First time polish/wax - advice please!

[cupra300uk]

Some lovely looking cars on here. I went down the professional detail route as I was too lazy to constantly be waxing my car. I had a ceramic coating applied after an intensive 2 day paint restoration. I had GTechniq coating applied and I gives me 2-3 years of protection with no need to wax the car during that period. The car is hydrophobic so water just beads off it, its chemical and corrosion resistant so if you live where roads get salted in the winter this coating protects the paint from being damaged from caked on salt. It basically the lazy mans way of keeping a car spotless. A strong powerwash is enough to knock the majority of dirt of it usually and when I give it a proper bath every few weeks, it comes up gleaming with just a wax free shampoo wash and a chamois cloth dry. View attachment 1414 View attachment 1415

Where did you get this professional coating done mate?


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[Daire92]

Where did you get this professional coating done mate?


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I'm over in Ireland so its no help to you, Spirit Detailing was the guy I used in Dublin. His Facebook is here and the website is http://www.spiritdetailing.com. Have a look at the kind of work he does, you'll see his pictures of the damage a poor quality valet company or untrained detailer can do(swirl marks, buffer burn etc.) There's plenty of places over in the UK that will provide the service though. Do a bit of research for good car detailer around you. Your usual "valet" isnt up to scratch for work like that. You want someone who specialises in quality paint correction and restoration. Its not cheap, I paid €450 for a 2 day booking, he only works on 1 car at a time and spends a full 8 hour day at it. The finish is unmatched though. The water beading difference is uncredible, have a look below at a comparison for the Gtechniq coating vs none

 

[Trout]

After getting my R brand new, I did a full clean etc in this order using a jet wash and foam lance. Rinse, snow foam, rinse, clay bar, prewash, rinse, wash, rinse, Bilt Hamber double speed wax, Optimim Optiseal. It came out as in the picture below. Might try a different wax in future as the Bilt Hamber was hard work as a hand wax but the Optiseal was extremely easy to use! Pretty much bought everything from Cleanyourcar.co.uk. Good luck!

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Dampen your foam applicator and with Bilt Hamber Double Speed Wax a little goes a long, long way.
If you found it difficult to remove, chances are you applied it far too thickly.
I have used it a number of times on a few different cars and have found it to be one of the easiest waxes to remove.

For ease of use, cost, longevity and looks it is definitely one of the best waxes on the market, currently.

 

[xyz]

Dampen your foam applicator and with Bilt Hamber Double Speed Wax a little goes a long, long way.
If you found it difficult to remove, chances are you applied it far too thickly.
I have used it a number of times on a few different cars and have found it to be one of the easiest waxes to remove.

For ease of use, cost, longevity and looks it is definitely one of the best waxes on the market, currently.

Sun came out and started baking it on mate - thankfully, I only did a bit at a time!


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[Trout]

Hi all,

I’ve had my Cupra 300 for about a month now. I’ve been too busy having fun to think about giving it a proper clean and wax, but it’s something that I’d like to do now.

Can I have a few recommendations and suggestions on what waxes/polishes people are using?

Also, is that Hydrasilex stuff any good? It keeps popping up on my Facebook feed and it looks the business, but as with anything on FB I take it with a pinch of salt..!!

Cheers


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Unless your car has scratches or swirls you will not need to use a polish. Basically there are two types of polish, one is simply an abrasive used to remove said swirls etc. the other has abrasives but also fillers that are used to mask the swirls and scratches (within reason) Polishes on their own will give you shiny paintwork but in the British climate will not last long unless a wax etc. is put on top of it to seal in the shine in.

On a paintwork that is in good condition you only need to consider (after proper preparation, of course) a wax, sealant or hybrid LSP (Last Stage Product) LSP's always bond better and therefore last longer when applied to clean, decontaminated paintwork.

For a cheap, long-lasting and easy to use (British) wax I recommend Bilt Hamber Double Speed Wax. It is best applied in thin coats.

 

[LouG]

I've used Meguiars Ultimate wax for years. I'Ve just done the new Arona. I usually wax the cars every three months, every year or so I'll use a paint cleaner before waxing, to get bonded contaminants off.
My GT 86 looked better than new when I sold it after 6 years.

 

[cupra300uk]

I'm over in Ireland so its no help to you, Spirit Detailing was the guy I used in Dublin. His Facebook is here and the website is http://www.spiritdetailing.com. Have a look at the kind of work he does, you'll see his pictures of the damage a poor quality valet company or untrained detailer can do(swirl marks, buffer burn etc.) There's plenty of places over in the UK that will provide the service though. Do a bit of research for good car detailer around you. Your usual "valet" isnt up to scratch for work like that. You want someone who specialises in quality paint correction and restoration. Its not cheap, I paid €450 for a 2 day booking, he only works on 1 car at a time and spends a full 8 hour day at it. The finish is unmatched though. The water beading difference is uncredible, have a look below at a comparison for the Gtechniq coating vs none

Cheers for that mate will look into it seems like a worthwhile investment in the long run


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[russbellrfs]

Chemical Guys have some good videos which show how to on pretty much all of their products. The videos are showing their products, but it will give u an idea of how to use.

