Author Topic: Rebecca's Guide to Detailing  (Read 33109 times)

Offline Booth11

  • Serious forum addict
  • *
  • Posts: 7,739
Rebecca's Guide to Detailing
« on: 20 March 2016, 11:12 »
By request, I have decided to post my detailing guide below in this new thread and make it a sticky.  Hopefully this may prove useful to anyone new to detailing, to give an idea of what you might want to consider in terms of detailing process and products.  I will say that in terms of final protection, I am a wax user so my choices for paint protection are around that approach but there are many alternatives such as nano or polymer sealants too.  And of course this is just my take on it.   :smiley:

Firstly, here's some good detailing sites to look at:

http://www.wo-wo.co.uk
http://cleanyourcar.co.uk
http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk
http://www.theultimatefinish.co.uk
http://www.elitecarcare.co.uk
http://www.slimsdetailing.co.uk
http://www.juicydetailing.co.uk

Below is a list of stuff I think you need to properly maintain a car well, with suggested products.

Lambswool wash mitt - e.g WoWo Lambswool mitts or DoDo Juice Tribble mitt
PH Neutral Shampoo - e.g DoDo Juice Born to be mild or DJ Supernatural shampoo
2/3 x Wash buckets with grit guards (a 3rd for wheels recommended)
Snow foam and lance - e.g Valet Pro Advanced snow foam
Wheel mitt and/or wheel brush - e.g WoWo wheel mitt, Wheel Woolies
Wheel Cleaner - e.g. Valet Pro Bilberry used in spray bottle
Microfibre drying towels - e.g WoWo or DoDo Juice MF towels
Interior Cleaner/dressing - e.g Poorboys Natural Look Dressing; Auto Finesse Total Interior Cleaner; Gliptone Leather cleaner and conditioner (if leather)
Microfibre buffing cloths - e.g WoWo MF and glass cloth set; DJ Fantastic Fur buffing MF cloths
Glass cleaner - e.g Gtechniq G6 Perfect Glass
Metal polish for tailpipes - e.g Mother Mag and Aluminium Polish
Tyre dressing - e.g Meguiars Endurance Tyre Gel; Hi Shine true dressing; Gtechniq T1; Gyeon Q2 Tire
Exterior Trim dressing - Auto Finesse Dressle
Wheel sealant - e.g Poorboys Wheel Sealant; Gtechniq G5 or C2v3; Gyeon Q2 RIM
Last stage protection of your choice - sealant, or wax or both (some sealants can do double/triple duty used on paintwork, wheels and glass)
Engine Bay - e.g Aerospace 303
Spray bottles - optional - generic types
Sealant/wax foam applicators - e.g WoWo foam pads

The most important thing is to start off simple and get into a good washing and drying regime first, the rest, such as DA polishing etc can follow.  Don't be daunted by the stages, you can do as little or as much as you like and it's worth looking at the guides below for some good tips and techniques.

New cars
It is well known that dealerships can sometimes inflict damage to new paintwork during the preparation of a new car.  They work to a tight schedule and there is always a risk that they may swirl or scratch the car.  Many people (myself included) now prefer to collect their new cars in an unprepped state and either detail the car themselves or get  pro detailer to do a new car detail.  Skipping the dealership preparation ensures the paintwork is in the best starting condition. If it's a new car, and you are not having the dealer prep it at all, and are intending to detail it yourself, my 'First Detail' thread may help to give some pointers. 

http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=275907.0

If this car is being collected in an unprepped state, it may have glue residue on so highly advisable to decontaminate the car to rid it of tar/glue residue and any fallout it may well have picked up at the port and on it’s travels.  This of course can be done on any car and is something you probably want to do a couple of times a year.  Perhaps more for the wheels.  To decontaminate you'll need to use a product like IronX (iron/fallout remover) and Tardis (tar/glue remover).  You might wish to think about claying too but this is usually best done only if you are going to polish afterwards and a brand new car really shouldn't need polishing unless the dealer has inflicted swirls during prep (if done by dealer).  So maybe start with the decontamination, wash and protect stages, or even just wash, dry and get some protection on it.   A possible initial new car detail (without polishing) might look like this:

