clay bar before machining?

[monty999]

Is it necessary to clay bar the car before machining with a scratch and swirl compound prior to finishing with a polish?wax. The car in question (daughters recently acquired mini cooper) hasn't been looked after very well and I don't think the previous owners ever polished it. Heavy and light swirls/odd scratch to correct. Cheers.

[CarCrazyDad]

Yes, when I had my car detailed by a friend he explained how important decontamination of tar and iron was

[Chubbyross]

It’s incredibly important to clay a car before machine polishing. Imagine what would happen if a small piece of grit or metal was caught up in a polishing pad. Claying itself causes tiny scratches but those can be polished out.

[steveo3002]

you can polish it without...its what we did before clay bars and fall out removers

but for the cost /effort yes clay the car first ...run your hand over a freshly done bit v old and it will notice the difference

[monty999]

steveo3002 said:

you can polish it without...its what we did before clay bars and fall out removers

but for the cost /effort yes clay the car first ...run your hand over a freshly done bit v old and it will notice the difference

Thanks, yes I've clayed before hand polishing/waxing but wondered if it was still required before using a cutting paste with machine.

Thanks for the input,