I have to do some heavy detailing to my Explorer and I have a question... then I remembered how much I loved the detailing tips here

Its going to require, at a minimum, that I do some sort of cutting and a polish before I even consider wax. I have some Mequiars #2, # 3, and # 9 on the shelf as well as the appropriate pads and such. The paint is in a less than well-maintained state but I am not sure if spending the time on clay-ing the truck is even worthwhile if I am going to follow it with a cutting compound.

What do you all think?

 

Polishing or compound the paint serves a different affect then claying. Polishing is going to basically buff the paint... and also what ever is in the paint. It won't remove contaminates like claying will.

Claying is also going to have more impact in less time then polishing will.

 

Yes, you need to clay it. Otherwise, you are just going to grind contaminants into the paint. Those look like some pretty old products - you may want to get some current supplies.

 

Thanks for the input, but these products are not old. Meguiars still sells them and they have worked well for me for years. I have detailed many cars with them, just never bothered with clay before because the paint was never bad enough to consider it.

 

It's not a point of how bad the paint is - clay will remove contaminants that would otherwise just get buffed in and cause swirls and scratches. Then again, Beechkid will disagree, he prefers to use an acid wash.