Hi just though I'd share the process I used to detail my car, first off sorry for the quality of the photo, it's always hard to show how reflective the paint of a silver car is and even more so when the pictures comes from a rubbish Iphone.

So I got my butt outta bed and made a start at 6am last Saturday, the products I used were Autoglym Bug and tar remover, Maguire's Gold car shampoo, Maguire's Super Towel, Autoglym fine detailer kit which included autoglym clay bar and lubricant, Autoglym Super Resin Polish, Turtle wax platinum polish, Simoniz Original Carnuba wax, Simoniz Alloy cleaner with break dust repelent, Simoniz tyre dressing, Maguire's Glass cleaner and finally some Turtle wax Ice Polish.

So for the process I firstly rinsed the car thoroughly with clean cool water to wash down any dust or loose surface contaminents. Then I sprayed about half a container of AG bug and tar remover onto the front bumper, I had a big build up of dead flies as I my drive on a daily basis is made up of country B roads and at this time of year it's just ridiculous trying to keep the front end clean. So I sprayed the front end and allowed it to settle and react for 30 secs before hosing it down thoroughly. To be honest I was pretty unimpressed with the AG bug and tar remover, it did very little to remove or loosen anything. So I repeated the process but it really didn't have massive effect, I really need to consider a better alternative than AG that said perhaps leaving it a little longer to settle than the recommended 30 secs might help. Luckily when I later used the Mag's shampoo they come off with out much pressure.

Next step was to rinse the car thoroughly once more with the hose pipe. Now I started to give the car a really good shampoo, I've found Maguire's gold to be really great for this. I used the two bucket and and hose pipe method so I had my bucket of shampoo which was mixed with warm water and my bucket of clear cool water with a grit retainer inside to draw any grit or debris from my mits as I rinsed them and finally a hose which used to rinse each panel individually as I shampooed each one.

Now I proceeded to dry the car all over using the Maguire's Super Towel which has a waffle weave and it did a great job only really requiring the towel to be lifted and then patted on each surface of the car to dry it completely. I next used a real leather chamois to clean the windows as I still believe this is the best way to get a really clean glass.

The next step and in my opinion the most important and impressive one was to clay bar the car using the AG fine detailer clay and lubricant. I was until this point always interested in cleaning my car and doing a fine job but I'd never used a clay bar kit before, I have to say it has an amazing effect on the paint work bringing back shine and just creating an absolutely glass like finish. Needless to say I was so impressed and I can't recommend it enough. The thing that impresses as well is the fact the car is already clean to the eye but when you see what the clay pulls from the paint it's quite amazing. Sorry to go on but this is good stuff!

For the next step I Polished the car using AG Super resin polish which is another great product and left a deep shine to the car. I also onced over with some Turtle wax platinum Polish which further deepened the shine.

Now I moved on to the black surrounds of the windows where I liberally polished them with Turtle wax Ice polish, the reason I used this was because it leaves now residue and makes a good job of clear and black areas of the car and trim. For example it works well on headlights.

Next I waxed the car thoroughly using Simoniz Original Carnuba wax. Now I picked this wax because I had heard very good things about it's durability and this is very true but it can be tough to use in too high a temperature. I waxed first of all my roof boot lid and bonnet using straight lines of wax first then going back and working in the opposite direction across the applied wax to make sure an even application of wax was distributed. I worked in probably 30cm area chunks because it was getting warm and removing the wax would have been tough. Naturally I didn't want to use an abrasive action so I decreased the area and worked the wax off lightly. In cooler conditions though it's a great wax to work with.

Next I moved onto the wheels which I rinsed clean (previously washed with the car) I applied and rinsed the Simoniz Alloy cleaner twice for each wheel which does a fair job I'd say but again I'm looking for a better replacement for this. Although it creates a great shine it finds it hard to deal with tougher road tar and break dust spots on the alloys. In fact since I cleaned the car I have picked up some Maguire's Alloy cleaner (purple stuff) which I have yet to use. I'm a bit weary here though because of course our beloved IS200's do tend to get corrosion on the wheels and mine is no exception so I don't want to use anything that will encourage this.

Then I dressed the tyres using a spray from Simoniz just to give the tyres shine. Again I am aware of some better products that do this but to be honest I'm not sure how much I want to spend on tyre dressing. If anyone has any thought on this though I'd be glad to hear them.

