Today I used a clay bar on my car and WOW, what a difference! It was pretty easy and the paint is more smooth than most new cars. It was a Mothers kit that included the detail wax (used for lubrication during clay bar application) and some carnuba cleaner wax. That was the best $15 bucks I've spent in a while on detailing supplies. If your paint feels rough, you should consider using a clay bar, it's awesome!

 

Clay is an essential part of any proper detailing process as it removes all the bonded surface contaminants that polishing won't remove. Not only will clay make the surface smoother to the touch, but when coupled with a proper paint cleaning/polishing it fully preps the surface to accept your favorite wax or sealant. After all, waxes and sealants are made to bond with paint, not all the crud that sticks to the paint!!