If you have ever clayed a car, you immediately feel the difference on the paint. I would say you could do a clay once every 2 years, unless the car was hardly driven.
Every new car I've purchased since the 90's needed to be clayed. They were all bright and shiny but the finish was rough as a cob not smooth. Every one got a clay and machine polish the day it came home. Admittedly some folks are pickier than others. As mentioned above by Critic all cars will need it eventually.
Yes it's just a matter of to what degree and how visible it is. Think about it: if you pick up a bonded contaminant in inch 2 of your stroke and your stroke goes out to inch 12, that's 10 inches where it was on the bottom of the clay and that's not even accounting for the multiple back and forth passes before you knead the clay. Not to mention the clay itself is mildly abrasive even though it's smooth to all outward appearances.even with a lot of lube and making sure the surface stays wet? Just asking
Yeah this is some terrible advice. New cars off the dealership lot have tons of rail dust. Heck they leave the factory often times with paint contamination. Jesus you’d think we were talking about aggressive compounding or wet sanding. Claybar is mild and will have no Ill effects on a daily driver if you use it with proper lubricants.
When you clay you WILL mar the finish to some degree. Only do it if it's 100% necessary.
I clayed the car about 4 months ago or so. When I wash the car this weekend, I want to use more Griot's Ceramic spray. Should I clay before? Paint still feels very smooth after wash. No grittiness.
I discovered the same on the Buick LaCrosse the first time I washed it in 2019. The paint looked glossy, but I could feel the roughness. It was August and hotter than the hinges of Satan's summer home, so I washed, clayed, and waxed one panel a day until the car was done. Made a tremendous difference in the feel and even in the looks.Every new car I've purchased since the 90's needed to be clayed. They were all bright and shiny but the finish was rough as a cob not smooth. Every one got a clay and machine polish the day it came home. Admittedly some folks are pickier than others. As mentioned above by Critic all cars will need it eventually.
How often do you need to clay?
I use 3 decontamination methods:Once you go to a clay mitt you'll likely never use a clay bar again!
IronX is great stuff. I have a clay mitts with different levels of aggressiveness, just like clay bars you can get them in different levels.I use 3 decontamination methods:
Chemical (Iron-X)
Mechanical (clay mitt)
Mechanical (clay bar)
Each step gets a little more aggressive. Each step removes contaminants.