embolism
New member
- Dec 8, 2010
- 2,322
- 0
It would be better to use Iron X before you clay since it can dissolve a certain amount of contamination and remove it, which will make your claying step easier and faster.
I think of it this way, like your skin, car paint is porous. Iron X will remove what is deep in the pores of the paint, then the clay will remove the rest of what is sitting on the top layer.
On on car that is not maintained, then yes I would use iron x before claying but I've found this way works best on a maintained car. When I did my winter prep I clayed before IX but hardly got anything. Don't even think I needed to clay but I make it a general rule to do so before putting a buffer to the paint.
To use your analogy, if the pores are covered with organic contaminants, then the IX won't be able to reach and really deep clean everything.
Yes, you might contaminate your clay more if you clay first, but it isn't an issue for a well maintained, garaged car (at home and at work) like mine and my way saves me the drying step (so the IX is not diluted) since I dry as I clay.