best way to wash and wax / polish the car

[heliliam]

never been into cleaning cars spotless but with this been my first brand spanker car i want t0 look after it and keep it shiny


to start with i have managed to get the red solid colour was originally alor blue but i was able to change it

what is the best way to clean cars to avoid getting the little swirls in the lacquer as i have noticed this on alot of cars and is it true that it is best not to use a jet was on cars ?


second what is better polish or wax ? or are they totally different and have different uses ? if so what one is better and why please ? also if you could recommend some good products ?

i have also heard the term of foaming the car to clean it saw a picture and it was just covered in a white foam is that just an easer way of cleaning it than using a sponge ?

and last of all i doubt i will buy the paint cleaning protection packs they offer at about £ 500 as i have heard they are not worth the money but i may be wrong lol but what is the best thing to do when i get the car leave it till it gets mucky and clean it or is it best to wax or polish it when its brand new ?

any other tips would be much appreciated thanks liam

 

[AndyG_TSi]

Definite No No's:

Taking it to any hand car wash place to pay £5 for a group of illegal immigrants to wash it
Taking it through a mechanical car wash


Hand wash the car, utilising the 2 bucket method, with a microfiber wash mitt

2 bucket method is where you have 1 bucket of your soapy wash and 1 bucket of clean water, you dunk your wash mitt into the soap, wash one panel of the car and then rinse your wash mitt in the clean water to remove any grime, before dunking the wash mitt back into the soap to wash the next panel.

Dry the car off using a microfiber drying towel, do not use one of those blades

watch this vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBo76v2je44

Polish or wax - you use both.

polish 1st, then seal in the polish by applying a wax or sealant

Ideally, you should clay the car to prep the paintwork before applying the polish and wax/sealant

for claying - watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD9Qc84vSyY

So ideally:

Rinse car off

wash (2 buckets)

rinse car off

Clay the paintwork to prep

Polish

wax/Sealant

Don't pay £500 for that 'lifeshine' sh1t, if you spend time prepping your car as above, all it will need is a weekly, or fortnightly wash to keep it looking good. You only need to do a claying stage twice per year once before winter and again before summer. The rest of the time you just top up the polish/wax layers through the year as you see fit

Personally, I use Autoglym Super Resin Polish & HD Wax, with the Meguires clay kit

Difference between polish & wax - polish has fillers that can mask tiny marks in the paint, a wax doesn't and is used to seal in the polish to protect it.

results? - mine after a good sorting using the above:





a bit of beading action:

 

[DeanC]

What Andy said. Although on solid red I would always use a glaze because you are going for depth rather than pure reflective shine.

I clay, polish and seal every 6 months to give me a great base to start from which is protected. Then i wash or wash, glaze and wax over that when time allows.

A great sealant is one by klasse:

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/viewitem?itemId=151105177599

And this glaze is great for a tenner: http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/glazes/meguiars-7-show-car-glaze/prod_92.html

Wax will depend on budget and how easy you want it to take on and off.

Oh apply the sealant to your wheels.

 

[m4rtin]

+1 for what Andy & Dean said

One piece of kit which is a must is the Autobrite HD Foam Snow Lance!!

This should be used for the first stage and is to "pre-wash" the car before moving on to the actual hand wash using the two bucket method with a microfibre or lambswool wash mitt.

Here it is in action....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAVReNXlt5k

They really are a great piece of kit and a must for anyone you wants to wash their car properly whilst also reducing the risk of damage to the paint. Oh and they're GREAT fun to use too! They attach to the end of a pressure washer so if you don't have one you will need one.

Autobrite do various special offer bundles on the group buy section on the Detailing World forum, make sure you get one with Magifoam as it is a better than the Super Snow Form.

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=206996

 

[Swahealy]

Any of you chaps near Se London!!! I will give you a tenner to do mine!!! lol!!!

 

[Syphon]

Moved to correct forum.

 

[paul_zx6r]

Go on detailing world forum, all the info you could ever want

 

[heliliam]

thanks for all the tips will have a good look at the detailing world forum thanks

 

[M18nye]

thanks for all the tips will have a good look at the detailing world forum thanks

Dont go to detailing world forum. Its extremely bad for your bank balance. I went on there from here and have got addicted to car detailing to the point where i have near enough a shed full of detailing equipment and products!!

 

[G.P]

He won't see this now for a few weeks, no make that months, he's busy reading and deciding on what to buy, and then he'll be trying it out..

 

[Husbandofstinky]

As above really although I never got into that snow foaming mullarky.

The two bucket technique is excellent and it is amazing how much grit you find in the dirty bucket and almost none in the clean one.