Just for a side note, CGs products are very good too

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[SRGTD]

Chemical Guys have some good videos which show how to on pretty much all of their products. The videos are showing their products, but it will give u an idea of how to use.

Just for a side note, CGs products are very good too

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+1 for Chemical Guys products. I’ve used a few of their products and rate them highly.

 

[Jimbobcook]

Chemical Guys have some good videos which show how to on pretty much all of their products. The videos are showing their products, but it will give u an idea of how to use.

Just for a side note, CGs products are very good too

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+1 for Chemical Guys products. I’ve used a few of their products and rate them highly.

What products do you guys use from CG as I love trying new stuff lol then I can blame both of you for me spending money...

 

[russbellrfs]

I use Citrus Wash n Gloss, best shampoo Ive ever used. Jet Seal 109 for sealant, White Light as a cleaner wax/glaze (a must if u have a light/white coloured car) and Butter Wet Wax. All extremely easy to apply and all can be done by machine.

Recently got some VSS polish, which I havent tried yet though.

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[SRGTD]

I’ve used Jetseal 109, Extreme Body Wash and Wax Shampoo (smells great, glides nicely over bodywork and doesn’t strip existing wax or sealant), V36 cutting polish, V38 finishing polish and Polishing Pad Conditioner.

The V36/V38 polishes were easy to work with and didn’t produce much, if any, dust. I used them on my VW Polo GTI; not 100% correction but I was happy with the results that can be seen in the picture below (hope I won’t be banned from the forum for posting a picture of a VW!);

 

[Jimbobcook]

I’ve used Jetseal 109, Extreme Body Wash and Wax Shampoo (smells great, glides nicely over bodywork and doesn’t strip existing wax or sealant), V36 cutting polish, V38 finishing polish and Polishing Pad Conditioner.

The V36/V38 polishes were easy to work with and didn’t produce much, if any, dust. I used them on my VW Polo GTI; not 100% correction but I was happy with the results that can be seen in the picture below (hope I won’t be banned from the forum for posting a picture of a VW!);

I'll allow it as it's so shiny haha I will have to have a look see at the above and maybe give some a go, currently just sticking to Auto Finesse and Autobrite with bits of Autoglym and Meguires

 

[Legojon]

currently just sticking to Auto Finesse and Autobrite with bits of Autoglym and Meguires

I use Meguiars Nxt shampoo and find it really silky. Hard to explain but just seems to glide over the paintwork. If I ever get some spare $$$, I wouldn't mind trying one of the Autobrite detailing courses.

 

[Jimbobcook]

I use Meguiars Nxt shampoo and find it really silky. Hard to explain but just seems to glide over the paintwork. If I ever get some spare $$$, I wouldn't mind trying one of the Autobrite detailing courses.

I'd be well up for an Autobrite course! myself and a friend who I got hooked on cleaning his car talked about this a few weeks ago... We should sort something out lol SEATCupra.net cleaning course sponsored by Autobrite lol

 

[Legojon]

I'd be well up for an Autobrite course! myself and a friend who I got hooked on cleaning his car talked about this a few weeks ago... We should sort something out lol SEATCupra.net cleaning course sponsored by Autobrite lol

I'm up for it, but also scared. At one point I wanted to find a machine polishing course. But you know how OCD I am about cleaning by hand... imagine the money I'd spend if I got into machine polishing! Plus, my car would be silver by the end of the year.

 

[Jimbobcook]

I'm up for it, but also scared. At one point I wanted to find a machine polishing course. But you know how OCD I am about cleaning by hand... imagine the money I'd spend if I got into machine polishing! Plus, my car would be silver by the end of the year.

Yeah i'm the same I don't want to get into machine polishing lol I think if I was to do bits on the side after the course that would be allowed haha

I think we may be taking this of topic slightly haha

Yeah I use Auto Finesse and Autobrite lol

 

[russbellrfs]

I’ve used Jetseal 109, Extreme Body Wash and Wax Shampoo (smells great, glides nicely over bodywork and doesn’t strip existing wax or sealant), V36 cutting polish, V38 finishing polish and Polishing Pad Conditioner.

The V36/V38 polishes were easy to work with and didn’t produce much, if any, dust. I used them on my VW Polo GTI; not 100% correction but I was happy with the results that can be seen in the picture below (hope I won’t be banned from the forum for posting a picture of a VW!);

Probably the hard VW paint!

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[Trout]

Hi all,

I’ve had my Cupra 300 for about a month now. I’ve been too busy having fun to think about giving it a proper clean and wax, but it’s something that I’d like to do now.

Can I have a few recommendations and suggestions on what waxes/polishes people are using?

Also, is that Hydrasilex stuff any good? It keeps popping up on my Facebook feed and it looks the business, but as with anything on FB I take it with a pinch of salt..!!

Cheers


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You will get dozens of recommendations, some of which will undoubtedly be better than others.
Nevertheless, if you use products that are well thought of in detailing circles (even then there are many different opinions), most people won't find a vast difference in the finish. The biggest difference between these well regarded products, in all probability, will be in their longevity.

The most important thing, regardless of which products you choose to use, is the preparation.

By way of analogy; you could paint a car with the best paint and have it applied by best vehicle paint sprayer etc. but at the end of the day the paint finish is only going to be as good as the preparation.