Originally Posted by jock05

After you have washed your car run your fingers over the paint. Does it feel rough or smooth? If you can't tell use a freezer bag over your hand and try again. If it's rough you need to clay it. Clay removes the ingrained dirt and industrial fall out. It leaves the surface smooth ready to polish and wax. You can get various types of clay but the Meguiars one is good. All you do is spray the lubricant and rub a small piece of clay over the panel making sure the panel is continually lubed. You will be surprised how much dirt is in the paint. Once the clay gets dirty, knead it until it's clean and use again. If you drop in throw it away and use a clean piece.