[QUOTE="jassyo06, post: 3410777, member: 75985"
Claying makes no difference to the finish after machine polishing,
Hmmmm interesting
I have always been led to believe claying a surface first removes foreign bodies and projections stuck to the paint.
So removing said projections means that when you polish afterwards, you are actually polishing flat against the surface, v unclayed, when polishing would just take the tops off the stuck on foreign bodies and not achieve full contact when polishing.
You can feel it with your hand when a car has been clayed.
Super smooth.
Imo this is only the best time to polish as you will have more chance of removing slight swirls that can be seen under lights..
And yeah,, maybe up the grade of polish up 1 to give more bite initially.
Just my opinion obviously[/QUOTE]
Paint condition prior to machine polishing should be at acceptable standard l admit but Claying a car is optional depending on the condition of the paint but it will not help to remove swirls or scratches when using a machine polisher , l have never had any cause to use a clay bar, l keep the paint at acceptable level so it doesn't require one, using a fallout remover plus a Tar remover is all ever use
Sepang Blue has a hard clear coat like most Audi paints so the use of a certain polishing pad to correct it is a must as is the compound Menzerna 3800 and 3500 are basically gloss enhancing compounds which will only correct minor light scratches or remove marring caused by improper washing or poor application of a wax or Sealant etc etc