Washing with a clay towel?

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Hal1

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On a mostly clean car, given enough lubricant or plenty of Meguairs Gold Class Car Wash Shampoo, is it okay to use a clay towel to actually wash the car, or is that too agressive?
 
I've never used a clay towel but if I were to do as you propose, I'd do it in a two-step manner. First do a traditional wash and then follow with the clay towel, all in a singular process... Panel by panel, or as a whole.
 
I guess that makes sense, maybe panel-by-panel, to get the surface layer of stuff off 1st.
 
Basically that is the purpose of clay mitts.
First wash mitt side to clean then flip to clay.

Your case that have a towel just use a separate mitt, one on eash hand and basically you do everything together

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To expand on my OP, I'm not really referring to an actual clay process, more just a light decontamination with each wash, hence the clay towel as my wash medium, and not a true claying process.
 
Hal1 said:
To expand on my OP, I'm not really referring to an actual clay process, more just a light decontamination with each wash, hence the clay towel as my wash medium, and not a true claying process.
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Regardless, you still want the car to be clean before dragging the clay towel across it.
 
Hal1 said:
To expand on my OP, I'm not really referring to an actual clay process, more just a light decontamination with each wash, hence the clay towel as my wash medium, and not a true claying process.
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Using the clay towel for decontamination on every wash is overkill. And remember............ You will be stripping off all of your LSP on each wash.
 
2black1s said:
Regardless, you still want the car to be clean before dragging the clay towel across it.
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Totally agree. If it is a maintenance wash and you have no plan to polish afterward... I would take all precautions not to mar the paint. The possibility of marring from any mechanical decontamination process is high. Regardless of all claying medias on the market, not many paint system these days dont get mar. Be very careful especially if you have dark paint...


PaulMys said:
Using the clay towel for decontamination on every wash is overkill. And remember............ You will be stripping off all of your LSP on each wash.
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Clay only when there is a need. I wouldn't clay every time I do a maintenance wash. Try using CarPro Iron X Snow Soap once in a while would help keep the contamination at bay.
 
As Mike likes to say, paint is thin, thinner than a Post-It note, and this includes the paint and clear coat. And your paint is under attack every time it is outside so you don’t want to do any more to your paint than you need to. So wash your car using best practices such as 2 bucket method or similar. And don’t polish or clay any more than is needed. And regarding clay, since most clays may leave minor scratches, I consider it to be the second step before a polishing with the first step being an iron decontamination.
 
To beat a dead horse, claying at every wash is completely unnecessary.

You should only need to do this bi-annually or annually.
 
Remember- if your gonna clay
You better polish- or expect chronic micro marring
 
On my car -which has the paint in good condition-, I don’t even clay anymore… I just use a finishing polish (essence) once a year and then slap on whatever sealant of the day I like…
 
PaulMys said:
Using the clay towel for decontamination on every wash is overkill. And remember............ You will be stripping off all of your LSP on each wash.
Click to expand...

Not to mention clay towels are generally pretty aggressive, you will mar your paint with those ‘crests of your orange peel’ swirls.


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Eric7810 said:
Not to mention clay towels are generally pretty aggressive, you will mar your paint with those ‘crests of your orange peel’ swirls.


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Not true. A light or mild towel won't do that with proper lubrication. I use the Nanoskin one and it doesn't mar.
 
dgage said:
As Mike likes to say, paint is thin, thinner than a Post-It note, and this includes the paint and clear coat. And your paint is under attack every time it is outside so you don’t want to do any more to your paint than you need to. So wash your car using best practices such as 2 bucket method or similar. And don’t polish or clay any more than is needed. And regarding clay, since most clays may leave minor scratches, I consider it to be the second step before a polishing with the first step being an iron decontamination.
Click to expand...

I personally ONLY clay if I am preparing for a machine polish(so not often). I have never considered it a standard maintenance practice, because as you said, it does leave minor scratches no matter how nice or gentle you are.
 
You need to be treated with the same trepidation as yourself. Do you choose the best care products and towels for yourself? When choosing a towel, it is worth carefully examining it from all sides: a high-quality product should be evenly colored on both sides and not have a sharp smell. To determine the stiffness of the towel, you need to touch it and even attach it to the exposed areas of the body. At home, you can check the towel for the presence of synthetics in the fabric. To do this, it is enough to pour a small amount of water on a smooth surface and wipe it. You can order Personalized Golf Towels.
 
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