I have a 2013 that has been in service for 11 months with 11,500 miles on it. It was a factory rep car and looks like it was new. It's gun metal Gray. I did the Iron-X thing and then clayed it using a Nonoskin Auto Scrub Towel, fine grade. If the object to getting a good shine depends on the prep work and getting the paint as smooth as possible, I am not seeing how the surface could be any smoother or shinny than where it is now. I am thinking about skipping the polish and just doing an IPA wire down and then put a sealant on. I have some Optimum Hyper polish, white and gray pads but not sure I will see enough improvement in the paint to warrant going through all the trouble of polishing the car? Kind of a case of diminishing returns if you will. I know some will say "Do a test spot" but was wanting an opinion if others have been at this point also.
Why do we polish after clay?
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jarred767
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- Jun 30, 2014
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It completely depends on the condition of the paint and what you want. There's nothing that says you have to, but it's not gonna hurt. Ive worked on cars with much fewer miles that needed a full correction, so you never know. personally, of you've got s buffer, a quick polish won't take much time, so I'd say just do it, but that's just me.
expdetailing
New member
- Aug 17, 2014
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You could let the swirls accumulate just enough to be able to see a bigger difference visually, or just do it now with less return, but with the satisfaction of having corrected paint.
aim4squirrels
Active member
- Nov 6, 2013
- 1,078
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The age of the car is not a determining factor of whether or not a paint correction needs to be done.
The dealer could have prepped the car when new using a rotary buffer incorrectly. It could have been washed in their automatic car wash daily while the dealer rep had it. And they just may very well have sold it to you after slapping a nice heavy filler glaze on it.
The smooth we describe as giving you the best shine isn't smooth to the touch, it's smooth at the microscopic level. That's where glossy reflections come from: perfectly level paint, no peaks or valleys present at the microscopic level.
The dealer could have prepped the car when new using a rotary buffer incorrectly. It could have been washed in their automatic car wash daily while the dealer rep had it. And they just may very well have sold it to you after slapping a nice heavy filler glaze on it.
The smooth we describe as giving you the best shine isn't smooth to the touch, it's smooth at the microscopic level. That's where glossy reflections come from: perfectly level paint, no peaks or valleys present at the microscopic level.
GettingStarted
New member
- Dec 3, 2013
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Gray/Silver are very hard to see swirls on. If your content with it now I can see no harm in forgoing the polishing step. Thats what alot of people do who either don't want to or just can't yet afford a buffer.
Desertnate
Well-known member
- Aug 5, 2013
- 6,201
- 243
Agree, and I've done the same thing at times.
HOWEVER. Hitting the car with some sort of finishing polish, non abrasive polish, or paint cleaner will remove all the old wax/sealant and give you a fresh, clean surface for you LSP.
I own a metallic grey Mazda 3. For many years I simply washed, clayed, and then re-sealed using the Klasse twins. The car looked good and I could see few, if any blemishes. This spring I took the time to hit the car with a sample of a very mild polish and I was very surpised by the results. The shine was much more brilliant and added a lot of depth.
Tato
New member
- Nov 27, 2013
- 2,157
- 0
Hi.
I've wrote about this in the past, and will reproduce some of my write so you can understand why polishing after nanoskin/claying is so important:
**
I was working on a trashed 2013 GM Cobalt in Solid Black color. I've tried to make my softer and best claying ever to avoid any marring since I was not willing to make the paint looks even worse.
I've used fine nanoskin mitt, plenty of lube, my best 'anti-marring' technique, see some shots what happened:
Before shot when car arrived (under the sun shot):
After thorough wash and gentle (yet effective) fine grade nanoskin (swirl finder light greatly reproduces defects spotted under the sun):
You can see the marring on the hood (slight in between horrible other defects):
Apart from marring, I would not feel comfortable if letting you without any correction picture around this work...
Test spot on the hood
The rear side pillar that is on before pictures above, under same light
From slight light change in direction while inspecting for any flaw
More clay marring (plus defects) on passenger's side rear part, under swirl finder light:
Under work light (NOTICE HOW DIFFERENT LIGHTING SHOWS MARRING DIFFERENTLY)
Done.