Wheels pre wash with wheel cleaner - diluted 1:10 or less as required (in a spray bottle).
Pre wash or Snow foam whole car using lance or cannon (with pressure washer). Leave to dwell for 5 mins whilst filling up buckets
Pressure wash rinse off snow foam
Wash wheels (wheel brush/wheel mitt) use separate bucket to rest of car
2 Bucket wash PH neutral shampoo (with grit guards and lambswool mitt) - wash rest of car - bodywork and glass - starting from top down - roof - upper sections of car, lower (dirtiest) sections of car last
Pressure wash rinse
De-iron car - rinse and dry, e.g Iron X
De-tar car - rinse, e.g Tardis
2 bucket wash entire car again as before 
Final rinse with open ended hose to reduce standing water to a minimum
Dry - Pat with MF towels
Protection stage - apply last stage protection - Sealant/glaze/wax - depends on what you decide to use. 
Seal wheels - apply wheel sealant
Dress tyres
Metal polish tailpipes
Dress exterior trim / engine bay if required
External/internal glass clean
Interior clean

The above sounds like a lot of work but this is breaking it down into it's component parts if you like. And you will only really need to do the decontamination phase every few months or when you do a full detail, so the regular routine will become more streamlined.  If you get into a good regime/routine it soon becomes second nature and in reality should only take couple hours once you are well practiced.

​Now onto the actual "stuff"........
 
Products:
Everyone has their own favourites but here is a (long, lol) list of stuff I have used or would happily recommend - my go-to favourites.  I'll add link when I get time.

Snow Foam/lance
Valet Pro advanced PH neutral
Snow foam lance

Shampoo:
DoDo Juice Supernatural shampoo
DoDo Juice Born to be Mild shampoo

Wash mitts and MF cloths:
WoWo lambswool mitts 
WoWo micro fibre and glass cloth set 
DoDo Juice Fantastic Fur buffing cloths 
Auto Finesse wax applicators 
WoWo foam applicator pads
WoWo micro fibre drying towels
WoWo Wheel drying towel
DoDo Juice drying towels
Chemical Guys Woolly Mammoth drying towels
Purple Monster edgeless drying towel

Wheels:
Valet Pro Bilberry Wheel cleaner
Hi Shine Long Life Tyre Dressing from Achem
Gtechniq C5 Wheel Armour
Poorboys Wheel Sealant
Meguiars Endurance tyre gel 
Wheel Woolies
WoWo Wheel Mitt

Decontamination products:
Tardis glue & tar remover
IronX iron and fallout remover
WoWo Clay mitt
Bilt Hamber medium clay
DJ Born Slippy clay lube

Other Exterior:
Gtechniq G6 Perfect Glass
Autoglym Fast Glass (and interior)
Mothers Mag & aluminium polish for tail pipes
Chemical Guys Speed Wipe Quick Detailer
Gtechniq panel wipe (for after polishing)
Auto Finesse Citrus Power bug remover
Spray bottles and spray heads
Aerospace 303
Auto Finesse Dressle

Waxes 
Some of the waxes listed are specifcally suited to a dark car (mine is black), but usually they are also good for red cars. DoDo Juice colour charged waxes are great and there are many available for specific car colours, i.e. Diamond White for light coloured cars; Orange Crush for red cars.

