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General => Detailing => Topic started by: blinky88 on 10 July 2007, 13:15
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I decided to take it upon myself to give the old mk3 a good old clean which proper products but before diving into halfords i looked at the products my dad already had and hell..he had a lot!
Could someone advice me which products to use and in which order? Or if I need anything else? My car is a tornado red mk3:
-halfords "advanced car wash"
-autoglym "bodywork shampoo conditioner"
-t-cut "the original colour restorer"
-t-cut "color fast"
-autoglym "paint renovator"
-autoglym "extra gloss protection"
-autoglym "super resin polish"
-autoglym "clean wheels"
-halfords "showroom polish"
-simoniz "car polish" spray
-turtle wax "colour enhanced car polish"
-mercedes-benz "windscreen washer concentrate"
-halfords "glass and mirror cleaner"
-simoniz "back to black"
-sh!t loads of valeting cloths
-a few sponges
-buckets -----------------> (is the two bucket method worth doing??)
-and a shammy :grin:
could someone help me derive a good routine for cleaning my car i dont mind putting in the hard work
thankyou people
i dont have one of those microfibre cloths is it essential?
-karcher
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-autoglym shampoo
-autoglym paint renovator
-autoglym super resin polish, 2 or 3 coats will work wonders and give you arms like popeye
-autoglym extra gloss protection
then buy a good wax, ie meguiars NXT
throw away (or just don't use) the sponges (buy a proper lambswool washmit)
also buy some microfibres and some applicator pads like these:
http://www.elitecarcare.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=140
http://www.elitecarcare.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=64&products_id=44
oh and definately use the two bucket method.
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before the paint renovater stage i'd clay the car; you can get a Meguairs Clay kit from Halfords for around £20; this includes the quik detailer and 2 clay bars.
what the clay bar does is remove most of the bonded contaniments from the surface, preping it for polishing and waxing etc
and as joe says DO NOT USE SPONGES!!! just as well get a rake and pull it across your paintwork!
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-autoglym shampoo
-autoglym paint renovator
-autoglym super resin polish, 2 or 3 coats will work wonders and give you arms like popeye
-autoglym extra gloss protection
then buy a good wax, ie meguiars NXT
throw away (or just don't use) the sponges (buy a proper lambswool washmit)
also buy some microfibres and some applicator pads like these:
http://www.elitecarcare.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=140
http://www.elitecarcare.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=64&products_id=44
oh and definately use the two bucket method.
thanks a lot joe yet again your a star!
rhyso i will look into the clay thanks for the info guys much apprieciated!
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just gotta say, after 4 hours of thorough product usage on my mk3 yesterday and some rain today, i can see the results!! perfectly beaded water over my car BEAUTY!!! thanks
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just gotta say, after 4 hours of thorough product usage on my mk3 yesterday and some rain today, i can see the results!! perfectly beaded water over my car BEAUTY!!! thanks
it only took you 4 hours?? you sure you didn't miss something out!!?? :tongue:
sounds like you've done well - get some pics up! :afro:
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sounds like you've done well - get some pics up! :afro:
I second that! :smiley:
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prob missed something out but its only my first time :grin:
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-autoglym shampoo
...joe, you tried Zymol? I like it better than Autoglym, seems to clean as well but it foams up a lot more. Plus it smells nice :laugh:
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not tried zymol, purely because i don't know anywhere that sells it! i use elite snowfoam and then meguiars NXT shampoo because it is ph neutral and has water softeners and i live in a very hard water area.
i only suggested autoglym as that's what blinky said he already had!
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halfords sell it..
or www.zymol.co.uk
my mommy likes it cos it smells like coconut.. :laugh:
Dinx :kiss:
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are you talking about that cleaner wax? if so thats made by turtle wax under license from zymol and isn't all that... so i'm told.
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i dunno?! that light blue stuff?!
nah im not a fan tbh..nice shampoo though
Dinx :kiss:
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^^ yeah its the light blue turtle wax crap!
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just wondering what the two bucket method is...
guessing it involves two buckets...
rob
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you have one bucket for your car shampoo and the other to rinse off your wash mitt.