Microfibre washmits work well and better (and cheaper) than the old Meg's sheepskin one (do they still make this?). Should be under a fiver or so.

Polishes, waxes and sealants - you could go on forever with this and everyone has their own preferences. This stuff is like politics and everyone has a different opinion.

Hopefully with your new car it shouldn't be too hard work.

Enjoy.

 

[Husbandofstinky]

Before I forget. One thing I do is not wash on a hot/warm day as it makes life harder imo. Preferably cool and damp. So its either get up early or leave it late in the summer.

I also rinse with water butt water as I go along and given the right climatic conditions I get no water marks on the paintwork when leaving to dry naturally (saves time) during a just a wash cycle. Even when it is a bit warmer water marks are minimal so I would recommend rain water over tap water by far (much softer and no minerals).

 

[G.P]

I also rinse with water butt water as I go along and given the right climatic conditions I get no water marks on the paintwork when leaving to dry naturally (saves time) during a just a wash cycle. Even when it is a bit warmer water marks are minimal so I would recommend rain water over tap water by far (much softer and no minerals).

You may like one of the Sonax shampoo's on clean your car, it's designed so you don't need to dry and it won't leave any water marks..

 

[Husbandofstinky]

Cheers for the pointer but I'll stick to me Fairy liquid





...............jk

 

[dazjstuart]

Just to throw my tuppence worth in. A lot of good tips here, but it really depends what you are looking for. Your car is new so it should be fair to assume that your paint is in good nick (sadly this is not always the case with many manufacturers). For the first while a good wax will be all it needs, wax just coats the paintwork with a protective layer and makes it nice and shiney, it doesnt get rid of any scratches. Polish gets rid of scratches and also makes it shiney.

A lot of your off the shelf run of the mill car polishes from Turtle Wax, Carplan and Auto Glym etc both polish and wax at the same time, they contain fillers to fill up scratches and a hard shell to apply protection. For the vast majority of people this is perfect and does the job nicely, just give it a rub with that a couple of times a year.

No matter what you do I would suggest you get tar remover and clay as they make a big difference no matter what kind of polish / wax you will be using. There are many kinds of tar removers available, I generally just use petrol or white spirit. Clay removes any stuff stuck to the paintwork that cant be removed by washing, this leaves the paint nice and smooth which allows you to get a much better finish.

After claying it depends on how anal you want to be, either crack on with your Turtle wax or you can delve into machine polishers, cutting compounds, glazes and waxes. I have recently gone for the latter. I machine polish the car twice a year and apply a couple of coats of wax. Periodically (probably another couple of times a year) I give it a top up coat of wax. Most times after I wash and dry it I give it a wipe over with rapid detailing spray which increases the shine and water repelance.

I would recommend a snow foam lance if you have a pressure washer. If you combine it with the two bucket method it should help stop the swirl marks you notice. I have only recently got one but like it so far and for quick washes in the winter time it will be perfect as I wont need to physically touch the car at all.

As I have found to my wallets detriment, detailing is an obsessive and expensive hobby, whatever you do don't go on detailing world, they just fill your head with expensive ideas!

 

[allan@ur]

I agree with most. Detailing world was my first point of information when looking for a cleaning route for my new leon. Two buckets, lambs wool mitt. Chemical guys citrus shampoo, fk1000p sealer,meguires large microfibre Drying towl and microfibre cloths was first on my shopping list. Car is looking great though

 

[marty_34]

As I have found to my wallets detriment, detailing is an obsessive and expensive hobby, whatever you do don't go on detailing world, they just fill your head with expensive ideas![/QUOTE]

ill second this point, expensive and addictive

pressure washers not done my cars any harm have used one for 3 - 4 years without any issue.

snow foam lances worth every penny you find that normally with the lance they give a gallon of snow foam as part of the deal. autobrite and juicy detailing websites

only other point I would add ( if not it previous replies) is grit guards for the bottom of your buckets, can get them off likes of amazon

 

[allan@ur]

Does a grit guard really work? I just avoid dipping my mitt to the bottom of the bucket.

 

[DeanC]

Does a grit guard really work? I just avoid dipping my mitt to the bottom of the bucket.

Same. I done a big clean your car order this morning for my soon to arrive FR SC

 

[marty_34]

Does a grit guard really work? I just avoid dipping my mitt to the bottom of the bucket.

I bought them on the advice of a detailer as i had my last car detailed, kept my paintwork spotless so i think they worth having, may not be everyones cup of tea

Quite surprising how much crap builds up in bottom of the buckets i noticed this when rinsing the buckets out