Hey guys. Today I did a huge detailing of my car. I first washed the car, then did a bug and tar removal treatment, then cleaned my wheels and shined up my tires. Next I used megs paint cleaner and my buffer and buffed that in and wiped it off.

Next, I went to the claying. I pretty much drenched my car in lubricant and started going over small areas at a time with the clay. If the clay didn't slide easy over one spot, I sprayed some more lubricant on. But I found that it felt no smoother than other portions of my car that I hadnt clayed yet. I just tried the hood of the car and it felt just the same.

All the products I use are meguiars except for the bug and tar remover. gold class shampoo/conditioner, turtle wax bug and tar remover, megs hot rims cleaner, megs crystal clear paint cleaner, and the the megs clay qd and clay bar.

Did I do something wrong? Was my process incorrect? I hear about all of you rave about claying but I was thoroughly unimpressed.

By the way, I have a 97 2.2cl which I can garuntee has never been clayed before, and by the indication pf all the swirl marks, it looks like the people before didn't really know how to clean a car at all. After I gave up on the clay, I used megs crytal clear polish with the buffer and then megs NXT gen tech paste wax, regardless of the clay or not, my car looks better than it ever has!

 

I think you need to clay before you do the paint cleaner. Also, perhaps you used too much lubricant.

 

you're suppose to clay before using the clearer and buffer. Claying remove all the wax and stuff that's on the car. So you basically removed all the wax you put onto your ride

 

Here's the basic process:
1. Wash - removes the dirt & grime from the surface of the vehicle
2. Clay - removes imbedded particulates and surface contamination,
3. Polish - removes surface defects and blemishes (swirls, light scratches, oxidation) while adding gloss & reflectivity
4. Seal - (synthetic/natural waxes) protects all the hard work you did in step 3

 

I hadn't done anything with the wax before I clayed so I didn't take of any wax except the stuff that had already been on my car from my previous wax...

And the process doesn't tell you when to do the paint cleaner and when to clay, it just tells you to polish after clay, paint cleaner and polish are 2 different things aren't they? I searched on here about when to clay and when to do the paint cleaner and didn't not get any answers so I assumed paint cleaner first, then clay, then polish and wax.

 

A paint/pre-wax cleaner falls into the category of polishes and uses chemical cleaners to remove surface oxidation and possibly hide light/minor swirls using fillers, Klasse AIO is a good example. This step is an option which many forego but can be done after using an abrasive polish or in lieu of polishing if the finish is free from any defects. Check out these two articles on Autopia, "How To Polish Paint" and "Paint Polishing Clinic". Those will provide you with detailed info........

 

With the absolute plethora of info on claying available here and at many other sites, you didn't do a little research first? Even the clay bar manufacturers instructions should tell you the correct sequence of operations.

Yes, you clay after washing and prior to any polishing, waxing or buffing.

 

if you had read my second post on here, you would see that I said I did search and every single time it said wash, clay, polish, wax. I didn't know that paint cleaner fell into the polish category. I search for a few hours before I bought the clay, and then an hours worth before claying and didn't find any answers.