Wax after clay bar?

[M3jason]

Hey guys, sorry if this is a repost, but I have a question: do you have to wax your car after you clay bar it?

It's my second time clay baring and it looks absolutely amazing and feels amazing, and I just want to make sure I don't ruin the pain if I don't put back on a layer of wax.. thanks!

Oh and here is a picture:

[last1left]

Clay, polish, wax and then use a polymer sealer

[M3jason]

Originally Posted by last1left

Clay, polish, wax and then use a polymer sealer

Oh man, it took me like 3 hours to clay the whole car, so if I polish, wax, then seal it,, that'll be like 6 or 7 more hours..

[last1left]

Originally Posted by M3jason

Oh man, it took me like 3 hours to clay the whole car, so if I polish, wax, then seal it,, that'll be like 6 or 7 more hours..

Time consuming it is but definitely the way to go

[Blindside_137]

You don't have to do anything you don't want to do. But a wax coat after clay is certainly the way to go and make that hard work last.

I'm planning to wash, clay, wax this weekend. Detailing is time consuming for sure.

Car looks great!

[admranger]

Originally Posted by last1left

Clay, polish, wax and then use a polymer sealer

Ummm, seal, then wax over your sealant. Otherwise, the sealant has no paint to seal (since there's wax in the way). You don't have to wax over a sealant but many do as a final step for a deeper gloss.

Clay then wax (or seal) is fine if you don't have scratches, but definitely put something on the paint as there is nothing there to protect it now.

[BimmerRookie]

Originally Posted by last1left

Clay, polish, wax and then use a polymer sealer

Not the best way to go.

Need to seal, then wax! Your wax will strip depending on your weather and driving conditions. If you go straight to wax, then when it gets stripped, your clayed paint will get effed

[///Motown]

i always thought you were supposed to wash again after clay and then wax?

[don40vette]

At very minimum you must wax after claying

[rcracin]

Claybar leaves marring streaks on your paint. You need to polish to get rid of it. Wash and wax. Only claybar if you intend to polish.

[bigjae1976]

Originally Posted by rcracin

Claybar leaves marring streaks on your paint. You need to polish to get rid of it. Wash and wax. Only claybar if you intend to polish.

I've rarely polished my car after clay. If you use enough lubricant, it should leave any streaks.

I usually just clay, seal, wax. Once you do it 2-3 times, the claying process becomes much faster and easier since you'll get very little to nothing sticking to your paint.

[don40vette]

Originally Posted by bigjae1976

I've rarely polished my car after clay. If you use enough lubricant, it should leave any streaks.

I usually just clay, seal, wax. Once you do it 2-3 times, the claying process becomes much faster and easier since you'll get very little to nothing sticking to your paint.

If you owned a black or dark car you would always polish after claying. Just washing with microfiber mitt using two bucket method puts micro scratches in paint and on a dark car you see that so you definitely put micro scratches from claying. I dont use clay anymore. I use the Nanoskin pad and even that puts micro scratches on paint.

[Dan Bilzerian]

Originally Posted by don40vette

If you owned a black or dark car you would always polish after claying. Just washing with microfiber mitt using two bucket method puts micro scratches in paint and on a dark car you see that so you definitely put micro scratches from claying. I dont use clay anymore. I use the Nanoskin pad and even that puts micro scratches on paint.

So you're saying people with dark colored cars just have to suck it up and polish and at the very least still have minimal scratching when washing with the two bucket method? haha

Oh the joy of having Jet Black!

[rcracin]

The color of your car doesnt matter. Claybar will leave streaks and marring on your paint. It's just more easily seen on black paint. Depending on the wax, it probably hides it since a lot of waxes are made to hide swirls and imperfections by filling them. That's why some people who wax after claybar think it's ok.

[don40vette]

Originally Posted by rcracin

The color of your car doesnt matter. Claybar will leave streaks and marring on your paint. It's just more easily seen on black paint. Depending on the wax, it probably hides it since a lot of waxes are made to hide swirls and imperfections by filling them. That's why some people who wax after claybar think it's ok.

Sorry bud but I have to disagree with you. Color of car makes a big difference.
When you clay on black/dark car in almost all light conditions you will see what the clay has done to the paint and most people are going to polish.
But when you have a white/silver car and in most light conditions it doesnt show what clay has done to the paint unless you have a good eye for it, those that are not out for the car to look perfect will not polish.

Light colors can make it much harder to see imperfections and black hides nothing. That makes color matter to me.

[rcracin]

Not sure what you're disgreeing with since you agreed with me. Color makes a difference on what you see, but the damage to the paint with claybar is still there regardless. It's not necessarily damage so much as it's a necessary step in detailing. Just dont know any other way to phrase it.

Dont take my word for it though. Call any reputable detailer to find out.

[don40vette]

Originally Posted by rcracin

Not sure what you're disgreeing with since you agreed with me. Color makes a difference on what you see, but the damage to the paint with claybar is still there regardless. It's not necessarily damage so much as it's a necessary step in detailing. Just dont know any other way to phrase it.

Dont take my word for it though. Call any reputable detailer to find out.

In your first post you said color doesnt matter.
In your second post you said color makes a difference.

Im done with you. Lets get back to the intent of this post. And in the mean time contact your detailer to get you up to speed on detailing. Like using wax to fill swirl marks.

[landonvan]

The only time Claybar leave streaks or residue is when it hits a dry spot on the paint. If you keep everything properly lubed the Claybar leaves no residue. I don't know how you guys do it. The best way to clean your car is by washing it and in the middle of washing at you Clay it the same time the soap gives the best lubricant takes all the contaminants off and leaves no residue. Then you put a sealant on the car. And then wax

[Flying Ace]

just did a 3 hour detail of my X5 over the weekend. I didn't have any sealant, but I did a double wash, then clay, then wash again, and then wax.

If your car is parked outside overnight and goes through a lot of driving (like my X5), then you'll need monthly washing + clay + wax. Over time, you wouldn't need clay as much. This was the first time in the car's life (2012 X5) its ever been detailed. The sand/road particles was so bad, I can see it and feel it when I run my hand over the paint AFTER it was washed. My next detail on the X5 will probably be in 1 month. I'll do another clay and wax, but likely will only take about 1 hour.

I've clayed my M3 (parked indoors over night) maybe 5 times its entire life. On every wash, I've waxed, but not clayed. I ran the clay bar last month, picked up nothing. Just shows regular washing and waxing (+ sealant if you can) will go a long way and you'll spend much less time detailing on every wash in the future.