The car in question is not a daily driver, is parked indoors when at home and when driven to work. Very little exposure to the elements, no tree sap, etc. It has only been in the rain a few times and is completely "babied". I regularly use Menzerna polishes a few times a year applied with my Porter Cable followed by Glanz wax. I don't have any swirls. Car does look really good other than a few small rock chips in front of the rear wheels.

Will there be any benefit to claying the car? Just curious as I have never clayed before. Maybe it would be a nice little Sunday project but if there is no benefit I probably won't waste my time.

Thanks for the advice.
Adam

 

Hey Adam,

Beautiful car from my experience any car that has been driven on the street can benefit from claying. Wash your car and then run you hand over the hood, roof, rear etc of car it should feel perfectly smooth like the day you brought car or smooth as a babies bottom lol if not and it feels even slightly rough then your paint has pick up some contaminants and can benefit from good clay bar cleaning. It' s very easy to do and you will feel immediate results good luck.

 

Cool. Thx for the reply and compliment! Yeah, paint is totally smooth but I think I will try it just to see what it is all about and see if any contaminants exist. I will look for a fine grade type clay.

Adam

 

Adam, you'll never know if you need to cay just by running your hands on the car. Your hand and fingers have ridges in them and you'll a perfectly smooth surface to rub on the paint. That's where a ziploc bag and some detail spray comes in. Assuming your car is washed and dried, spray some detail spray and put your hands in the ziploc and rub the paint. I promise that you'll probably feel something. That's stuff that washing, polishing with a PC, won't take off. Use a high quality clay and lube and you'll be very happy.

http://www.glisteningperfectionstore...rep/Categories

Hope this helps.

 

Like Moe said, dont just use your bare hand. Use a zip lock bag or cellophane.

 

A paint on a car that's driven on the road will more than likely have some bonded contaminants. In your case probably a lot less than the average but that does not obviate the need for claying. I would definitely clay it. You'll see dirt on the clay once you finish a panel.

 

Enless you have freshly clayed a car, it's always beneficial to clay bar. For example my best friend took delivery of his new nissian gtr. As soon as it showed up at the dealership he sent me over to detail it up before it hit the road. A lot of the shipping protection was left on the car, so that's the first thing I started ripping off. After the shipping protection was off I put the car under a ton of light and started the pre-detail look over. It looked good so after a de-contamination shampoo I went straight to claying. (I clay all cars I polish and 95% of cars that I put any sort of protection on) Well to make a long story short I was amazed by how much stuff my clay picked up off the new gtr. I had thought that since it was a new car, then it should be free of all bonded contamination. It's shocked me soo much I ended looking into where the hell could a new car pick up so much contamination. Well after some research I found out where. You see after you car is completed in the factory it is sometimes is pulled outside to make room inside the factory. This can be only for an hour, or it can be up to a week. After it leaves the factory it hops on a train or a truck. Then a boat, then another truck ect. So as you can see even before your car has driven a mile it can be pretty contaminated. I ended up sending the clay bar I used on the gtr to the lab my dad uses (he is a doctor) to see what I had picked up in the bar. 80% of the contamanets were "rail dust" therefore 80% of the contamination came from the train. The other 20% were "natural contamanets" in other words just normal stuff from being outside.

I personally always clay when I polish to make sure my pad does not pick up anything and scratch the car. I clay 90% of the time I wax a car because if I'm going to spend the time waxing or sealing I want to make sure the bond between the paint and wax/sealant is perfect and I also want to make sure their is nothing hiding that amazing shine I just spent hours trying to achieve which is exactly what bonded contamination does. It hides the shine.

If your going to clay and not polish make sure you use a very mild clay to make sure you do not mar the paint. Also be generous with the qd, because lube is very important. The plastic bag trick does work, but save your time and just start claying. Trust me, you'll feel stuff especially behind all wheels and the rear bumper.

I also noticed you use maz polishes and a pc. Personally I think maz polishes are the best, but if I were you I'd scratch the pc and pick up a flex. They are both random obitals, but the flex can correct a ton more and a ton quicker then your pc.

Let me know if you have any other questions. I don't detail for a living, it's just a huge passion I've perfected over the years. I learned from the same person that details Jay Lenos car collection, and a guy by the name of Paul Dalton, so I know my stuff.

 

Awesome! Guys, thanks for the replies and informative responses. Some real good info here. I am definitely going to clay my car. Sounds like it might be long overdue and no harm whatsoever. Hopefully the weather in Chicago improves very soon so I can take an afternoon and do this project. I assume I can clay the windows as well??

Yeah, I have debated about the Flex but I'm not in a spending mood right now, especially because my car''s paint looks pretty darn good. Not much correction needed but I will definately purchase the Flex in the future.

Thanks again,
Adam

 

I didn't read the responses you already have gotten BUT...

The answer to your questions is always yes. I'm not recommending that you constantly clay your car, but if you have to ask the question, then yes you need it. I rarely ever see a car that couldn't benefit from a clay. The best part about it is that if the car doesn't need it, it should only take you ~5 mins to complete. Much better to keep it up then wait until its bonded to the surface.

 

Cool. I didn't realize it only takes a few minutes. I was estimating an afternoon, kinda like when I polish and wax. I ordered 2 different clay bars to try. Both are due to arrive this week and I plan to try it next weekend.

Thanks again for all of the responses.

Adam

 

Keep us informed on your test of two different clay bars good luck.

Dave

 

Not sure Id say 5 minutes. More like 30 min- 1 hr.+ depending on the condition of the paint. Something I didnt see mentioned yet is the type of clay to use. Not sure what Moe has to offer, but I would use a mild clay.

I think he meant 5 minutes if the car is in great shape and doesnt really NEED claying. But even then Id say at least 15- 20.

 

Agreed...minimum of 15 min even if the car doesn't really need claying. However, even if the car is garaged and washed properly, around 2-3 months, you can clay and see what's built up just in that short time.

 

Had to post this response.....4000th post.

 

You sound like a guy that really takes good care of his car. What would you say is the best car wax for a very high glossy shine. I'm using Zymoil, but I'm curious if you like something else better.

Also, have you heard of Regex wax ? I heard it works really great on rims, like keeping the inside part of your rim clean of brake dust, dirt, oil, etc ? I read up on it and it said it is not a wax but a polymer coating that is impervious to soap, wheel cleaner, the sun, UVA rays, etc.

Any thoughts ?

Thanks and PLS advise - JIM in Texas