re: Car/truck exterior care question

quote:

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Serious question: if I use the clay bar (or clay towel or eraser), wouldn't that eliminate the cleaning polish part?

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no, you are just removing contaminants that ruin gloss, reflection, color... on top of the paint, but the surface is more than likely still not smooth. Depending on how bad it actually is, is how much of a polish or cut you need. The polish and/or compounds actually smooth the surface. That gets rid of the lines, swirls, oxidation, etc.... When you dont have a perfect surface you are also more likely to get back to where you were before the waxing, faster.

Again, depending on the depth you want to go, you can go crazy with these steps prior to wax. If you put in the effort at the beginning, a solid clean and wax job in the future is all you need

ETA, clay bar and a wax job will still make your car look great, but you might not get the perfection you are looking for