Necessary to Claybar before PC7424 Polish?

[SuperGoop]

Sorry if this has been asked before (can't find anything w/ search)... Before using the PC 7424 polisher, is it necessary to clay bar first? Since I'll be polishing, wouldn't that remove any contaminent, so that I can skip the clay bar step?

I will practice on my older car. It is dark blue, about 13 years old, but the paint is very well cared and always garaged at home and at work. At 13 years, the paint is still beautiful (not dull and no oxidation) and shines, but doesn't have that "wet" look anymore.

Thanks.

[Pb]

I would clay first. It doesn't take long. Plus if you don't clay then your buffing pad might pick up some large contaminants and rub it across your paint while you're trying to polish. You could be polishing and creating swirls at the same time. Just clay it and do it right the first time.

[SuperGoop]

Thanks!

[PolishAndWax]

Originally Posted by SuperGoop

Sorry if this has been asked before (can't find anything w/ search)... Before using the PC 7424 polisher, is it necessary to clay bar first? Since I'll be polishing, wouldn't that remove any contaminent, so that I can skip the clay bar step?

I will practice on my older car. It is dark blue, about 13 years old, but the paint is very well cared and always garaged at home and at work. At 13 years, the paint is still beautiful (not dull and no oxidation) and shines, but doesn't have that "wet" look anymore.

Thanks.

Clay is an amazing thing. It takes out stuff that even mild polishing won't take out and I agree, you don't want to drag that stuff across your paint even if polishing did take it out.

Slide your hand across your paint, if you feel little tiny sand-like particles sticking up out of your paint, you need clay.

Upwards facing surfaces (hood, roof, trunk) are usually the worst, but tailgates can be bad too. This might be from metal particles in car exhaust or brake dust that because of turbulence, have landed on the tailgate.

Wash --> Clay --> Polish --> Wax

[SuperGoop]

Thanks for all the advice and the amazing Detailing Guide by Pb! Here is a follow-up on my progress. I taped my hood down the midde for comparison.

The right side:

1) Washed (Meguiar's Gold Class Car Wash)
2) Clayed
3) Polished (Meguiar's #83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish; Orange Cutting Pad; PC7424)
4) Klasse AIO
5) Klasse Sealant Glaze



The left side:

1) Regular wash (the white specks are polish splatters from the right side)


Its hard to see in the pic, but the right side is much shinier and all the swirls are gone. I started with the 6.5" white polishing pad, but it had a hard time removing swirls. The 6.5" orange cutting pad finally did the job.

Q: Pb suggested using a 4" pad and plate for heavy swirls. I have swirls. Should I invest in a set of 4" pads and matching plate? Or, will I be fine with 6.5" pads (on 5" plate)?

Q: Should I try a different polish? Something more agressive to make my job easier?

Now, I just need to do the rest of the car

[PolishAndWax]

Originally Posted by SuperGoop

Thanks for all the advice and the amazing Detailing Guide by Pb! Here is a follow-up on my progress. I taped my hood down the midde for comparison.

The right side:

1) Washed (Meguiar's Gold Class Car Wash)
2) Clayed
3) Polished (Meguiar's #83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish; Orange Cutting Pad; PC7424)
4) Klasse AIO
5) Klasse Sealant Glaze


The left side:

1) Regular wash (the white specks are polish splatters from the right side)


Its hard to see in the pic, but the right side is much shinier and all the swirls are gone. I started with the 6.5" white polishing pad, but it had a hard time removing swirls. The 6.5" orange cutting pad finally did the job.

Q: Pb suggested using a 4" pad and plate for heavy swirls. I have swirls. Should I invest in a set of 4" pads and matching plate? Or, will I be fine with 6.5" pads (on 5" plate)?

Q: Should I try a different polish? Something more agressive to make my job easier?

Now, I just need to do the rest of the car

Hard to see in the pic? Not at all! That was an excellent angle and the difference is quite noticeable.

Be careful with a 'more aggresive' polish. This almost always means 'removes more paint'.

I dont' know enough about the PC to answer your other question.

I was going to offer to send you a free sample of my polish to try, but I noticed you're in Canada, which makes it just a little too expensive to send it free. PM me if youre interested and maybe we can work out a deal on the shipping.

[imx25i]

i need some polish for my truck!

[Pb]

Looks good. IMO, you're doing fine. If you want better results you probably just need to work on your technique some more. Don't try more agressive polish just yet. Try faster buffer speed and a little more pressure, then finish it off with a pass of light pressure.

[Xander Crews]

Originally Posted by PolishAndWax.com

Hard to see in the pic? Not at all! That was an excellent angle and the difference is quite noticeable.

Be careful with a 'more aggresive' polish. This almost always means 'removes more paint'.

I dont' know enough about the PC to answer your other question.

I was going to offer to send you a free sample of my polish to try, but I noticed you're in Canada, which makes it just a little too expensive to send it free. PM me if youre interested and maybe we can work out a deal on the shipping.

I'll take a free sample...

[PolishAndWax]

Originally Posted by Xander Crews

I'll take a free sample...

I have become a little conservative when it comes to sending out free samples...on CustomTacos, I sent samples to over 25 people. About 6 or 8 people gave feedback after one month. The rest of the people either haven't tried the stuff yet or just haven't taken the time to give feedback.

Everyone that replied was happy with the product, but obviously, I'm in the business to make money. My intent was to get enough people chatting about the product (with good reviews) so that others feel comfortable making a purchase, on top of the fact that I offer a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Besides the cost of the product, shipping isn't cheap. I've made a few sales from CT members, but not nearly enough to cover all the free product I sent out and all the shipping I paid for. So, I send out little, if any free samples anymore.

PM me if you want to talk about this more. I don't want to clog up this thread.