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cleaning without clay

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  • #1

    cleaning without clay

    Hi all,

    New to the forum and very impressed with all the talk and hints on car washing.

    My last new car 14 years ago I was a fan of using Meguiars Soft scrub, #7, and then covering up with zymol.

    I went a few years without the ability to wash my car (lived in a apartment no car wash facilities) and got away from washing my car religiously.

    I've got a new car again and getting back into the car wax obsession.

    Anyways my question is that before all I did was use something like soft scrub cleaner, and now my plan is to use DC cleaner. In the past soft scrub would clean and create a very smooth finish on my car. What difference does the clay do? I read that some people even clay to create a smooth finish and then clean.

    Will not just using the cleaner restore a smooth finish to a car? If I use the cleaner and I get a smooth finish, is there any advantage to claying vs just using a cleaning product.

    I'm thinking that cleaning is absolutly neccessary to create a clean surface for polishing and the last step wax to bond to.

    Any insight is greatly appreciated.

    Gidgit.
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  • #2
    Re: cleaning without clay

    Sounds like you have a pretty good plan, and planning to work by hand?

    Basically:
    1. Wash - Gets the big loose dirt
    2. Clay - Gets the bonded on above surface contaminants. A foam pad like when cleaning will actually slide over these, rather than grab and remove them.
    3. Clean - A paint cleaner will get the dirt out of the pores of the paint.
    4. Polish - Fills n the pores with polishing oils to create a gloss and reflection.
    5. Wax - A sacrificial barrier against the elements, plus some gloss of its own.

    You can either do a full detail, clean, polish ,wax ( 2 coats), or a quicker detail with a cleaner/wax and then a coat of wax, but either way, claying as needed will give the smoothest and glossiest finish.
    2017 Subaru WRX Premium - WR Blue

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    • #3
      Re: cleaning without clay

      Originally posted by gidgit View Post
      What difference does the clay do?
      i used #66 via g100 last week and i clayed before hand (usually do before polishing) even though it didn't really need it. glad i did, because it picked up quite a few contaminants to my surprise...

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