Wax after claying?
 

I did a 1k mi. road trip last weekend. In the process I built up a boatload of bug guts on the front of my car. My question is if I use the clay bar to remove them am I going to have to wax the car again or will the finish survive?

TIA

Just give it a full treatment...your car deserves it! :tup:

Yes, you would need to wax.

And FWIW...

claying to remove bugs is too time consuming for me. Hit it with some B&T remover and a MF and be done with it. Either way, you'll have to wax.

I would suggest doing a wash with dawn dish soap first to remove any protection on the paint so that the clay can better do its job of removing contaminants below the wax/sealant on the paint surface. Then you will need to clay, then polish, then wax/seal the paint. You wont get the full benefit from a detail without polishing the car before you wax or seal it.

Before going with clay bar. See if you can remove the bugs with some car shampoo and warm water. 75% of the time, it's enough.

^^^ agreed, just go with the least invasive way first, the path of least resistance! Then determine if you need to be more aggressive.

If you're just looking to remove the bugs, use damp, unscented dryer sheets. Works like magic.

Thanks for the ideas! I'll head out to the garage and try out those dryer sheets!

Really depends on how stuck the bugs are. Start with less aggressive methods and work up.

You sure about that? I was under the impression you didnt have to polish if your paint is in good shape...

'Good shape' is a relative term. High quality waxes / sealants tend to magnify any imperfections so you have to start out with a near perfect surface. Like a lot of things, the best result comes from the prep, not the final step.

Here's a shot of my truck after polishing. No wax, no fillers, no QD - just bare paint.

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/a...n/sideshot.jpg

It's all in the prep.