The clay marring 'per se' went away after 1-2 passes... however, this paint needed almost 3 steps in every section to finish in an acceptable manner.
In conclusion, nanoskin marring may occur to some degree depending on paint, so it's good to always be aware of it's possibility.
It's ugly, but it's really easy to get rid of. Can't say the same about 'vandalism' cars suffers from 'cheap' (in quality, not in price) auto washes all around.
Hope that helps,
**
If I'm not going to do at least one fine polishing approach, I'll not clay / nanoskin. Everytime you use it, you will benefit from polishing to remove your 'decontamination' marks.
They go away REALLY EASY!, and the sum of Smooth Surface + Polished Surface (even if lightly) may give you stellar results.
- It's a lot more noticeable on black car, but it happens to some extent in any color, just more difficult to notice.
Hope that helps,
Kind Regards.
I've wrote about this in the past, and will reproduce some of my write so you can understand why polishing after nanoskin/claying is so important:
**
I was working on a trashed 2013 GM Cobalt in Solid Black color. I've tried to make my softer and best claying ever to avoid any marring since I was not willing to make the paint looks even worse.
I've used fine nanoskin mitt, plenty of lube, my best 'anti-marring' technique, see some shots what happened:
Before shot when car arrived (under the sun shot):
After thorough wash and gentle (yet effective) fine grade nanoskin (swirl finder light greatly reproduces defects spotted under the sun):
You can see the marring on the hood (slight in between horrible other defects):
Apart from marring, I would not feel comfortable if letting you without any correction picture around this work...
Test spot on the hood
The rear side pillar that is on before pictures above, under same light
From slight light change in direction while inspecting for any flaw
More clay marring (plus defects) on passenger's side rear part, under swirl finder light:
Under work light (NOTICE HOW DIFFERENT LIGHTING SHOWS MARRING DIFFERENTLY)
Done.
The clay marring 'per se' went away after 1-2 passes... however, this paint needed almost 3 steps in every section to finish in an acceptable manner.
In conclusion, nanoskin marring may occur to some degree depending on paint, so it's good to always be aware of it's possibility.
It's ugly, but it's really easy to get rid of. Can't say the same about 'vandalism' cars suffers from 'cheap' (in quality, not in price) auto washes all around.
Hope that helps,
**
If I'm not going to do at least one fine polishing approach, I'll not clay / nanoskin. Everytime you use it, you will benefit from polishing to remove your 'decontamination' marks.
They go away REALLY EASY!, and the sum of Smooth Surface + Polished Surface (even if lightly) may give you stellar results.
- It's a lot more noticeable on black car, but it happens to some extent in any color, just more difficult to notice.
Hope that helps,
Kind Regards.
Mike Phillips
Active member
- Dec 5, 2022
- 51,004
- 6
I'd recommend reading pages 30 to 40 of my how-to book. These three chapters as they explain everything and asnwer your questions.
Visual & Physical Inspection - Pages 30 to 36
Paint Condition Catagories - Pages 37 to 39
What's your goal? - Page 40
That last chapter, "What's your goal?" is different for everyone and for each car they own if they own more than one car. It's something left out of most discussions.
sparkism13
New member
- Nov 17, 2009
- 167
- 0
Hit it with a nice AIO or fine polish. A couple passes then LSP should take less than 2 hours. An AIO maybe 1.5 hours. If for nothing else, the satisfaction you get from polishing alone will be worth it. 2 hours is not a lot of time to dedicate to it. At least this way, next time you'll know whether or not it's truly worth it FOR YOU.
Belphegor
New member
- Jul 31, 2014
- 160
- 0
:iagree:
ChrisDetails
New member
- Jul 24, 2014
- 27
- 0
Because the contaminates are pulled along with the clay, leaving "clay marks" You're basically pulling and dragging microscopic particles from and across the clear coat. Typically a light polish will take this out. But proper claying techniques also apply to minimizing clay marks.