Why clay before I use 105?

[InfiniteDetail]

Re: Why clay before I use 105?

We've had several jobs where we thought claying wasn't necessary before compounding/polishing only to find that we had inconsistent and strange results. Returning to carefully clay the surface and remove all bulidup/contamination *always* fixed the problem. Sometimes the problem is buildup of too much glaze, wax, and QD residue which is effectively removed with clay. I'll stipulate that claying isn't always necessary, but there are times when it is essential. Better to just do it.

[Poki]

Re: Why clay before I use 105?

Besides all the great reasons given to clay....it takes less time than waxing and certainly less time than polishing so it's hardly a waste of time considering your goal.

[the other pc]

Re: Why clay before I use 105?

...I'd like to propose a little challenge to all of the "clay first" people...

Next time you wash your car, take some polishing compound and go over a small section, then take your clay bar and go over that same section and see it if picks up anything. I'm confident you'll find that the polish alone did a fantastic clean-up job.

... but I am willing to bet that if you divided a car's hood in two halves and did one half with clay and polish and the other half with polish only you would not be able to tell the difference between the two halves....

How much you willing to bet?

Been there, done that.

A guy brings in a truck with what had been red single stage paint. At the time it was pale pink.

Divided the hood into two halves, clayed only one of the halves. Then I went to town with the rotary and compound.

The result?

Buffing the finish was smoother, more consistent and more efficient on the clayed side. It was less so on the unclayed side.

What had been a dull pale pink hood was now bright glossy red. There's no question I ground off layers of paint.

When you ran your hand over the finish it was no longer rough, but smooth. Except the smooth feeling of the unclayed side was interrupted by specs of bonded contaminants.

Claying the whole hood afterward, the clay glided easily over the previously clayed side, collecting nothing. And the clay remained pristine white. It had originally turned pink when claying the oxidized surface.

Claying the other side, I felt the resistance one normally finds with bonded contaminants. And the clay showed the gunk it picked up.



pc

[overedline]

Re: Why clay before I use 105?

Ok then, I stand corrected. I'd never heard of anyone doing that sort of test before and am glad someone actually did! I never doubted that clay did a great job of cleaning the surface, but always questioned whether it actually did any better than a polishing compound...and thanks to you I have my answer.

[the other pc]

Re: Why clay before I use 105?

You're welcome.

[overedline]

Re: Why clay before I use 105?

I still say its a waste of time because a finish that is properly maintained by washing, waxing and polishing will look just as good and last just as long as one that is clayed regularly. A car thats only been polished might have some small amount of contaminants left in the surface but so what? Removing that tiny amount left behind from polishing won't add years to the paint and it won't make the car look any better than a car that's been polished well.

[2011Murano]

Re: Why clay before I use 105?

I would not try to change your mind on the subject , but as someone who just found this forum a couple months ago, and just learned how and why to clay a car, I for one am glad there is clay and enjoy doing it. I could not believe how much my brand new car needed it. I guess you could skip washing too if your going to compound , but I would rather do all the steps and use the least invasive method to get the job done. As someone new to this who just learned what it can do for the paint, I would recommend to everyone who asks the question to go ahead and do it , once they do it a few times , they won't need to ask the question again. my 2 cents, and thanks to the guys who urged me to go ahead and clay it, when I asked a few weeks ago.

[overedline]

Re: Why clay before I use 105?

I would not try to change your mind on the subject , but as someone who just found this forum a couple months ago, and just learned how and why to clay a car, I for one am glad there is clay and enjoy doing it. I could not believe how much my brand new car needed it. I guess you could skip washing too if your going to compound , but I would rather do all the steps and use the least invasive method to get the job done. As someone new to this who just learned what it can do for the paint, I would recommend to everyone who asks the question to go ahead and do it , once they do it a few times , they won't need to ask the question again. my 2 cents, and thanks to the guys who urged me to go ahead and clay it, when I asked a few weeks ago.

No one ever said anything about skipping washing. The whole point of this thread is whether claying before polishing is necessary.

[RaskyR1]

Re: Why clay before I use 105?

I still say its a waste of time because a finish that is properly maintained by washing, waxing and polishing will look just as good and last just as long as one that is clayed regularly. A car thats only been polished might have some small amount of contaminants left in the surface but so what? Removing that tiny amount left behind from polishing won't add years to the paint and it won't make the car look any better than a car that's been polished well.

While it may look the same from a distance, all those bonded surface defects will reduce the hydrophobic properties, it will also increase the resistance you feel on the paint when you go to dry it with your towels (aka. sand paper feel).


As far as not claying before polishing the paint...well, I can assure you it makes a difference. I spent the first 12 or so years working in high volume shops where we never clayed before polishing. Even hitting the paint with a wool pad and a rotary at 3000rpm's would not always remove everything. Instead the polishing simply rounded the larger contaminants off as the polishing pad is able to contour over them, where clay actually shears them off.

Rasky