I recommend doing a light polish after claying.

Source: I detail for a living

gosh ... I'd expect my detailer to know better

a clay job is nothing more than a super fine polish .... no magic .... no special solutions .... just a super fine abrasive applied with a lubricant

aka a super fine POLISH applied WET

another polish on top can't hurt ... but then neither would 2 or 3 ......

I object when dealers (and detailers) charge hundreds for this 'service' and dislike MORE when they pile on .....

$5 and a couple of hours and JOB DONE

 

The "couple hours" is what you are paying for. If someone you hire is charging $50/hr and they have a family, that's not a big take home after employment taxes, self-employment taxes, social security, healthcare, insurance, rental of workspace, etc. Detailing shouldn't be cheap, not if you want the detailer to make a good enough living that it's worth keeping at it and developing a lot of skill at it. Manual labor doesn't mean valueless.

Sorry, I just get cranky when people ***** about cost of labor when "I can do it for free". Sure, you can — I do most of my own home and car maintenance — but that doesn't mean it's not legitimate for others to charge for their time and skill.

No argument on dealer prices though. The difference between the labor rate they charge customers and the rate they pay the techs that do the work is scandalous. But I'm biased; I think most car techs aren't paid enough for the value they provide. I've replaced my own engine once; it gave me a very healthy respect for their work. :-)

 

Sorry BJ I disagree, the clay sucks the impurities out of the paint, removing just about everything but the paint. Done right it's a hard labor intensive job, afterwards a fine carnuba wax job and bobs you uncle!

 

Capt_bj is correct. It is always a good idea to polish after using a clay bar. Even when done correctly, claying will leave some slight marring to the paint. A light polish will remove this marring.

 

Perhaps I misunderstood, yes you have to wax/polish after claying, it's essential because the clay has removed everything. I disagree that the clay is an abrasive, the process of working the clay into the paint literally sucks the crap out of the paint, that's why the clay bar has to be discarded after awhile because if you didn't it would indeed become abrasive. In any event, nothing makes a car look so good. YMMV.

Cheers

 

I'd agree that you need to seal or wax after claying since you've removed any paint protection (in most cases). But polishing I'd think should really be on a case by case basis, depending on paint condition, level on contamination and type of clay used.

Claying itself can be abrasive, but it won't polish your paint. In fact, claying can leave micro-marring of the paint surface, meaning you'll have tiny abrasions all over if you're using a more aggressive clay to remove contamination.

If you're using an off the shelf kit from the local auto parts store, it'll most likely have a fine grade clay and won't automatically mean you need to polish after use. That will depend on your inspection of the paint post-claying and the level of correction you're looking for.

 

Interesting thread....I just stumbled onto it. One thing I will add, assuming it hasn't already been discussed since I did not read the entire thread is......whether or not to polish after clay baring the surface "may depend" on the type of paint your car has. I have a classic BMW that has NO clearcoat (it came that way from the factory...Schwarz Glasurit paint). Many years ago, due to a particulate pollution problem from a factory near where I worked my black BMW was covered with little white spots! Not knowing any better (and remember, this was back in the days before wide use/knowledge of clay bars) the only way I could get rid of these spots was by polishing...and of course it REMOVED PAINT!

If only I had known about clay bars back then I'd have more paint on the car today! There's no way I would polish that finish without a clearcoat after clay baring the paint today, as long as the surface was smooth to the touch....waxing is all it will get now! The damage has been done.

Depending on the condition of your paint, and whether or not it has a clearcoat, you might want to be careful using polish "anytime"!

 

I use Griot's surface prep mitt instead of a clay bar.

https://www.griotsgarage.com/product...fType=&from=fn

It does the same thing as a clay bar and lasts much longer. It is washable, so you don't have to throw it away if you drop it on the ground. It has a much larger surface area than a clay bar too.

 

Thanks for that link! I have used Griot's products for many years, but I missed "the mitt"! I use Speed Shine all the time! Great products!

 

Thanks Dave, always looking to save some time and that mitt looks just the trick. Cheers.

 

kid's clay and a bucket of soapy water is all you need

but if you want to spend $20 versus $2

more power to ya

 

Kid's clay is different, it's softer and sticks to the paint even when lubricated with spray detailer, soapy water is even worse, in my experience.

Automotive detailing clay bar is an engineered polymer, that is protected by patents.

I tried to be cheap and it didn't work for me. I haven't used clay bar since I found out about Griot's surface prep mitt.