Can I skip Claying?

[Blueline]

My apologies if this has been asked before, but a search on claying brings a zillion unrelated hits. I may have even asked this myself before.
If someone is going to Ultimate Compound a hood, is it really necessary to clay first? Even if I were to try the UP I have left, would clay still be needed. Wouldnt the UC and UP just duplicate the clay? Thanks.

[The Guz]

Re: Can I skip Claying?

The baggie test will be the best way to tell you if you need to clay or not.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Can I skip Claying?

It really depends on how badly contaminated the finish is. If you've been keeping the surface clean regularly - and I know you get hit pretty hard with winter weather so it's not always that easy! - then you may well be able to skip claying. Over the weekend I give my wife's car a once over with M205 on a yellow foam polishing disc with the new MT300 and I did not clay before doing so. Obviously if the paint feels like 80 grit sandpaper you'll want to clay first, but you get to that point slowly over time so somewhere along the line it's a judgement call.

While it is true that compounding will remove some bonded contaminants, the potential downside is if the paint is heavily contaminated and you skip claying. Doing that will gather a lot of the crud into the pad and you rapidly end up with a very uncontrolled, inconstant abrasive load that can scour the paint and slow down your defect removal. At best, it will force a secondary polish that might not have had to be done; at worse it will make you wonder why the heck you can't get your paint to look even halfway decent. Obviously this would be more critical on a very high end car with black paint where the intent is to bring gloss and clarity to an extreme level, versus a silver daily driver that you just want to have looking decent.

If you're just feeling little bits here and there and you aren't stressing over perfection, skipping the clay process isn't going to ruin the car. If you want to be really particular about your detailing processes, you'll clay as soon as you start to feel those little bits here and there. And, as you can imagine, there is an infinite range of desires between those two.

[Blueline]

Re: Can I skip Claying?

Thanks Michael and The Guz. I am not a terrible perfectionist (nothing is perfect) but I do have two very nice vehicles, both are black, and do try to keep them as swirl/blemish free as possible. I have never done the baggie test, however I have an old ArmorAll drying towel that wouldn't dry a rain drop even new, but it is uncanny in detecting bonded stuff in the paint. You can feel it catching just gliding over the surface paint. So, in answer to the question, I probably do need to clay. (or use my nano towel) I am getting ready to do my spring detailing and for some reason, I HATE claying. I can and do everything else with great joy, enthusiasm, and satisfaction, but, if you excuse the pun, claying rubs me the wrong way. I was just trying to get out of doing it, but I probably will go for it to get the results I want. Thanks for the reply.

[The Guz]

Re: Can I skip Claying?

Looking forward to seeing some photos of your polished up rides if you get a chance to snap some photos.

[Top Gear]

Re: Can I skip Claying?

I'll admit to skipping it sometimes, but only because the surface already felt perfectly smooth. Claying the whole car really is a LOT of work, so there's no love lost, but it is an essential step otherwise. Generally, though, I'll definitely clay first before doing a spot correction, which can often eliminate further steps and work. I agree, though...it depends