We often get asked while washing or prepping vehicles for coatings if we clay bar vehicles. The short answer is no, we do not. We have used them occasionally for extreme examples of vehicles that have artillery fungus, tree sap, or heavy road tar and paint, but this is not a phase of prep that we use for regular maintenance washes, coating prep, or as an intermediate step in the polishing process. So why do we primarily choose not to clay vehicles?
It is important to outline first what a clay bar is, how it works, and what the product's intended role is for detailing professionals. Clay bars, clay towels, and clay mitts all have a surface material designed to pull embedded particulates and contaminants out of the paint. This is accomplished by sliding the clay product across the paint with a lubricant, such as detail spray or soapy water. This helps restore the finish of the paint by pulling out industrial fall out, old dirt, and other contaminants. This is a great tool for extreme cases of paint condition. So why not use this tool?
The clay bar is inherently abrasive. As the product is pulling dirt from the paint, it is leaving behind small marks and scratches from the cleaning process. This is not an issue on vehicles that are going to be polished, but for someone who does not need the car polished or does not have the budget, this is a step backwards for them. A car should never be clayed unless it is going to be followed up with a polish.
A common follow-up question in this conversation is "that makes sense, so why not clay bar the paint on vehicles that are going to be paint corrected?" This is a valid and fair question. After all, the goal for the client is to get the paint to the best condition possible, and a clay bar is definitely a tool for that kind of job. There are two answers to this question.
Firstly, most vehicles do not have this level of contamination. The paint surface is 90% "clean" after the strip wash and ISP wipe down. Claying the vehicle takes up valuable time that could be better used on the polishing process.
Secondly, in our testing, a vehicle that "needs" clayed can be polished with a heavy cut wool pad once the paint health is checked. This cuts the top layer of clear down to remove fresh uncontaminated paint and is the natural first step for most vehicles with heavy swirl marks in the paint, making a clay bar procedure redundant. We have tested panels side by side that were clayed and then polished, and then just polished while skipping the clay step, and there is no difference. It is a faster process with the same results, allowing us to spend more time where the work matters to get the vehicle better than it's ever looked.
All of that said, we do still have fresh clay bars that come with us in every detail. We understand the value and intended use of the product, and do bring it out from time to time, but as a company we wholeheartedly believe for 99% of clients, it is a step backwards in paint clarity and costs the client more time and money. This is why we avoid using clay bars whenever possible and spend the time where it counts on bringing your car's paint back to life.
