I'm going to spend the day doing the exterior of my S2 tomorrow and I'm wondering if I should clay. My paint feels smooth as can be except in a few areas so is it really necessary to clay the entire car? I'm planning on the following:
Wash
Clay (If necessary)
Menzerna Intensive Polish on Hood and Trunk with orange pad remove by hand
Menzerna Final Polish with white pad on entire car remove with PC
3M Swirl Remover with white pad (If needed on certain areas)
NXT with Grey pad remove by hand
P21S x 2 with Red Pad removed by hand
What do you think? Any changes or suggestions? I'll probably use QD in between the polishes

 

I think you are going to have sore arms after tomorrow.
Claying is only necessary on rough feeling areas of the paint. If all of the polishing you are planning doesn't improve the feel of the surface then try the clay.

 

I say clay the entire car or don't clay at all. I clayed mine for the first time and man did it feel soft and smooth.

 

Yes clay!! You will see all kinds of crap stuck to the clay. I will give you a tip and acheive better results. When you wash the car, do one section at a time. Say the roof. Wash then rince then re apply the soap and now go ahead and use the clay. I think the car soap makes a better lube for the clay than the "lube " it comes with.
So just wash, rince, re soap, clay then rince. Do this over the entire car. Be sure to keep folding the clay to expose fresh clay.

 

No reason to use both the Menzerna final polish and the 3m SMR

 

lotsa good answers above...

i wouldnt use the quick detailer between polishes, but would use it with the clay.
if you have areas that dont need to be clayed, i would not clay them- but it is a personal decision...
and agree that you dont need that two polishes that do pretty much the same thing.

 

Thank you for all the help! Here's the update:
So far I've washed/clayed/washed and then I spent a great deal of time going over everything with Menzerna Intensive with the orange pad. I'm taking a soda break right now but I did snap a pic:

I know it's not the greatest camera but it shows the great gloss I achieved even with the Intensive. I think I'm going to go over everything with the final and I'll post some better pics.

 

That looks great - very

 

Well I used final polish in a few locations and then checked it out in some different lights and I could not tell a difference. I just went on and did a couple coats of NXT. By the time I finished the sun was going down so I have some pretty crappy pics. All in all I'm very pleased though.