After clay, before polish.

[flyboy9994]

Well, I'm finally getting ready for a full correction this coming weekend. My only question left is what to do after claying. Do I wipe up the detail spray and clay residue as I go or should I clay the whole car and then re-wash and dry before using polish?

 

I'm going to use Revive Hand Polish with the blue hand applicator, Brilliant Glaze then Liquid Paint Sealant. Maybe a coat of wax. Thanks.

[pirahnah3]

I usually just wipe down the vehicle after claying, then apply VRT to the trim and rubber seals (helps keep polish and all that off them) and then machine polish. 

[Chris@Adams]

If I am machine polishing I usually polish over the clay residue. If you like you could just do a DS wipe down before your Revive.

I have worked side by side with Adam at shows for going on 10 years now and we always polish over the clay residue. However  If you feel better by removing the residue by all means do it.  

[Rich]

I don't wash it, but I hose it off to get any residue off.  

[Audog]

I just go ahead and polish as I'm priming the pads with detail spray anyway.

[TheWolf]

After claying, I use a rinse then a strip wash to remove the residue.

 

The clay bar is not magic, it does not remove 100% of the contaminates from the surface like some sort of magnet. A good portion of the bonded contaminates will stick to the clay bar, but some and possibly a lot can just get knocked loose by the clay and remain on the surface.

 

If you then removed the residue with a towel, these containments could possibly scratch the paint. If you did wipe the residue with the towel, and some contaminates in the residue got into your towel, you might get scratches and you might not, but if you are going to machine polish anyway, then it might not be a big deal to wipe the residue with a towel.

 

However, I do think that polishing with a machine directly over the residue is a bad idea. Any loose contaminates on the surface can get into the pad and cause a lot of damage. Any stray containments in the residue, that did not stick to the clay bar, would then get into the pad and get worked 100,000+ times over your paint, and you may end up with more clear coat damage than you had to begin with.

 

For me, a quick rinse and wash is cheap insurance, and takes much less time than having to fix damage to the paint after you polish. If you don't want to take the time to wash, then at least wipe the residue away before polishing. Plus, the clay residue will clog your pads and make them less effective.

[GerryC]

I use whatever is left in my foam gun to suds the car down again, and then rinse off and move on to your drying routine.

[Ricky Bobby]

I'm with wolf I at least make sure I give a final wipe of the panels before starting with the machine.

[BrianT]

I do a fast wash, dry and either tape off or VRT.

[flyboy9994]

After claying, I use a rinse then a strip wash to remove the residue.

 

The clay bar is not magic, it does not remove 100% of the contaminates from the surface like some sort of magnet. A good portion of the bonded contaminates will stick to the clay bar, but some and possibly a lot can just get knocked loose by the clay and remain on the surface.

 

If you then removed the residue with a towel, these containments could possibly scratch the paint. If you did wipe the residue with the towel, and some contaminates in the residue got into your towel, you might get scratches and you might not, but if you are going to machine polish anyway, then it might not be a big deal to wipe the residue with a towel.

 

However, I do think that polishing with a machine directly over the residue is a bad idea. Any loose contaminates on the surface can get into the pad and cause a lot of damage. Any stray containments in the residue, that did not stick to the clay bar, would then get into the pad and get worked 100,000+ times over your paint, and you may end up with more clear coat damage than you had to begin with.

 

For me, a quick rinse and wash is cheap insurance, and takes much less time than having to fix damage to the paint after you polish. If you don't want to take the time to wash, then at least wipe the residue away before polishing. Plus, the clay residue will clog your pads and make them less effective.

Yeah. This was my thoughts exactly so I'll just give it another wash afterwards to float all the gunk away. Even though this is a new car, the paint is definitely rough with imbedded particles and I'm certain the clay bar will leave some behind.

 

Also, I'm not going to machine polish this time. Paint is in pretty good shape otherwise so I'm going to try and hand polish with Revive. Still going to wash afterwards for extra insurance. Thanks everyone. Write up with pics to follow.