Question on Claying & Polishing

[BarryK]

Hi all, I'm new to this forum.
This might be a simple question but....

If I determine a car needs claying but also decide I need to do some polishing with my Flex 3401 for swirls and light scratches should I still clay it first.
For polish with the Flex I have Meguiar's M205.
Will the polishing effectively do the same as the claying in addition to the normal polishing or is the claying still a needed prior step.
I don't mind doing the extra step but also just don't want to take the time doing it if it 's redundant with the polishing.

Depending on the answer for that question, same question pertains if I need more correction and use the Megs M105 compound. Is the M105 enough to pull the contaminants out or is claying still needed?

Thanks for any help

[ScottB]

claying is a valid step prior to polishing and yes most do or need to do both.

[sal329]

No matter what polish you use you will still need to clay the paint first (assuming the car needs it). Clay will pull out contaminents in the paint that a polish will not. I would pick up some M105 or some Menzerna polishes to use before 205. 205 is a very light polish.

[hawkman]

Good question... When applying the 205, what pad should you use?

[nitro78]

the process is wash, clay, polish, protect. yes always clay before polishing. the reason being is lets say some tar was on the paint and you polished it out but where did the tar go? right onto the pad and if there was some sand or grit in that tar you are rubbing it directly into your paint repeatedly. in essence you just made your polisher a sander. a clean surface is very important before polishing.

[BarryK]

ok, thanks all. I figured the claying was still needed first but just wanted to make sure.
Sal, I have the M105 also but it's listed as a very heavy cut so I figured unless the finish was really bad I wouldn't need it all that often. Am I wrong? Should I use the M105 for most scratch removals, not just the worst ones, and use the M205 as a finishing polish only?

Amy, I was thinking the same thing, that any grit or whatever that got pulled out could cause more harm if it wasn't clayed first but not being 100% sure I figured I'd ask.