Cleaning / detailing

[kyleyo]

So I've never been one to have the patience or will to properly clean or detail my car but I'm kinda feeling a little guilty for only ever rinsing my car off and think it would be a day and night difference if I put some effort into it.

As I've never bothered with proper cleaning/ detailing I'm finding myself a bit overwhelmed with all the product options, could anyone who's into this sort of thing give me some good recommendations of products to get me started without breaking the bank?

Thank you.

[Leooo]

Hey mate, I would recommend a good quality body wash, something like gtechniq g-wash. If you need a good wheel cleaner chemical guys diablo is good or iron x which an iron fallout remover.

A clay bar to remove contaminates from your paintwork using more body wash as lubricant (and lots of it) probably a light clay from chemical guys (the yellow one) or meguiars do a kit but clay lube is a waste of money. Claying takes out rail dust, engrained dirt etc which increases the gloss.

You then need to protect the paint, for a first timer I would recommend something like long lasting and hard waring, I would recommend finish kare 1000p. Ideal for wheels as it works in hi temperatures to. Then to keep cost down OCD alien 51 with OCD nebula on top of it. Crazy high gloss, will reduce the appearance of swirls etc.

Wheels first, cg Diablo if they're not that dirty, if they're bad or have more stubborn marks try the iron x
Rinse thoroughly
Wash paintwork (two bucket method)
Rinse
Dry
Panel at a time with fresh soap suds, clay panel at a time, light pressure or you may marr the paint, you can use it on the glass too
Rinse
Dry
Fk 1000p on wheels
Alien 51 on paint
Nebula on paint

You might find this really useful
https://youtu.be/T7k6AjQvqyg

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[Chriscooke]

Do you wash the car again after claying?

[pointz]

Do you wash the car again after claying?

Yes or at least i always have!!

[Leooo]

I don't but there's no harm in it, your rinsing the panel after claying anyway then drying again so you do not get water spots etc. Either way is fine mate

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[Matas]

Everyone has their own methods and preferred products so it's a bit tricky. For clay I can only recommend bilt hamber ones, I've tried so many but nothing compared to them. My car was completely filth and covered in overspray and compared to other clays it was much more effective. Only need water as lube too.

I personally try avoid wheel cleaners because they're straight up toxic, the smell gives that away too. If you wash and wax them, cleaning them without wheel cleaner won't be a problem if you do it often enough.

Two buckets, microfibre wash mitt, buy a wash and wax product if you're wanting minimal effort involved, dry with microfibre towels, not chamois leathers or those awful plastic blade things. Buy something like autoglym aqua wax if you're wanting to wax the car with minimal effort, it's a liquid spray wax that you essentially use to dry the car with.

[Leooo]

Two buckets, microfibre wash mitt, buy a wash and wax product if you're wanting minimal effort involved, dry with microfibre towels, not chamois leathers or those awful plastic blade things. Buy something like autoglym aqua wax if you're wanting to wax the car with minimal effort, it's a liquid spray wax that you essentially use to dry the car with.

This is good advice too, can't go wrong with bilt hammer either. Just remember you don't want a heavy clay as your not machine polishing any defects that may be caused by that process



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[pointz]

Everyone has their own methods and preferred products so it's a bit tricky. For clay I can only recommend bilt hamber ones, I've tried so many but nothing compared to them. My car was completely filth and covered in overspray and compared to other clays it was much more effective. Only need water as lube too.

I personally try avoid wheel cleaners because they're straight up toxic, the smell gives that away too. If you wash and wax them, cleaning them without wheel cleaner won't be a problem if you do it often enough.

Two buckets, microfibre wash mitt, buy a wash and wax product if you're wanting minimal effort involved, dry with microfibre towels, not chamois leathers or those awful plastic blade things. Buy something like autoglym aqua wax if you're wanting to wax the car with minimal effort, it's a liquid spray wax that you essentially use to dry the car with.

I got one of them plastic / rubber blade things and its great! Only use it to remove the bulk of the water then mf towel dry it.

They can be awful if not used in the correct manner tho, if the ar isnt properly cleaned for instance amd your just dragging crap around with it.

[SXRORY]

Mate life is too short to clean your car with a toothbrush I think you had it right the first time . all it has to do is pass the 6ft test in my opinion

For wax though when I do a decent job once every six months or so I use this
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/370355728382 I think this stuff is great had my tub for years now and its still going. Easy to put on and get off.

[Matas]

Mate life is too short to clean your car with a toothbrush I think you had it right the first time . all it has to do is pass the 6ft test in my opinion

For wax though when I do a decent job once every six months or so I use this
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/370355728382 I think this stuff is great had my tub for years now and its still going. Easy to put on and get off.

Can't say I agree, I have an electric and a manual toothbrush dedicated just to car cleaning

I got one of them plastic / rubber blade things and its great! Only use it to remove the bulk of the water then mf towel dry it.

They can be awful if not used in the correct manner tho, if the ar isnt properly cleaned for instance amd your just dragging crap around with it.

Not worth the risk in my opinion, there's still likely to be some dirt on the car, I don't want to drag that across the paint with one of those things, even though my paint is pretty shite. Several microfibre towels and some sort of drying aid is the best option for me. I'm pretty obsessed with the car cleaning stuff, but can completely appreciate that most people are not. My family get their cars valeted at their work by a mobile valeter, they all see how mint the car looks and all I see is the mistakes, missed bits and swirls. I don't recommend getting into detailing, it'll drive you insane.

[pointz]

Could quite easily drag something over it whilst washing,, drying, polishing or waxing too.

