After Claying Should I.....

[98BlackSierra]

I’m sure this has been discussed before, but I’ve got mixed answers on this. Currently detailing my Silverado before I turn it back in as it’s a lease. I washed and dried it before claying. My question, do I need to remove the residue after claying if I’m going to use the One Step Polish or any polish/correcting compound? Or can I just begin to use the Swirl Killer over the residue? Thanks for any help.

 

 

[imcrazy]

On 6/5/2019 at 12:40 AM, Rich said:

I went from a Cadillac CTS to a 19 Equinox.  Already have buyers remorse.  It's roomy, has everything we need, but the quality is really lacking. Got the premium with the 2.0 turbo, so it has plenty (or at least enough) power, but the seats are so darn uncomfortable which should be when you're paying for the "premium" product.  Drove 6 hours home from the beach and my rear was dead.  I almost wish someone will total it so I can get something else.  

 

Man that sucks... We have been pretty happy with our 2019 Premier 2.0T, haven't made any long trips yet but, seats are pretty decent, maybe even a bit better than my 2016 Silverado...

[Rich]

You don't need to do anything.  Go right ahead and polish away.  

[falcaineer]

17 minutes ago, Rich said:

You don't need to do anything.  Go right ahead and polish away.  

 

[98BlackSierra]

Perfect 👌🏼

 

Thanks guys

[DJF3864]

Kind of a related question.  If instead of going for a machine polish you were going to go and use Revive hand polish would you still just continue on and polish or would you recommend washing prior to the hand polishing? 

Edited May 29, 2019 by DJF3864

[TheWolf]

4 hours ago, DJF3864 said:

Kind of a related question.  If instead of going for a machine polish you were going to go and use Revive hand polish would you still just continue on and polish or would you recommend washing prior to the hand polishing? 

 

I must politely disagree with the above replies.

 

When claying, contaminates get knocked loose  and reside in the residue, which is why you should NEVER hand or machine polish right over the residue, or apply wax or sealant right over the residue.  Machine polishing over the clay residue is the worst, since any contaminates in the residue get picked up in the pads and worked against the paint by the machine.  Also, the clay residue clogs up the pads making them less effective and increasing the time required for polishing.  And it does not matter that it has been done and people do it, it just does not make any sense. Even the time savings justification that it "skips a step not removing the residue" does not make sense, since the time lost to clogged-up pads far exceeds the minimal time it takes to remove the residue before polishing.

 

My preferred method of removing claying residue is by washing.  I just make the claying step part of the washing process.  After wasing and rinsing, when the paint is clean, I move straight to claying instead of drying.  After claying, make another rinse to remove the residue, then dry before moving to the polishing step.

[Beemer]

I usually do a Rinseless Wash after clay.  Only takes a few minutes and I'd rather not polish over the residue.

 

 

[DJF3864]

Thanks for the follow-up guys, appreciate it.  I am sure you get tired of the same noob questions constantly getting asked but its nice to see people still willing to help out where they can and not getting pissed having answered the same time 10 times.

[falcaineer]

3 hours ago, TheWolf said:

 

I must politely disagree with the above replies.

 

When claying, contaminates get knocked loose  and reside in the residue, which is why you should NEVER hand or machine polish right over the residue, or apply wax or sealant right over the residue.  Machine polishing over the clay residue is the worst, since any contaminates in the residue get picked up in the pads and worked against the paint by the machine.  Also, the clay residue clogs up the pads making them less effective and increasing the time required for polishing.  And it does not matter that it has been done and people do it, it just does not make any sense. Even the time savings justification that it "skips a step not removing the residue" does not make sense, since the time lost to clogged-up pads far exceeds the minimal time it takes to remove the residue before polishing.

 

My preferred method of removing claying residue is by washing.  I just make the claying step part of the washing process.  After wasing and rinsing, when the paint is clean, I move straight to claying instead of drying.  After claying, make another rinse to remove the residue, then dry before moving to the polishing step.

 

I don't get clay residue, and only have DS or diluted RW residue left because I tend to use the mitt. Since I occasionally use DS to prime the pads or reactive my polish, it's similar in my mind. But to each their own 😀.

 

Whatever you decide, we just want to see pictures!!

[TheWolf]

28 minutes ago, falcaineer said:

 

I don't get clay residue, and only have DS or diluted RW residue left because I tend to use the mitt. Since I occasionally use DS to prime the pads or reactive my polish, it's similar in my mind. But to each their own 😀.

 

Whatever you decide, we just want to see pictures!!

 

I still think its just as likely to have contaminates knocked loose with the Clay Mitt, and then reside on the surface in the DS or RW residue.  It may even be more likely, since the mitt is not sticky like clay, and particles would not stick to or get embedded in the mitt like they do in real clay.

[mc2hill]

4 hours ago, TheWolf said:

 

I must politely disagree with the above replies.

 

When claying, contaminates get knocked loose  and reside in the residue, which is why you should NEVER hand or machine polish right over the residue, or apply wax or sealant right over the residue.  Machine polishing over the clay residue is the worst, since any contaminates in the residue get picked up in the pads and worked against the paint by the machine.  Also, the clay residue clogs up the pads making them less effective and increasing the time required for polishing.  And it does not matter that it has been done and people do it, it just does not make any sense. Even the time savings justification that it "skips a step not removing the residue" does not make sense, since the time lost to clogged-up pads far exceeds the minimal time it takes to remove the residue before polishing.

 

My preferred method of removing claying residue is by washing.  I just make the claying step part of the washing process.  After wasing and rinsing, when the paint is clean, I move straight to claying instead of drying.  After claying, make another rinse to remove the residue, then dry before moving to the polishing step.