Obviously dip your mitt in the clean water and wash a panel; after washing the panel dip the mitt into the clean water bucket and rinse off the dirt.
Repeat the process for each panel; start at the top and work your way down the car. I wash until the bumper strips and then switch to a new mitt and change the water in both buckets then wash the lower half of the car.
The idea is to stop you dragging all the dirt over the car which cause scratching and swirl marks; try it! You'll be amazed how dirty the water gets!
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what about jet washers? is everyone else against them? currently i have a jetwasher, rinse the whole car over onece to get the thick off, then wash it all over witha mit, then rince off again with jet washer, then shammy, then polish and wax...
this all very wrong?
rob
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nah not wrong, but combined with a two bucket method it'll reduce the chances of doing further damage.
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just don't blast the water at a 90 degree angle; try and stand at 45 degrees otherwise you risk pushing the dirt further into the paintwork.
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phew! had a go at the two bucket method on saturday...
woke up at 9>00am, got straight to work.
washed car all over with carplan shampoo...(cheap but smells great!)
then leathred and dried
gave the whole car a good go over with G3 compund paste
washed and leathred again.
then gave most panels a good go with tar and insect remover.
wiped and washed all areas then polished with autoglym super resin polish
Buffed the whole car.
autoglym bumper restorer on all bumpers x 2
foamed the tyres,
polished the alloys, and exhaust
Vacumed all the insides and wiped everything i could!
finished at approx 3.30pm... had a shower and got ready to got for a quick spin...
got outside... looked liek a teradactyl had sh*t all over my car... honestly the biggest bird cr*p known to man...and not a tree in sight!
unbelievable! since i was so angry i never got round to taking pics, and that night it rained... smashing!
oh well, roll on next weekend.
rob
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gutted! :cry:
it normally rains after i wash my car but its been nearly 24 hours and no sign of any....... :huh:
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what about jet washers?
the other problem with jet washers is that they are going to strip and wax / protectants you've already got on.
most shampoos are designed to leave them on, obviously claying, polishing and cleaner waxes will remove wax also.
if you want to work from the base up then a jet spray is fine, but like rhyso says, f you come straight on you risk embedding dirt into the paint. jet washers are good for foaming, under car and arches though.
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just done the MER. No time now tho to put the wax on.
So can I leave it until tomorrow and gfo straight to the wax?
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just done the MER. No time now tho to put the wax on.
So can I leave it until tomorrow and gfo straight to the wax?
yeah you might want to QD first otherwise you could be waxing a dirty surface
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aha! I'm getting the hang of this now!
cheers all!
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I've got 2 coats of wax on now and am not that impressed tbh.
What am doing wrong?
washed with megs gc wash.
polished with mer.
waxed with megs gc liquid wax.
is this wrong? have I missed something out?
cheers
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I've got 2 coats of wax on now and am not that impressed tbh.
what aren't you impressed with, the shine the beading or something else?
if its the shine then you could try another polish, i personally don't think that mer is that good. i currently use megs stage 2 polish, if you want a further shine then you can use a glaze (with wax on top)
Also i'm not really a fan off waxes that come in a bottle and prefer pure waxes that you get in a tub i use, collinite 476s followed by collinite Marque D'Elegance (No. 915)
what colour car do you have
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the shine is no better with the wax than just the MER. The shine is there but maybe I was expecting more!?!?
Is the water supposed to run off, or stand on the paint?
It just stands on mine?
I'll maybe try a glaze and also fancy a sealent as well - can you recommend one?
PS the Quick detailer I'm liking alot :smiley: :smiley:
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if done properly the water will 'bead' as in produce tiny droplets before eventually running off. its quite cool to watch.
what colour car you got?
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like rhyso says the water should bead like in this video
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-qWJbNeTNE)
if you want proper beading then you really need to use a pure wax and not the stuff that comes in a bottle
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colour is atlas grey, the water doesn't sit in "sheets", maybe it is beading and I don't know it :grin: :grin: :grin:
I'll get there in the end - just don't want ot but loads of tub/bottles of stuff that aitn no good!
