Claying while washing may save time, but here's why I don't recommend it: When you're washing a vehicle, you don't know yet how hard or soft the paint is. How hard or soft the paint is will tell you what type of clay bar to use. On softer paints, fine clay bars are best as they'll inflict less scratches that you'll ultimately need to remove in the polishing step. That being said... it's not that big of a deal. This is just my method. You'll still get to shiny even if you clay during the wash ste

What are clay towels, and how do they differ from detailing clay? Clay is a polybutane plastic infused with pulverized abrasives. When you rub it against the paint, the abrasives rip apart bonded contaminants, which then stick to the clay. It's remarkably effective for removing contamination that won't come off via washing or through chemical means. A clay towel, on the other hand, uses the same technology but fits it into a towel form factor with high re-usability, as the contaminants can't bec