 

I will sometimes added the clay part into my Rinseless process.  Wash the panel, spritz with clay lube (I use diluted Rinseless wash), clay section with the clay mitt, spray with Coating Prep to remove left over wax/sealant, wipe with quality MF towel to dry (I like the fluffy waffle weave towel Adam's used to sell).  I only use this method when I am doing a paint correction.

[Chris@Adams]

I agree, I polish right over clay residue.

[RayS]

This is about like the Brilliant Glaze under or on top...   It seems that we have two different camps on whether or not to wash after clay.  While I have saw and done both, I have my preference for each, while Dan and I may take an extra 15-30 minutes, it makes me feel better to wash the vehicle after clay.   The few times that I did polish over the residue there were no ill effects, but I just wasn't comfortable with the method, so I'll stick to washing after clay.

 

I'm also the one that dropped the clay in the sand once and hit half the trunk before I released how bad I messed up, so I do like to make sure I got it right and didn't miss anything before I start polishing.  I also believe by having the vehicle clean, I see the level of imperfections and I get a better idea of how aggressive I need to be on the polishing.  The question from the other Dan about using Revive after Clay, I have done so once, but the vehicle was in exceptional shape and didn't need anything more aggressive.  The rule is to always use the least aggressive method possible and Revive does a great job when there are limited imperfections.

[imcrazy]

You're very kind to be detailing it before turning the lease in, I never even washed my cars upon turn in... I'd just HGG it at this point and call it good...

[Nickfire20]

1 hour ago, imcrazy said:

You're very kind to be detailing it before turning the lease in, I never even washed my cars upon turn in... I'd just HGG it at this point and call it good...

I was gonna say the same!  I traded in my old 2016 tahoe,  H2O and VRT On the tires,  obviously it was generally in great condition,  I worked them and got $47K for it.  They said it looked better than show room.

[98BlackSierra]

1 hour ago, Nickfire20 said:

I was gonna say the same!  I traded in my old 2016 tahoe,  H2O and VRT On the tires,  obviously it was generally in great condition,  I worked them and got $47K for it.  They said it looked better than show room.

 

Well I wouldn’t normally, but there are some larger scratches that I want to get rid of so I don’t get charged for any damages. 

[Mbrazelton]

On 5/29/2019 at 10:13 AM, TheWolf said:

 

I must politely disagree with the above replies.

 

When claying, contaminates get knocked loose  and reside in the residue, which is why you should NEVER hand or machine polish right over the residue, or apply wax or sealant right over the residue.  Machine polishing over the clay residue is the worst, since any contaminates in the residue get picked up in the pads and worked against the paint by the machine.  Also, the clay residue clogs up the pads making them less effective and increasing the time required for polishing.  And it does not matter that it has been done and people do it, it just does not make any sense. Even the time savings justification that it "skips a step not removing the residue" does not make sense, since the time lost to clogged-up pads far exceeds the minimal time it takes to remove the residue before polishing.

 

My preferred method of removing claying residue is by washing.  I just make the claying step part of the washing process.  After wasing and rinsing, when the paint is clean, I move straight to claying instead of drying.  After claying, make another rinse to remove the residue, then dry before moving to the polishing step.

 

This is what I usually do.  I have even washed it by hand then foamed it again and used the foam as clay lube. 

 

 

[imcrazy]

16 hours ago, 98BlackSierra said:

 

Well I wouldn’t normally, but there are some larger scratches that I want to get rid of so I don’t get charged for any damages. 

Ah that makes sense... Good luck! FWIW I always wipe my truck down as I clay it...

[Nickfire20]

22 hours ago, 98BlackSierra said:

 

Well I wouldn’t normally, but there are some larger scratches that I want to get rid of so I don’t get charged for any damages. 

Gotcha, definitely makes sense then! 👍

[imcrazy]

What are you planning on getting next? I leased about 8 cars in a row between the wife and I and it was always fun getting something new every 3 years.. I started a new job and I needed to put about 30k miles a year on my ride (work pays for it) so a lease was out of the question for me and when we got the wife's equinox the deals were not that good and we were tired of the lease cycle so we bought that too..

[Rich]

I went from a Cadillac CTS to a 19 Equinox.  Already have buyers remorse.  It's roomy, has everything we need, but the quality is really lacking. Got the premium with the 2.0 turbo, so it has plenty (or at least enough) power, but the seats are so darn uncomfortable which should be when you're paying for the "premium" product.  Drove 6 hours home from the beach and my rear was dead.  I almost wish someone will total it so I can get something else.  

[98BlackSierra]

After I turn the truck in, I won’t be leasing another. I’m going to look for an older Tahoe so I don’t have a payment. We had a baby in November so it will help with bills 

[Yo-Yo Ma's Cousin]

Congrats on being a father!

and a responsible one at that!😎

[Bscott94]

7 hours ago, Rich said:

I went from a Cadillac CTS to a 19 Equinox.  Already have buyers remorse.  It's roomy, has everything we need, but the quality is really lacking. Got the premium with the 2.0 turbo, so it has plenty (or at least enough) power, but the seats are so darn uncomfortable which should be when you're paying for the "premium" product.  Drove 6 hours home from the beach and my rear was dead.  I almost wish someone will total it so I can get something else.  

I feel the same way about my cars sometimes. They're not uncomfortable or anything, they're just not that nice. One is rusty and old. The other has severe body issues. They're paid off but I'd like to get the pay out and find something nice

[BigBlue2007]

I polish right over the clay too.