, that the amount of embedded contamination is at the level that you want to remove it. By claying at this time, you will also remove your last wax or sealant, etc., so after that process, you would want to re-apply it to protect your paint again. If you broke this up into something done bi-annualy, then its a couple times a year. You can do it as often or not as you choose to. Dan F
Thanks for all the replies guys. It seems that not claying before waxing is not a necessary step as I had originally though. I really just wanted to make sure I was not hurting things by waxing without claying. I was under the impression that if I did not clay I could damage the paint with swirls and scratches, but it seems I was wrong on that note too (provided the paint is in good shape). I'll stick with claying in the spring and fall and every time I feel like the sealant needs to be reapplied or the paint seems particularly dirty.
We are glad to help ! Regarding damaging the paint if you dont clay - no, its supposed to be - if you clay too aggressively, or without a good lube, you can sometimes add marring to the paintwork that would have to be corrected if you wanted to correct it. But in the case of us who do this for a living, if we mar the paintwork we will have to correct it. You have a great plan going forward - enjoy your ride ! Dan F
