Wax without claying?

I'm due for a stupid question:

Is it ok to apply a fresh coat of wax, without claying or otherwise prepping the paint first (aside from a thorough wash)?

Or should I be claying to remove the old wax first? Or something else to remove the old wax?

I've never polished, only wash/clay/wax. Wondering if it's ok to just wash/wax in between clay jobs. I do use quick detailer after every wash as well.

Thanks

You can do it. Of course, it won't give you the best finish possible but it's possible. It's like having a shower and putting back the same underwear. You can do it.

But if your question is "Will it harm something?" No it won't.

I don't think you can do any harm to the paint when waxing by hand on a non-clayed surface. Your hands just don't have enough power. But in my mind, you MUST clay the car before you machine-correct or machine-polish to make sure there aren't any abrasive contaminants imbedded in the paint that could destroy the clear coat. You could potentially do more harm than good.

Do the baggie-test: Place a sandwich baggie over your hand and run your fingers across the paint. If the paint feels rough to your fingers through the baggie, you need to clay before machine-polishing.

cbenjes said:

Do the baggie-test: Place a sandwich baggie over your hand and run your fingers across the paint. If the paint feels rough to your fingers through the baggie, you need to clay before machine-polishing.

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^ This will determine if you need to clay or not. Claying twice a year should be plenty.

I clay twice a year and wax 4-6 times a year. Always good results.

its fine but after like 3 times you need to clay because you are just sealing the impurities under the wax and they're still sitting on the paint, slowly ruining your golf yaris's potential of being the next rising star at your local "Dubz & burgers Yo" In 'n' Out, look at my engine bay because none of us are old enough to drink "meets".

but yeah, clay it 1-2 times per year if you're anal and you plan to have the car for like 10+ years where you'll actually notice..

Many people don't know what clay even is and wax their car 100's of times over the life of it. It'll be fine.

well I will give my ten cents since I used to detail cars many moons ago. Still do but just limit it to friends and family and of course my car.

Its tough where to begin. Lets assume that you just washed your car and dried it. With a CLEANhand GENTLY slide your finger tips along the paint. The paint should be smooth as glass. If you fill something with your finger tips then you have contamination and yes it needs to be clayed.

Clay, which for most "Synthetic Clay" is a special polymer substance that acts as a friction device to gently pull those contaminants off the paints. Examples: over spray, fall out, rail road dust, sometimes etching etc. Claying comes in different hardness as well. To keep it simple, lets just say you use the "Mothers" Clay kit you can buy at your local Wallyworld (which is decent by the way, and is considered a medium clay).

To clay the GTI would take several hours to do it right. You just mist a lubricant onto the surface, gently wipe the clay back and forth. mist again, wipe dry and feel. just keep doing it till the car is done.

The reason this is important is you dont want to wax over contaminants or put a sealer over them. You want to polish or seal the paint not the dirt on it. So claying is a crucial role to have the product your applying BOND to the paint. Doing so will lengthen the durability of the product your using.

Everyone has their brand they love so I wont go into brands to use, just use it often. If you live near rail road tracks, a big city with pollution or in High UV areas wax or seal monthly, claying when needed. If you are lucky to live in a nice clean low UV area, I would do it every 3 months. Dont believe the hype of a "Once a Year Car Polish" from ANYONE its a total crock. Protection begins to decline after day one. If you want to keep it up, keep putting it on. Better to have as much on the surface protecting that nice BASF paint job then not enough and a nice Bird Bomb just etched into your paint. So more frequent is always best in my book.

Lastly, you have a nice car, you paid bank for it, so dont get lazy and not wash and wax it. Just get up, and do it. Your car will love you for it, and the exercise will do us all good anyway...

Enjoy.....any questions on what to use, just PM me. Dont want to start a brand bias war on your Post.

Jeff

Charlie Sheen said:

You can do it. Of course, it won't give you the best finish possible but it's possible. It's like having a shower and putting back the same underwear. You can do it.

But if your question is "Will it harm something?" No it won't.

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Or....

Aftershave without shaving. That might be more accurate as to what claying actually does.

Oh man.....a good aftershave lotion following a nice clean razor shave. Same feeling I get claying then waxing.

it depends on how clean your paint is:iono: there is alot the clay can pick up that you might not know is there.

It's better than not waxing.

The wax will just last longer and look better if you clay first. Sooooo many people just wax their car and nothing else.

Thanks for the input. I'm familiar enough with clay and aware of how to use it and how often etc. After reading all of this another question arises:

Is it necessary to strip the old wax off before applying another coat? I've heard of the Dawn dish soap method (which could potentially snowball into another discussion). Or is wash/wax enough?

Again..I know when to clay and the plastic bag trick etc..

Appreciate the feedback yalls

I would definitely recommend ensuring old wax is removed before re-waxing. I use this:

http://www.autogeek.net/griots-pre-wax-cleaner.html

Honestly, if you paint seal then wax, you only have to do it 3-4 times a year.

Sicktred08fsi said:

I would definitely recommend ensuring old wax is removed before re-waxing. I use this:

http://www.autogeek.net/griots-pre-wax-cleaner.html

Honestly, if you paint seal then wax, you only have to do it 3-4 times a year.

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Holy fuck $10 for 35oz ? They sell fallout liquids for like $20 a gallon...

Charlie Sheen said:

Holy fuck $10 for 35oz ? They sell fallout liquids for like $20 a gallon...

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^ this, or you can just use a mix of 50/50 mix of isopropyl alcohol/water for about 50 cents.