To clay or not to clay?

[kilobravo]

Not a chance all that can get done in a day, not without ten guys. :-) But the advice is good, IMHO.

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[lizardrko]

Not a chance all that can get done in a day, not without ten guys. :-) But the advice is good, IMHO.

If you only need a 1 step polish you can probably do that and apply 1 layer of a ceramic coating in 1 day pending on temperature. On my truck I had to spread out the entire process over 3 days because it kept getting too hot. Had to split out mornings and evenings accordingly

 

[DaveB]

That is the question!

I vaguely remember asking this question on a UK detailing forum and got shot down in flames, but I'm going to ask it here too.

I like to think I'm pretty good when it comes to maintenance and my paint is in decent shape. Needs a polish but only a light touch to get it back to its best. However...what if I don't have time to get all the polishing kit out? My paintwork is in need of a clay and some good protection for sure, but I don't have the time really to do a polishing stage.

So do I clay, then seal and wax? Or should I skip the clay altogether? Worth saying my paint isn't heavily contaminated so only a light clay is needed, but my thinking is I'll get better performance from my protection following a clay step. The trade off is the chance I'll mar the paint slightly, or will I?

Interested in others thoughts!

I have a detail shop. If you only have time for one, do a light polish and then wax. It'll clean it up, get rid of light surface issues, and give a nice waxable surface. I never clay without finishing up with polish.

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