Mop and polish

[daniel-1986]

i went to a auto valet to get a quote on a mop and polish which was £45 to get as much of the red back, and would it be advisable to go back every couple of months at £45 to get it as close to showroom red as possible

[eightyeightmph]

??

[mark3valver]

if you went back for a mop and polish every few months you would have no paint left!!!!

you can do a really good job yourself, spend £50 on a proper buffer and learn to do it, will be cheaper and better in the long run

[VeeDubGTI16v]

you only have to do it once, then keep it nice with polish and wax every month or so

[Conker]

I wouldn't trust a £45 mop and polish - I don't think its something you want to cut corners on. Have a look on www.detailingworld.co.uk for loads of top quality traders/examples.

As for doing it yourself, if you do, get any old bonnet from your scrappy and PRACTICE loads first.

[Guy]

few points here

having the car mopped repeatedly from someone who just wants £45 for doing it... they ain't gonna be bothered by the finish and an hour (presuming that is their hourly rate) won't be enough to remove the swirls/renovate the paint

going back to the same bloke repeatedly who don't really give a damn... you can kiss goodbye to your clearcoat in the long run

swirls are something that you have to work on... the 'cleaner' the paintwork gets the more you notice... but you'd be better off if you are serious about your paintwork getting a decent DA polisher and learning to do it yourself with quality materials...

£50 won't get you a decent polisher... look at either a Megs220 or a porter cable7274 (i think that is the name of the PC)... budget about £150 and add polishes on top of this... you might be lucky and find a deal somewhere including pads for the £150.  Spending £50 on a polisher will get you something that just spreads polish about and inflicts rather than removes them.

if you want a decent detailer who will offer you a forum discount PM Mark from Karlsson Collins... he did an amazing transformation on my paintwork and really knows his stuff..

http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=72171.0

[kittie]

Get a car cover if you don't have a garage, it's the UV that turns the paint pink.

[bored_Welsh_lad]

I would seriously start with the megs 3 stage and buy a few extra bits like bumper care etc...

For 45 quid def have a go yourself.. f**k the 150 quid polisher first off.. start with something simple...

Dicky