My daughter and I went over to the auto body shop to get her things out of her 2011 which was totaled by the insurance company due to the damage from the recent tornadoes that came thru here. To bad she had a top of the line Elantra. Now she is going to have to step down a model. Anyway, I got to talking to the owner, as he is a friend, and I asked him about claying a car before you polish and wax. He has been in the business for about 40 years. He said claying is a waste of time to do on a entire car. Claying he said was originally done in the 30's to clean overspray and in some paints to blend colors and that is really all it is good for. If you have a orbital buffer or a regular buffer, the correct pads for polish and wax and the correct speed for each function and you know how to use a buffer, a good polish and wax done right will give you the same or better results than adding clay to the mix. It is way to labor intense for a shop to do, so when customers asked we tell them it will add $100 to the detail. That turns them down.

I did it once back in the late 90's and will never and have never done it again, way too much work and it really didn't come out any better then my routine of polish and wax I used then.

 

I was skeptical of using clay until I actually tried it. I'm now a believer. Personally I think it does a great job and I didn't think it was that hard or too much work. However, if you regularly polish and wax the car and the finish is in good shape you don't need to do it often. When I bought my car one of the first things I did was give it a good polish yet you could still feel little "rough" spots on it when you would wipe your hand across the finish. After claying it was mirror smooth. I do it to mine about once a year usually in spring after a long Wisconsin winter. I was amazed at how much stuff it took off the first time I did it. You don't have to press hard and can feel when there is a piece of debri there. I used a spray wax to keep the areas wet while I was doing it. How long it takes depends on how bad it was to start.

 

i also am a huge fan of clay barring....my ole black 84 XJ6 came out like brand new, it was so good i took a pic of the hood, half clayed, half original. Even in a pic the difference was amazing....after using the clay bar i used a black liquid wax designed for black paintwork....i'll be doing the same to the X type if i ever get some time off work :+)
I'll take a before and after pic for y'all, just give me a few days or so

 

If you set your mind at ease please go and post Detailing Forums and ask some experts , they will surely give you their best advice

 

For me it is too much work and as I said I use very good polish and wax's and sealants. So whatever turns you on.

 

The trick to having a successful detail is almost entirely based on prepping. Claying a car is a huge chunk of that prepping. You don't start painting with a used canvas - just as you wouldn't detail a car full of contaminants.