I get what your saying i just believe if used in the right manner its just as safe. The one i have is really soft too which probably helps.

[Jonny Wilkinson]

Not knocking anything suggested so far. All good stuff but if you want a simple rule of thumb and keep the costs down, you could just stick to autoglym products, available from halfrauds, b&q etc. As a basic kit, I'd recommend :-

To wash (1 hour) - £5ish for a 1 litre bottle - 4 litre bottles are cheaper per litre.

Turtlewax Zip Wax Car Shampoo - 2 capsful in a bucket. Clean using two-bucket method starting at the top and working your way down. Rinse with rainwater from a butt to avoid staining glass. Use a mitt on the bodywork and a sponge for the wheels and wheelarches.

To polish (1 day) - About £40 for the 5 bottles mentioned below plus about 1 bedsheet of clean rags

If its dirty, wash it twice.
Meguiars Stage 1 paint cleaner and Autoglym tar spot remover - go over car panel by panel removing spots
Autoglym Super Resin Polish - Apply sparingly panel by panel allowing to dry as you work round the car (lap 1) then wipe off and buff off with a cotton cloth on lap 2.
Autoglym Extra Protection Gloss - Wipe on using a clean cotton cloth. Don't rub in, avoid glass and clear or black plastic areas. Work round panel by panel allowing to dry (lap 1). then wipe off and buff off with a cotton cloth on lap 2.
Autoglym glass cleaner - go round the inside and outside of glass and mirrors applying with a paper towel or cotton cloth then wiping off immediately with a clean cotton cloth.

Wheels (4 hrs) - £25 for the 2 bottles mentioned

Autoglym wheel cleaner and Collinite 845 - Remove wheel, clean front and back by spraying on wheel cleaner, agitating with soft brush leave for two minutes (out of the sun) spray on more cleaner and agitate again then wash off without letting it dry. Repeat as necessary.
Dry then rub in 845 cream using a soft cotton cloth. This usually removes any remaining loose brake dust (but won't remove burnt lacquer from hot brake dust). Allow to dry (30 mins) then wipe off excess. Ideally, buff off the next day to give the best shine.

Interior (2 days)

This is quite involved. How interested are you ? I can type it out if you are interested.

[snops]

Kyle. Your motor needs a clay bar and polish to get rid of the scratches. Then a wax. Once done just wash as everyone says above.

[arry]

Stage 1: Autobrite snow foam from snow foam gun
Stage 2: Wash down with Dodo Juice Born To Be Mild shampoo
Stage 3: Decontaminate using Dodo Juice clay pad and Born Slippy lube
Stage 4: Polish using Autoglym Super Resin Polish
Stage 5: Wax using Dodo Juice Purple Haze

Get all the shines






Win

[kyleyo]

Thank you for all the replies, you've given me lots of helpful information and lots of things to try.

Not really much mentioned about polishing, is this pointless by hand? Should I only bother if I invest in a dual action or the likes?

[Jonny Wilkinson]

Just about every single reply has mentioned polishing. Do you mean machine polishing ? Hand polishing is better IMO. It's not strenuous if you've done all the ground work and, with a machine, it's all too easy to burn through the paint if you don't know what you are doing.

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[kyleyo]

Just about every single reply has mentioned polishing. Do you mean machine polishing ? Hand polishing is better IMO. It's not strenuous if you've done all the ground work and, with a machine, it's all too easy to burn through the paint if you don't know what you are doing.

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Yes, sorry that is what I meant.
I have heard that it's easy to burn through the paint with a machine which I would be concerned about. But if used correctly would you still personally say hand polishing is better?

[arry]

Hand polishing is fine and all I do. If your paint needs correction that's a different matter.

[Jonny Wilkinson]

Machine polishing of bare metal etc. is fine for anyone as the metal is hard and thick and usually fairly cheap to replace.
Machine polishing of paint is best left to the experts as it is microns thick and expensive to get reapplied.
A novice buying a machine to correct car paint is a recipe for disaster IMO. Maybe it doesn't matter if you are learning on a junker that you can throw away but think about it, a full respray of a decent quality is going to cost you at least 3K.
You are going to have to really put some hamfisted effort in to ruin a paintjob hand polishing. Worst case pretty much is that you need to get a pro in to strip the polish off, correct the paint and polish it up at a cost of 100.

[Matas]

Machine polishing of bare metal etc. is fine for anyone as the metal is hard and thick and usually fairly cheap to replace.
Machine polishing of paint is best left to the experts as it is microns thick and expensive to get reapplied.
A novice buying a machine to correct car paint is a recipe for disaster IMO. Maybe it doesn't matter if you are learning on a junker that you can throw away but think about it, a full respray of a decent quality is going to cost you at least 3K.
You are going to have to really put some hamfisted effort in to ruin a paintjob hand polishing. Worst case pretty much is that you need to get a pro in to strip the polish off, correct the paint and polish it up at a cost of 100.

This is only the case for rotary polishers. You're not going to ruin anything with a dual action polisher. I've done my car and it's the first time I've ever used one, no damaged caused. As for doing it by hand, if you go over with some compound and then polish it'll certainly look better but it's going to be hard work and it won't do the same as a DA. With a dual action you go over the panel multiple times in different directions with a compound and polish, and it can still take forever, doing that by hand will probably leave you a cripple. It ain't the cheapest option and if you aint too concerned just do what you can by hand. Just coating it in wax may leave you satisfied. My car was one big swirl before and the paint full of shite so I wanted to machine cut and polish.