I want to claybar my car. I am short on spare time and looking to find the best way to use small chunks of time.

So, how dumb is this idea?:
1. Wash car.
2. Drive to another location.
3. Claybar car, using QD.
4. Let car sit for several hours.
5. Drive car either to car wash or home.
6. Only then wash car.

I know it is not the right way, but just how bad is it? I do not know when I will have the time to do it the right way, and I want to do it now.

 

^^ on a dusty boot car like the MINI's, imho you will want to clay as
soon as you are done washing it. QD can only do so much for the
dirty boot on this car. i mean, if you miss one dust stuck in the crevise
and it rolls out into your clay you can guess wat's going to happen to
your paint.

rinse thoroughly and be very careful when doing the boot.

 

I partially agree with kenchan - I'd clay the boot right after washing. But then if I had to drive a bit, I wouldn't sweat it as long as the rest of the car didn't get visibly dirty. I'd QD it WELL first with a microfiber to remove any dust, then clay with QD. I wouldn't sweat it... But I'm not QUITE as OCD and kenchan.

 

It really doesn't take that long to clay a Mini so I bet you will find that you can squeeze it all at one sitting

 

I do everything slowly. This is not going to happen in one sitting in the time I have available this weekend.

 

So you don't have like 30 minutes cause that's about all it takes me

 

im just saying cause if you rush chances are you're going to
create more work later.

 

The saying goes something like this, You never have time to do it right, but you always have time to do it over.

 

^^ in my case i dont have time to do it over so just do it right the first time.

 

Isn't the saying "if you don't have time to do it right, you must have time to do it over?"

 

If I thought I could wash, clay and wash the car in 30 minutes, or even close to 30 minutes, I would not have posted the question. I repeat: I do everything slowly. Much of my "plan," to the extent I have a plan, is to do this away from home, between boys' soccer tournament games. I want to take a clean car there, claybar, and then go to a wand wash an hour or two later to remove the QD/claybar residue.

If I don't do this, it could easily be a few more weeks before I do my spring maintenance.

 

I stand by my previous position. I of course agree with everyone (cause I'm an agreeable guy)... best to do it in one sitting, and doesn't take long, even if you're SSLLOOWWW...

But, worst case, do the boot when it's clean. After driving, inspect for any grit, if you see any, STOP. If not, QD (dust) with QD spray and a microfiber, then apply QD and clay. You should be fine... 'cause if you were wired like kenchan, you wouldn't be asking in the first place.

 

Agree with Blimey... Just be careful QDing after your drive. I will use a California Duster before the QD step if I have visible dust on the car, then use my microfiber and SLick to fnish it up. You should be OK, provided the drive after the wash isn't down gravel roads or on salty, snow-covered highways. It's not OPTIMAL, but it'll be fine.

 

I said it takes me 30 minutes to claybar not to wash & clay But you don't need to wash again after claying any QD residue can be easily removed w/a MF towel

 

unless you sneezed all over the car due to pollen.

 

AaaaaaaaaaaaaCHEW

 

 

I thought the saying was, "If you cannot do it right, then you might as well just save the time and have a beer." ??

 

Well in THIS case ther are DEGREES of "right" I think... But a beer (in moderation) is always the perfect accent to ANY decision making endeavor!

 

40% chance of rain tomorrow may make my decision for me.

Otherwise, I will probably wash, drive, park, claybar all but the boot, then drive and wash again sometime later in the day. The boot can be a mini-project for another day.

Thanks all.

 

started on my G last night at 8:30pm, paintprep, prima clay, and polish
(Griot Polish3) to midnite. did one coat of BofS... was 1:30am. washed
the MF and pads, finally sent to sleep at 2:30am.

will do another coat tonight, clarity the windows, WheelSheild the GT3's.

car had very minor swirls so i made 6 slow passes (speed 4.75, mild
pressure 2sec pad rotation) to get them out completely.
there's no way in hell you can do a quickie and still come out "right"
to our standards, imho. i only did one level of polish and
still took over 3hrs with no breaks to remove the wax and clay.
(well, im just a weekend detailer so maybe im just too damn slow).

 

So, is it safe to say you think I should budget more than 30 minutes for my whole job?

 

Yah if you want a quality job. I guess.

 

I don't think anyone in this thread, me included, said the whole job or even wash & clay would take 30 minutes. I personally said that the claying process takes around 30 minutes. Why don't you try to spread out your wash, clay, polish, wax, etc out over 5-6 days. That way you can go really slow like you like.

 

Got the second coat on, curing 2hrs. 74 RH running dehumidifier.