[ages944]

Quick question:

Should I clay the car every time before I put on polish, or is that not necessary?

Thanks in advance!

[pander5]

No, not necessary. About twice a year I do the "baggie" test on my paint. Put your hand in a plastic baggie and gently feel your paint. The baggie gives you more pronounced tactile feedback and you can feel surface contamination much easier. If it feels rough go ahead and clay. In the past 3-4 years I've probably clyed my cars 4-5 times based on this test.

Remember that claying is somewhat agressive and you shouldn't just do it by default - do it if you need to and in some climates and driving conditions (e.g. garaged at home and at work) it isn't needed that often.

[bimmernotbeamer]

Like pander said, claying is a once or twice a year activity. You do not need to do it every time you want to polish.

[impulsebrklyn]

disagree!!!! If your doing a full machine polish on a car and there are any contimanents on the paint it should be clayed. The contimanents will then just get on your pad and make a mess. CLAY plus you shouldnt be doing a full machine polish more then once a year in my book!

But then again by this comment "Should I clay the car every time before I put on polish, or is that not necessary?"

What exactly are you refering by polish cause it sounds like you mean wax.

[ages944]

i actually meant a machine (Porter Cable) application of a pure polish...

sorry about that guys, I should have mentioned that in my first post.

[impulsebrklyn]

if the car has never been clayed then clay it. If you do the bag test or feel it has contimenants then clay it. If not then go ahead and polish away.

[ages944]

thanks for all the advice guys

...the car was clayed for the first time about a month ago. I have to admit that I got addicted to the smooth as glass feel of the finish after claying