DoDo Juice Blue Velvet Pro wax
DoDo Juice Purple Haze Pro wax
​Collinite 915 
Chemical Guys Butter Wet Wax
DJ Supernatural hybrid
Swissvax Onyx sample pot
Swissvax Best of Show sample pot

Sealant:
Poorboys Ex-P sealant
Poorboys Black Hole Glaze
DJ Red Mist Tropical Quick Detailer/spray sealant

Interior:
Poorboys Natural Look Interior Dressing
Auto Finesse Total interior cleaner
Gliptone Leather cleaner + Gliptone Leather conditioner
Gtechniq L1 leather guard

In time as you go along you may want to add to your routine.  If you want an overview of a complete full-on detailing process, that would include full decontamination and polishing then it would look something like the list below.  As said earlier, you shouldn’t need to polish a brand new car, so start with just what is necessary and take it from there.  But if your interested in the whole caboodle here it is FYI:

Complete detailing process:
Initial light pressure wash (always at a distance and 45° angle to the car)
Wheels pre wash with wheel cleaner
Pre wash or Snow foam (optional) using lance or cannon
Pressure wash rinse
Wash wheels with a dedicated bucket
2 Bucket bodywork wash (with grit guards and wash mitt - no sponges!) work from top down
Rinse
Dry - MF drying towels to blot dry
Decontamination 1 - Iron remover e.g. IronX
Pressure wash rinse and dry
Decontamination 2 - Tar remover e.g. Tardis
Pressure wash rinse
Decontamination 3 - Clay bar/clay cloth or clay pad + clay lube
Wash again, rinse (final open ended hose rinse) and dry
Polish (DA or hand) with polishing and refining/finishing compounds
Panel wipe to remove all polish residue
Apply protection - Sealant/glaze/wax - can be all or just some of these, OR nano/polymer sealant
Apply wheel sealant
Dress tyres
Metal polish tailpipes
Dress exterior trim if required
External and internal glass clean
Dress engine
Interior clean + vacuum

​Finally, here's some useful links to methods and techniques
http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/car-care-advice.html
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/index.php?_a=viewDoc&docId=5
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=61625
http://www.elitecarcare.co.uk
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/generalImg/guide.gif
http://www.autogeek.net/exterior.html
http://www.autogeek.net/detailingtips.html

So that's it for starters.  When I get time I will add some more tips and guides on things such as washing and drying, decontamination and DA polishing, so this thread is a work in progress.... :smiley:
« Last Edit: 17 May 2018, 18:41 by Booth11 »
Black Beauty: MK7 R 5dr DSG, DBP, 19" Pretoria, DCC, Vienna leather, Keyless, Dynaudio, DNS Pro, Rear camera, HBA
2012 MK6 GTI DSG
2008 MK5 GTI DSG
2005 MK5 GTI Manual

https://www.flickr.com/photos/booth11

Offline Wo-Wo

  • Forum Supporter
  • I live here
  • *****
  • Posts: 709
  • www.wo-wo.co.uk
Re: Rebecca's Guide to Detailing
« Reply #1 on: 21 March 2016, 15:39 »
You gotta love the detail!

Offline Booth11

  • Serious forum addict
  • *
  • Posts: 7,739
Re: Rebecca's Guide to Detailing
« Reply #2 on: 21 March 2016, 16:15 »
You gotta love the detail!

I do!  :grin:
Black Beauty: MK7 R 5dr DSG, DBP, 19" Pretoria, DCC, Vienna leather, Keyless, Dynaudio, DNS Pro, Rear camera, HBA
2012 MK6 GTI DSG
2008 MK5 GTI DSG
2005 MK5 GTI Manual

https://www.flickr.com/photos/booth11

Offline JB GTI

  • I live here
  • *****
  • Posts: 894
Re: Rebecca's Guide to Detailing
« Reply #3 on: 23 March 2016, 20:16 »
Hurry up with the DA guide....Lol  :whistle:
Now Gone: 3dr GTI Carbon Grey Performance Pack Dynaudio
Discover Nav Park Assist Rear Camera
Picked Up: 15th March 2014


Now Gone 3dr Golf R Lapiz Blue, DSG, Dynaudio, 19" Pretoria's, Discover Nav, Keyless, Rear View Camera
Picked Up: 1st March 2015

Now Gone Too: Mk7.5 Golf GTi Performance 5dr Indium Grey DSG Dynaudio 19” Brescia Alloys Vienna Leather Keyless Entry/Start Panoramic Roof 90% Tints Park Assist Rear View Camera Voice Activation Dynamic Lane Assist/DLA