Then Finally I used Maguire's Glass cleaner just to shine and gloss the windows.

Job done!!

Next time if I have time I'm gonna by some glazes from Poorboys and see if I can get an even shinier result!

Woooooow. Good job mate. Well done.

the reason the autoglym bug remover did nothing for you is that you didn't follow the instructions on the bottle. it's not a spray on, hose off product, and as such isn't meant to work as one.

looks like you did a good job but a couple of things i wouldnt do, one is use the ice polish on the trim (its got petroleum jelly in, it dries out rubber, same reasons you dont use vaseline to lubricate seals).

i presume the meguiars purple stuff is hot wheels spray on wheel cleaner? it's pretty good stuff, i actually dilute it down one to 2 with water because it's strong enough that you can do this.....

and as for tyre shine, meguiars gold class gel tyre shine, enough said. genuinely the most long lasting tyre shine i've used.

i hate talking about detailing cos it has a tendency to make you sound like a *****, so apologies if this post does. i'm not a professional and you'll never see me give it the whole "that wax is rubbish use this one you're clearly wrong" opinion... just letting you know the best products i've used that you can buy in halfords with no trouble.

[quote name='stevie_' date='07 July 2010 - 06:36 PM' timestamp='1278524190' post='725504']
the reason the autoglym bug remover did nothing for you is that you didn't follow the instructions on the bottle. it's not a spray on, hose off product, and as such isn't meant to work as one.

looks like you did a good job but a couple of things i wouldnt do, one is use the ice polish on the trim (its got petroleum jelly in, it dries out rubber, same reasons you dont use vaseline to lubricate seals).

i presume the meguiars purple stuff is hot wheels spray on wheel cleaner? it's pretty good stuff, i actually dilute it down one to 2 with water because it's strong enough that you can do this.....

and as for tyre shine, meguiars gold class gel tyre shine, enough said. genuinely the most long lasting tyre shine i've used.

i hate talking about detailing cos it has a tendency to make you sound like a *****, so apologies if this post does. i'm not a professional and you'll never see me give it the whole "that wax is rubbish use this one you're clearly wrong" opinion... just letting you know the best products i've used that you can buy in halfords with no trouble.
[/quote]


I'm not sure we are both thinking of the same product when it comes to the autoglym bug and tar remover, the one I used specifically states an apply and rinse method.

As for using Turtle wax Ice I didn't use it on any rubber surfaces just the outward facing black painted surrounds of the windows.

Other than that though thanks for the feedback I'll try the maguire tyre shine in future...

Once you use poorboys, you'll never use autoglym/turtle wax/simoniz again. Its incredible stuff and you will see a difference.

Been using poorboys for about 5 years and always detail with it now as it beats most other stuff I've used hands down. I do combo it up with megs and a couple of other brands (dodo juice) cos the gold class shampoo is awesome as is the tye blackener. I prefer Rain-X on the windows personally.

The waffle weave drying towels I can recommend too!

hehe i'm the same with mine. Spent 7 1/2 hours on friday with a wash and first coat of wax (turtle wax platinum) followed by the wheels and tyres (carplan used), Leather cleaned (turtlewax platinum again) & Hoovered the inside. Saturday was 5 hours with a 2nd coat of wax and the windows (Meguiars window cleaner). And finally just 4 1/2 hours 2day using a new product i found, its the Turtlewax car wash (platinum range), cannot remember if this is its name but its used for after a wax (a glaze if you will) and it is brilliant stuff to give an extra shine. Quick to apply and quick to rub in, i would really reccomend trying it if you have been using any other other platinum range - i will edit the post later when i have a look at it.

Got work again monday, so sadly the dashboard and other plastics are going to have to be spread out with an hour each night.

Then next weekend it's a quick rub in of Meguiars Ultimate Quick Detailer, engine bay cleaned and a second cleaning of the leather, pictures will follow

[quote name='Ian Sartoria' date='11 July 2010 - 10:40 PM' timestamp='1278884411' post='726017']
hehe i'm the same with mine. Spent 7 1/2 hours on friday with a wash and first coat of wax (turtle wax platinum) followed by the wheels and tyres (carplan used), Leather cleaned (turtlewax platinum again) & Hoovered the inside. Saturday was 5 hours with a 2nd coat of wax and the windows (Meguiars window cleaner). And finally just 4 1/2 hours 2day using a new product i found, its the Turtlewax car wash (platinum range), cannot remember if this is its name but its used for after a wax (a glaze if you will) and it is brilliant stuff to give an extra shine. Quick to apply and quick to rub in, i would really reccomend trying it if you have been using any other other platinum range - i will edit the post later when i have a look at it.

