About 2 months ago I clayed, polished and waxed my C4S. If I want to use the clay again this time do I have to re-wax after or can I simply wash & clay the car? I guess what I asking is does using the clay remove the wax?

Thanks!

 

yes it removes the wax. It might be easier to remove the wax with a detergent before claying. The claying will leave the paint naked and unprotected, you will want to polish possibly and for certain wax after the claying.

 

Why do you want to clay it again (out of curiosity) ? are you feeling bonded contaminants already or just not satisfied with the job you did the first time ?

 

Yeah, I was wondering the same thing. Why? You can clay too much. Its my understanding claying the car is the same as doing a very very very very very fine wet sand.

Unless you dont take care of yoru car at all. It really shoudn;t need another clay.

But yes, It removes the wax coat

 

I would not re-clay so soon - better to do it only once or twice a year. Keep a good coat of wax on it and you'll protect against contaminants.

 

Why do think you need to clay again so soon?

 

OK, 'ysll have convinced me not to re-clay the car. I will save that for the twice a year "major" detail. Thanks

 

Not me... I LOVE claying the car... But I also put a coat of wax each time. This provides an incredibly "smooth" wet feel to the paint.

 

As enjoyable as it may be (not sure why? I think it's a PITA), everytime you clay, you can introduce paint marring. I'd save the claying only prior to a proper polish (i.e two, maybe three times a year depending on the contamination your car sees).

 

Once a year claying would be more than sufficient.

 

I agree 100%. In my case, I keep the car maintained with quick detail spray and polish one time per year. For me, clay every other polish. Paint still feels very smooth.

The car is in storage for the winter and gets driven a healthy 6k miles per season.

 

I would not clay too often,
Modern Cars are quite often painted in water based paints.

 

sorry,

forgot to say would depend on the coarseness of the clay.

 

I like to follow the concept of using the least aggressive method possible to achieve the results I want. Therefore I only clay when I can feel bonded contaminants on the paint, not by a set time interval. I check once a month, and I rarely do the whole car. I do the individual areas as needed.

Claying should always be followed by a coat of wax/sealant.

 

Polish should be more than aggressive enough to remove contaminants with claying once a year or even two years.
Some grades of clay are quite harsh.