noob question-clay and polish

[mine4118]

This may be a 101 questions but does it make a difference if I clay before I polish or is that just a waste of time????

[sal329]

Clay then polish. Clay will remove contaminants that polishing will not. Sometimes claying will leave some marring marks so polish after you clay.

[orionz06]

depending on what is stuck in the paint, you may dislodge something in the polishing step that causes even more damage as well...

[Joshs2013MSAltimaSL]

The normal process is to wash, then clay, wash, and then move on to the correcting and polishing stages.

[mine4118]

thanks...I just wanted to make sure my efforts werent a waste of time...

[AudiTTman]

Ohh heck yea, its like getting a facial from the way i see it. The clay is like a mask that removes all the crap that is sitting on the surface of the paint like harsh contaminants from trucks, the roads, and in my case red spray paint lol. Usually after i clay the car feels like its brand new, silky smooth. I'd much rather get pieces of debris off the car with clay than putting a polisher straight to it and then getting having more marks on it. Also, once you do it the first time, you really save alot of time in the future with cleaning the car. The paint just tends to be in better overall condition.