I was going to try clay, I e-mailed Meguiars and their person said it may not work so I went to the compound, I actually started out with Meguiars Fine Cut compound, but ran out of solution, so replaced with the 3M Medium Cut Cleaner. If there is a way for me to check if the clearcoat has been rubbed away? tell me and I will check I certainly didn't detect any surface painting coming off. My wheels seemed really smooth and shiney after the Medium Cut Cleaner and wax.