So seen as the weather has been really nice recently, on my day off I thought I'd go out and buy a clay kit (Meguiars one) I am happy with the finished result of it, as I waxed afterwards but didn't polish before which I'm sure I should have but at the moment it was either the clay or the polish until next payday, I am really enjoying the washing and detailing side of owning a car, honestly thought I would rarely wash it but when the weather is nice I find it rather fun.

But I have a few questions.

1.) How often should I clay the car ? I am assuming whenever it starts to feel rough again.

2.) How often should I polish/wax my car, and do the two always have to go together

3.) My dad seems to think I am wasting my time washing the car every week or sometimes its even every 4-5 days, I have read a lot of people saying washing regular will help prolong the life of the paint, some say it takes off previous work such as polishing/waxing

4.) I have also bought some Meguiars scratch x 2.0 but have not yet used it as I was unsure if I should apply before or after claying, waxing etc.

1) About once a year personally, just after winter is when I do it.

2) Once a few layers have been built up waxing can be done once a month or so, even longer if you want, but I personally do it monthly. You don't have to clay every time before waxing if there are already a few decent layers of wax on the body work. Like I say, just once a year for clay myself

Okay, thanks I was thinking about the same time myself, unless I noticed it got a rather bad build up.

Hi,

Just wondered if you have used the Meguiars clay kit yet? I bought a set last week to do a cream Mini. I just wondered if the kit was any good?

Mrsam21 said:

Hi,

Just wondered if you have used the Meguiars clay kit yet? I bought a set last week to do a cream Mini. I just wondered if the kit was any good?

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It's what I use and their started pack is great IMO

Its good but tends to work out expensive.........

http://bilthamber.com/pro-introduction.php?cname=Clays, Wax :: Polish&name=auto-clay medium


just water needed with that as a lube and you get a nice big bar to pull bits off and use. Aggressive enough but i have never had any marring problems



As for how often to clay / polish/ wax......


It depends on lots of things the weather, your location, if you use harsh cleaning products eg TFR and your wash technique...

I think polish is better than clay.. I was using polish before using bumper stickers. Now, I don't need to worry about polishing or using clay.

sraakel01 said:

I think polish is better than clay.. I was using polish before using bumper stickers. Now, I don't need to worry about polishing or using clay.

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Hi and welcome to the forum.

Polish and Clay are different products with different purposes.

Clay will remove contaminants from the paintwork.

Polish will remove/fill scratches.

Dom

dombooth said:

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Polish and Clay are different products with different purposes.

Clay will remove contaminants from the paintwork.

Polish will remove/fill scratches.

Dom

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you are talking to a spam bot

dave said:

you are talking to a spam bot

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:bang:

Tbh I hadnt realised it was a spambot until I saw your post Dave

Blimey that is pretty clever. But why?

Clay should be used max twice a year. Always a good idea to use it at the start of a major detail.

paulqv said:

Clay should be used max twice a year.

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Why

Most Easterly Pandas said:

Why

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Because like oil clay is an natural and precious resource (unlike my sarcasm) and if everyone went mad and clay'd their car three times a year just think where we would be!!

I never use clay but I see no reason that using it more than twice a year is going to do any harm, however it's a lot of hard work and if you use proper polishes after and at regular intervals then it's not really necessary.