Offline Booth11

  • Serious forum addict
  • *
  • Posts: 7,739
Re: Rebecca's Guide to Detailing
« Reply #4 on: 23 March 2016, 21:01 »
Hurry up with the DA guide....Lol  :whistle:

Don't pressure me, I'm a busy woman.  :grin:

Black Beauty: MK7 R 5dr DSG, DBP, 19" Pretoria, DCC, Vienna leather, Keyless, Dynaudio, DNS Pro, Rear camera, HBA
2012 MK6 GTI DSG
2008 MK5 GTI DSG
2005 MK5 GTI Manual

https://www.flickr.com/photos/booth11

Mk7 GTI_PP

  • Guest
Re: Rebecca's Guide to Detailing
« Reply #5 on: 07 May 2016, 12:53 »
Great guide! I have a serious passion for detailing to!!! OCD would be an understatment....would love to load some images of my Deep Black Mk7 GTI, but I am new and not sure how to do it.... :undecided:

Offline Booth11

  • Serious forum addict
  • *
  • Posts: 7,739
Re: Rebecca's Guide to Detailing
« Reply #6 on: 07 May 2016, 13:58 »
Great guide! I have a serious passion for detailing to!!! OCD would be an understatment....would love to load some images of my Deep Black Mk7 GTI, but I am new and not sure how to do it.... :undecided:

Would love to see some pics of your deep black pearl  :smiley:

For pic posting you need to sign up to a photo hosting website such as Flickr or Photobucket, and copy and paste the image codes into your post.  For Flickr it's the BBCode, for PB it's the IMG code.  Alternatively you could use this site http://postimage.org  On the site, select your chosen images (can do mutiple ones at same time), tick family safe, leave the resize box clear, click upload and it will give you the links you can copy into your posts.  I find the Hotlink for Forums1 link works well.

Welcome to the forum.  :smiley:
Black Beauty: MK7 R 5dr DSG, DBP, 19" Pretoria, DCC, Vienna leather, Keyless, Dynaudio, DNS Pro, Rear camera, HBA
2012 MK6 GTI DSG
2008 MK5 GTI DSG
2005 MK5 GTI Manual

https://www.flickr.com/photos/booth11

Mk7 GTI_PP

  • Guest
Re: Rebecca's Guide to Detailing
« Reply #7 on: 07 May 2016, 17:11 »
Would love to show them to you to!! Thank you for coming back with that advice....I thought I would be able to just copy paste my pics onto the forum, guess not as easy as this!
Will try and sign upto one of these sites later, do I just post the link then?

P.s - How do I set images like you've done on the bottom of the reply? Like a signature?

Offline Waspy

  • I live here
  • *****
  • Posts: 705
Re: Rebecca's Guide to Detailing
« Reply #8 on: 08 February 2017, 19:37 »
Was just about to post a "what do I need" thread then saw this! Haven't been here much and must have missed it.

Proud owner of a new-to-me Candy White Scirocco and was in need of restocking a few detailing pieces before its first clean. I'm excited now!
It's a mk2. Fill it, drive it, enjoy it.  :smiley:

Offline Booth11

  • Serious forum addict
  • *
  • Posts: 7,739
Re: Rebecca's Guide to Detailing
« Reply #9 on: 08 February 2017, 21:31 »
Was just about to post a "what do I need" thread then saw this! Haven't been here much and must have missed it.

Proud owner of a new-to-me Candy White Scirocco and was in need of restocking a few detailing pieces before its first clean. I'm excited now!

Very nice!  Post up some pics once you've detailed it.  :smiley:
Black Beauty: MK7 R 5dr DSG, DBP, 19" Pretoria, DCC, Vienna leather, Keyless, Dynaudio, DNS Pro, Rear camera, HBA
2012 MK6 GTI DSG
2008 MK5 GTI DSG
2005 MK5 GTI Manual

https://www.flickr.com/photos/booth11