Got work again monday, so sadly the dashboard and other plastics are going to have to be spread out with an hour each night.

Then next weekend it's a quick rub in of Meguiars Ultimate Quick Detailer, engine bay cleaned and a second cleaning of the leather, pictures will follow
[/quote]

What do you clean your engine bay with?

Hey guys also does anyone here have a good suggestion for what I should use on my seats? I have a half leather interior and whilst cleaning the leather is no problem I've never been fully sure about what to use on the alcantara stuff, I believe on our cars this material is called escaine or something like that. Anyway just wondered what to use somebody on here suggested using a light use of vanish upholstery cleaner. Anyway any suggestions would be greatfully received.

I can't help you with the alcantara seats, mine were too badly marked for it to be worth doing lol

how long did the clay stage take you?

Tyre Dandy Tyre foam is a good one for engine bays apparently, I just give mine a regular wipe over with a slightly damp cloth tho

[quote name='Rory' date='13 July 2010 - 12:42 PM' timestamp='1279021346' post='726183']
I can't help you with the alcantara seats, mine were too badly marked for it to be worth doing lol

how long did the clay stage take you?

Tyre Dandy Tyre foam is a good one for engine bays apparently, I just give mine a regular wipe over with a slightly damp cloth tho
[/quote]

Claying didn't take too long nut mine had been clayed about 6 months earlier by a professional and it'll take a little longer or indeed less time depending on how rough the surface is at the beginning. My car took me about 50 mins to an hour I'd say, the roof boot lid and bonnet are the areas that get most effected by surface contaminants because they are upward facing. The flanks of the car tend to take less time, except for perhaps around the wheel arches where you may have stubborn break dust or tar. Personally though I think it is the part of the process that has the biggest impact on the end result. You'll be amazed at just how smooth the paint work is after you've clayed.

Let me know how you get on!

[quote name='Greedy80' date='13 July 2010 - 10:35 AM' timestamp='1279017357' post='726173']
[quote name='Ian Sartoria' date='11 July 2010 - 10:40 PM' timestamp='1278884411' post='726017']
hehe i'm the same with mine. Spent 7 1/2 hours on friday with a wash and first coat of wax (turtle wax platinum) followed by the wheels and tyres (carplan used), Leather cleaned (turtlewax platinum again) & Hoovered the inside. Saturday was 5 hours with a 2nd coat of wax and the windows (Meguiars window cleaner). And finally just 4 1/2 hours 2day using a new product i found, its the Turtlewax car wash (platinum range), cannot remember if this is its name but its used for after a wax (a glaze if you will) and it is brilliant stuff to give an extra shine. Quick to apply and quick to rub in, i would really reccomend trying it if you have been using any other other platinum range - i will edit the post later when i have a look at it.

Got work again monday, so sadly the dashboard and other plastics are going to have to be spread out with an hour each night.

Then next weekend it's a quick rub in of Meguiars Ultimate Quick Detailer, engine bay cleaned and a second cleaning of the leather, pictures will follow
[/quote]

What do you clean your engine bay with?
[/quote]

Hey, just seen your post, i have decided on "Meguiars Engine Cleaner". I only use Meguiars, Turtlewax Platinum and a few carplan products. But the meguiars engine cleaner write up sold me + it's rather cheap and can't go wrong with any Meguiars or TW Platinum in my opinion - on any colour [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Meguiars-Engine-Bay-Cleaner-450ml-/280530562338?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item4150ecad22"]ebay link to Meguiars Engine Cleaner[/url]

Not used it yet, will be saturday or sunday before i get to the engine area

EDIT: going to try it on the exhaust if it does a good job on the engine bay and see if it does any good to that

Tried the Meguiars Engine Clean and tbh i am not that impressed. Has a better shine to it i must admit, but i think i could of got that with soapy water, a wet cloth and dry cloth.
Tried it on the exhaust though and did an ok job i must admit, going to get the wire brush out 2moro and take more time on it.