Will clay bar remove wax or sealant?

[spazzz]

Marring caused by claying is the worry.

Benefits of only claying is time not spent polishing.

I meant to say, what is the benefit of clay as the only prep step or maintenance step.

I clay so my pad doesn't grind any contaminants along the paint surface when polishing.

[Finick]

I meant to say, what is the benefit of clay as the only prep step or maintenance step.

I clay so my pad doesn't grind any contaminants along the paint surface when polishing.

Imo, if the paint needs to be clayed, it should be done whether or not polishing happens.

Bonded contaminants aren't going to do anything other than be damaging to the finish of the paint - so I think it's good practice to clay if the car needs it. At least that's my understanding of what bonded contaminants will do over time, anyway.

Just as an example; I helped my step brother move recently, and in the hour and a half I was there (five of us) people started spraying some type of paint on a fence like 15 feet from where my car was parked. Car had been recently polished, so it didn't need correction. The overspray was isolated to mostly my trunk lid (thankfully) so I just clayed that quickly, reapplied my LSP and everything was good to go.

[spazzz]

Okay, that works.

I would have polished after clay because of my reckless clay technique and also that OCDetailing thing.

[Eldorado2k]

Why do people bother with claying and not polishing.
There is some goofy myths floating around on those car shows.

It's like a miracle cure for smooth, defect free paint before you wax. Yep I said wax.
Those fellas fail to mention how the paint looks, it's all about the touchy touchy, feel.

I can't remember the correct answer so someone help me out.

Why are we worried about claying without polishing afterwards?

What are the benefits of claying without polishing?

I’ll go out on a limb and say I could clay without needing to polish afterwards every single time I clay..

As far as the benefits? Saving clearcoat. Saving time and money.

Don’t get me wrong, I usually do polish after claying because if I’m claying it’s usually a customers vehicle and the main purpose of the detail is me polishing their car. But if and when I clay my own vehicles here at home [which is rare because contaminants are kept to a bare minimum year round] I almost never polish afterwards because claying didn’t instill any defects on the paint.

I polish my paint when it needs it, or when I want to, that usually means once per year or once every couple of years. But it’s never a mandatory thing just because of claying.

If I want my paint to pop I’ll give it a fresh coat of sealant. IMO polishing paint that’s already at its optimum does little to nothing for it. [that includes Carpro Essence]

[Mike Phillips]

Hi everyone

With my car now being used as a daily driver for the last 12 months I’ve noticed the surface is no longer smooth where I can feel some roughness to it.

I’m wondering if I give the car a clay bar treatment only (no other decon) will it remove the existing protection of wax and sealant that I’ve applied?

Thanks in advance.

I always answer this questions by putting the question and the answer in "extremes", like this,


Will claying your car add more wax?



If the answer is "no", (and it is) then what is the opposite of the word add?



OR



Will claying your car add more ceramic coating?


If the answer is "no", (and it is) then what is the opposite of the word add?



OR


Will claying your car add more synthetic sealant?



If the answer is "no", (and it is) then what is the opposite of the word add?

[Eldorado2k]

Eldorado2k mentions claying without polishing regularly enough that I started to pay very close attention to my technique.

The last couple times I’ve had to clay i haven’t seen any marring present afterwards.

As far as I’m concerned, if Mike Phillips says claying is safe and non abrasive to the paint if done properly, I’m inclined to believe him.

So I guess the answer is ultimately; because you don’t need to polish if you’re being careful.



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I clayed a black 2014 Mercedes Benz E Class this morning.
-Waterless wash w/WG Uber
-Nanoskin Autoscrub Handy Towel w/D114 as claylube
-Straight to sealant

Before condition of the paint.







Here’s how much claylube I start with.. More gets sprayed as I begin claying.



2min. later the right side of the hood is done.



7min. later all done claying the hood... Lets check the results. Same as before, No marring.





There’s never any marring...

[Finick]

I know you mentioned once that clay alternatives are more aggressive than like the megs fine grade clay bar.

I actually find I get less marring with the alternatives like my speedy prep sponge. Probably because it’s easier to clean off the face of it, so I do it a looooot more frequently than I would knead traditional clay. Just takes so freaking long to mold it and shape it.


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[Eldorado2k]

I know you mentioned once that clay alternatives are more aggressive than like the megs fine grade clay bar.

I actually find I get less marring with the alternatives like my speedy prep sponge. Probably because it’s easier to clean off the face of it, so I do it a looooot more frequently than I would knead traditional clay. Just takes so freaking long to mold it and shape it.


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For me I like it because it’s faster + clay alternative can smash through vehicles with extreme contaminants whereas it can take alot longer if you try to do it with traditional claybar. But as far as being careful, I can be alot less careful with a real claybar compared to a claymitt/towel.