Did I mess up claying? Or did I just not need to do it?

[lowew79]

I own a truck, bought new in 2012. Since then I have washed and waxed regularly with the meguiars products. Every time, in between washing and polishing/waxing, I have run my hand over the paint to determine if it needs clayed. It never seems to need it! The finish was always smooth to the touch. This truck stays in my garage and I don't drive much (just now at 16k miles).

Anyway today I did the same thing, wash then felt the finish, it felt smooth, but I've started to doubt my own judgement, I figured after nearly three years I better just clay it anyway. I think I did it right, I went slow, ran the clay over the same areas numerous times, and used lots of lube.

Here's the thing, when I was done, the clay was absolutely spotless! It also never hung on the surface (as if it was rubbing against something). The finish was smooth like always, maybe a LITTLE smoother, and shiny (it's a sparkly grey finish).

I wonder if I did it wrong? The finish was smooth as always, and the clay was pretty clean, so I figure I either did it wrong or didn't really need to do it.

Thoughts?

[lowew79]

Re: Did I mess up claying? Or did I just not need to do it?

Here's a few photos



Shiny finish after claying



Clean clay after use.

Also what do I do now? Go straight to wax or polish then wax?

[benbjam]

Re: Did I mess up claying? Or did I just not need to do it?

It seems as though your clay bar has a little bit of contaminants on it so it seemed to do the job. Being garaged and not driven that much (I assume not at all in bad weather), I'm sure its just been your upkeep thats made it seem as though you didn't do it right. But the process you used to clay is spot on. It was definitely due for a claying even though it didn't have the dirty results of a "normal" car after claying. :-)

And when you look at it up close with the lights shining on it, if you see any swirls or light scratches I would polish it.

[davey g-force]

Re: Did I mess up claying? Or did I just not need to do it?

Agreed. It looks like your clay is in fact very slightly contaminated, so it did its job.

Up to you whether you polish first or not. If you have the time, it will take the shine to a new level, if not, it will probably look great with just a coat of wax on it.

I'd hit it with a finishing polish like M205 first, (assuming it has only minor defects) but that's just me.

[lowew79]

Re: Did I mess up claying? Or did I just not need to do it?

I went ahead and used Ultimate Polish on it. I didn't really notice a difference in the final products look, but my wife swears it looks better than it ever has. The final finish was evenly smooth (like always), but it was more "slippery" if you will. So i guess the clay did some good. My personal final analysis is that the truck probably wasn't just in DIRE need of claying, but it did make some difference.

I guess I was expecting some super filthy, brown clay at the end, oh well, lesson learned!

[The Guz]

Re: Did I mess up claying? Or did I just not need to do it?

I agree with what was said up above. A good way to determine if you need to clay or not is to use the baggie test. In a nutshell grab a plastic (sandwich) baggie and put your hand inside the bag. Then run your hand lightly over the paint. It heightens your sense of touch.

Ultimate polish is a great product. It's more noticeable on darker paint as it deposits polishing oils onto the paint. On lighter colors it gives and even more glossier look. It can remove light swirls with a little effort if you do it by hand.

[Christopher.Brown]

Re: Did I mess up claying? Or did I just not need to do it?

As the smart people before me posted, you did absolutely nothing wrong.... in fact YOU DID EVERYTHING OH SO RIGHT!!!

With your truck being garaged and MORE than properly maintained you have been doing preventative maintenance so its condition has remained as close to your initial correction as possible.

To borrow a saying from Jason Rose: "Frequent Car Care is EASY Car Care" .... and this what you have done... This is what we ALL strive for... getting our cars flawless then maintaining them. In your case you've done it for years...

I know Michael stoops rarely performs full corrections on his vehicles because he lives by that mantra.

You should be congratulated for keeping your car on a level most of us are trying to attain.

Be proud. And ill bet, dimes to donuts, you are being overly critical of your work and the truck DOES look better after the most recent clay, polish, and wax. The reason it feels more "slippery" is because you decontaminated the surface...and as gus mentioned, the baggie test is great for this. Ive found the cheap thin produce bags from grocery stores to be the best because they are soooo thin.


Keep up the good work.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Did I mess up claying? Or did I just not need to do it?

Christopher summed it all up very nicely.

Since claying is designed to do one thing, and one thing only, if your paint finish is not in need of what clay does it simply won't benefit from it. That one thing clay does is to remove above surface bonded contaminants. This is anything from industrial fallout, road grime, paint overspray and other things that can and will stick to the paint if allowed sufficient time to do so. But if your vehicle isn't seeing a lot of exposure and you're cleaning it often and you're waxing it regularly, you just aren't giving all this stuff time to stick to the paint. That's great, and more people should be maintaining their vehicle this way. Change up your routine, however, and things will change quickly; wax the paint once a year, wash the vehicle once a month, leave it outside all the time and you'll suddenly find the paint feeling like 80 grit sandpaper and you'll be buying clay in bulk.

Our recommendation for you; just keep doing what you've been doing. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

[lowew79]

Re: Did I mess up claying? Or did I just not need to do it?

Oh wow thanks everyone I feel good about it now. I will definitely try the baggie test that was mentioned. Also good to know that the only thing you hurt by claying too often is your shoulder. Thanks for all the great feedback!