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OK spent all day saturday cleaning my MK3, I stocked up at good old halfrauds with all the stuff I needed and TBH I was a bit skeptical about whether polish, gloss protector, clay bar etc would improve how the car looked but effing hell was I wrong. Did this:
- sprayed car down to get dirt off
- autoglym shampoo using 2 bucket method (jesus the amount of crap in that second bucket is scary)
- water blade down followed by shammy
- meg clay bar kit
- autoglym polish
- autoglym gloss protection
- meg NTX wax
- kiwi shoe polish (the stuff in bottle) for the external trim
- wheels: alloy cleaner, meg alloy wax, turtle wax wet n black
took about 5 hours and didnt vac /clean the inside
Gotta say the results were fecking outstanding, pics are here:
http://s152.photobucket.com/albums/s174/goat_bleet/?action=view¤t=DSC_0263.jpg (http://s152.photobucket.com/albums/s174/goat_bleet/?action=view¤t=DSC_0263.jpg)
http://s152.photobucket.com/albums/s174/goat_bleet/?action=view¤t=DSC_0264.jpg (http://s152.photobucket.com/albums/s174/goat_bleet/?action=view¤t=DSC_0264.jpg)
the paint GLEAMS, looks brand new
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looks awesome! 8)
the only thing i'd suggest is not using the blade to dry your car as these can scratch the paint as well.
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good job there buddy... i'd invest in a megs waffle weave.... well worth the money and makes drying your car sooooo much easier!
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^^^^ nah don't go for a megs waffle,they get a bit scratchy after a few washes. i use one of these now and they are incredible!
http://www.elitecarcare.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=196
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^^^^ nah don't go for a megs waffle,they get a bit scratchy after a few washes. i use one of these now and they are incredible!
http://www.elitecarcare.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=196
i'll second that about the megs going "scratchy" i found mine lost its softness very quickly just through normal use. I'd recomend the Sonus Der Wunder Drying (http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/microfibre-cloths/sonus-der-wunder-drying-towel-pkg/2/prod_84.html)
can't fault it
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Quick questions, do I need to do the full monty washing every time (i.e every week ?) or can I shorten it and do a full wash every so often ?
on another thread the guy said he clays the car every 6 months or so as well, is this OK ?
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Quick questions, do I need to do the full monty washing every time (i.e every week ?) or can I shorten it and do a full wash every so often ?
on another thread the guy said he clays the car every 6 months or so as well, is this OK ?
all depends how dirty the car gets.
you can get away with only waxing every 6 months, but you have to remember that if you do something that takes it off, you need to put it back on eg if you polish / clay an area then you're also removing the wax.
i recently bought some Klasse AIO which is a glaze, sealant synthetic wax which i've started to apply straight after the shampoo, this is a product that can be layered and give a nice sparkle without polishing. I like pure waxes so i put collinite on top of that, but you can get awy with just a synthetic wax
re clay, every 6 months is about right, but again depends where you park and how dirty the car gets. eg if you park under a tree and get loads of sap / bird mess etc on then you'll want to do it more often. if you park in a garage and the car never gets rained on you can probably get away with once a year. a mild clay like the sonus isn't going to hurt the car so don't worry about over claying.
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I have been cleaning once every 2 weeks but its parked on the road all the time as I dont have a garage :sad:
Its doesnt get that dirty as I dont have to drive to work so only drive for pleasure really. The main bits that get dirty is the front alloys with brake dust, at the weekend cleaned them with alloy cleaner then megs wheel wax - will see how they go with dust build up
Mainly I want to keep it looking good but figured doing the full monty clean every fortnight was a bit nuts. The most impressive part is how it looks now, if it keeps looking like that I will be well chuffed.
Any offers on a short wash procedure for in between the full on clean (and products used) ?
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if you've gone to town and done a proper clean, you should only have to do top up washes. for me that is:
rinse with sno-foam
two bucket wash
quick detailer
tyres etc and a top up wax if needed
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Cheers joe :wink:
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sorry to jack the thread a little but is tec wax safe on the Bora's pearl paint? :undecided:
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sorry to jack the thread a little but is tec wax safe on the Bora's pearl paint? :undecided:
you mean megs NXT yeah?
your pearl paint is still a cleat coat isn't it?
NXT should be fine but IMO its not the best synthetic wax.