Need Advice On Cleaning A Car

[LOcKY]

Morning All,

well i think its due for me to clean my car but since ive never cleaned a car before what advice would you give? i know it sounds daft but this is the most expensive thing ive bought to date and i want to make sure its well looked after :)

So what cleaning equipment and stuff do you guys use? ive even been daft enough to watch some youtube videos on how to clean a car LOL

any advice? oh and what about the insides? and the floor mats?

Grrrrr

LOcKY

[Guest inicol63]

Water water water

No sorry only joking.

WHAT TO BUY:

lamb mitten

waffle fibre drying cloth.

detailing clay this will get all the dust and other particles out of the paint.

Collinite No.476s For paint protection. ad this three times a year,not a polish so add a polish to your list .

And if you have the money buy one of these Meguiar's G220 Dual-Axis polishers.

All these parts can be bought from http://www.detailedobsession.com/Detailed%...ssion/Home.html

Inside is normal cleaning method like hoover and clean.

Ask for a discount for being a LOC Member....

Another more detailing site is http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=32

Hope you enjoy your new car a let see some before and after photo's.

Welcome to the club

[Steviewevie]

You don't need real expensive stuff, though it is easy to get carried away and spend a fortune on cleaning products !

See this guide about the basic two-bucket washing technique, and reasons why you shouldn't use a sponge.

[LOcKY]

cool, i gotta head out in 2 hours so im wondering will this be enough time. I bought some Turtlewax Zip Wax Wash & Wax (kinda like shampoo&conditioner 2 in 1 bottle) so im hoping its just a case of wash and dry it off.

lets see ive got the following:

Turtlewax - microfibre Mitts (with tenticles)

Decosal - Revolutionary Microcell wash sponge from Halfords

Turtlewax - ZIP Wax, Wash and Wax

Halfords - Chamois Leather

am i missing anything else?

[Guest inicol63]

The only thing i would invest in to keep the price down is the waffle drying cloth these are much better than using a leather and are washable.

If you really get the detailing habit then you have to buy all the extra.

But your do fine with what you already have

Enjoy :D

[LOcKY]

ok just finished and i think i did a poor job :( theres small white specs on my front bonnet *sniff sniff* maybe i should just go through those drive through washes... or maybe pay someone else to clean it. grrrr....

[fjcfarrar]

cool, i gotta head out in 2 hours so im wondering will this be enough time. I bought some Turtlewax Zip Wax Wash & Wax (kinda like shampoo&conditioner 2 in 1 bottle) so im hoping its just a case of wash and dry it off.

lets see ive got the following:

Turtlewax - Microfibre Mitts (with tenticles)

Decosal - Revolutionary Microcell wash sponge from Halfords

Turtlewax - ZIP Wax, Wash and Wax

Halfords - Chamois Leather

am i missing anything else?

Should be fine. To keep it looking good, use a big bucket full of water & almost any car shampoo - with wax is better, but only just because the wax is water-soluble so rain washes a lot of it off. Carefully use a sponge/mitt, especially on any gritty areas (which you can check with a finger) or you will get swirls. Just gently do a little at a time & keep rinsing the sponge/mitt. Most insect marks can be rubbed away with a wet finger. Don't use the same sponge/mitt for the wheels - use a brush (a plastic wallpaper paste brush is good) & wheel-cleaner as a separate job. Make life easy by then rinsing the car off using a watering-can with a rose and clean water. Hose sprays leave water marks. Use a damp chamois-leather to dry/finish off.

For real sparkle, you need first to remove fading/marks/blemishes with a very fine abrasive of which detailing clay is just one. Another is any car-polish where you just rub until the mark is gone. Quite severe scuffs and scratches can be minimised with colour-restorer for metallics - or in the worst cases Duroglit - taking care because this also cuts away the paint lacquer. Apply wax of your choice. Clean off and buff with an old clean towel or T-shirt. You can go mad with expensive special products, but then to keep the car at its brilliant, glossy best you need to immediately put it into a room maintained at about 20 degrees, with low humidity, very low lighting and under no circumstances drive it on the roads

[LOcKY]

after my 1st ever experience i need to invest in a hose of some sort as it wasnt really fun carry big buckets of water in and out the house :( also didnt help with the damn wind and sun in my face Grrrrr..... i guess my 2nd wash will be a better job i hopes :( thanks for all your advice! maybe i need to watch some more youtube videos of americans washing their cars

[Rob]

NEVER use a drive thru wash - it scratches the paint. same goes for chamois its far better to use a waffle weave towel as it absorbs a huge amount of water.

if you are doing things by hand give it a wash with 2 buckets, for polish use Autoglym super resin polish as its one of the best for use by hand. for wax get yourself some collinite 476s wax and give it 2 or 3 coats.

[janet]

Just for ordinary cleaning this is what i do......First thoroughly wet the car with a hose, or wash the car when wet, or wash it in the rain to the amusement of the neighbours. Big bucket of warm water (to stop your handy pandies getting cold) and in this i use the cheap 'eco' Tesco wash and wax (tall flimsy bottle, cream in colour) I actually find it's really good !! Then wash from the roof downwards, wheels last. Rinse off thoroughly with the hose, and go in and have a coffee. if feeling keen, i open the doors and clean all round the cills, door edges etc, but be careful this meens you see the interior, and then you feel obliged to get the vaccum out!!

If she's really mucky I wash the top half first, rinse and re-wet the bottom half, then carry on.

On high days, out comes the wet n'shiny (or whatever it's called...Turtle make it) and I spray the tyres......admire!!

[aido]

I've always worked from the top down on a car, all the nasty stuff is usually on the sides so by the time you've done the rest the soap has worked a lot of it free :)

[Rob]

u sure the "white spots" are not just sone chips?

[aido]

u sure the "white spots" are not just sone chips?

Was just thinking that myself mate!

Getting the problem with this one, looks like it's got proper bad dandruff at the front on the wings!

[LOcKY]

not sure what it is but it comes off quite easily so maybe its just the Turtle Wax stuff... mmmm some nice tips guys which i hope my 2nd attempt will be better in 2 weeks time. So ive found out that i should use a hose or wash it in the rain, work from top to bottom and that turtle wax wash and wax stuff is average at best.. no wonder it was on offer :( oh and not to use a car wash machine thingy :D

rob your avatar is a little disturbing lol

[aido]

Don't worry, it's not Rob, that little stick man's hasn't got a metal bar in it

[Rob]

Don't worry, it's not Rob, that little stick man's hasn't got a metal bar in it

now now aido enough of that!

Locky: i would rinse the car from the top to bottom to shift any dust dirt etc or for a pre wash use a jetwash that has hot water as it makes a huge difference compared to cold water. there was a thread ages ago on detailing world about some bloke using his wifes bath shampoo on the car and from what i remember it was very good!

[aido]

there was a thread ages ago on detailing world about some bloke using his wifes bath shampoo on the car and from what i remember it was very good!

She must stink if he's nicked all her shampoo

[LOcKY]

mmm jetwash... im sure ive seen something like that at the petrol stations... so im guessing they use it to prewash their car and then drive home to do the proper cleaning.... sounds like a plan :)

[LOcKY]

Finally washed the car and the 2nd attempt looked like it went far far better than my first attempt :)

decided to use 2 bucket technique and used a cup to splash water and rinse a bit of the dirt off the sides.

then after that was done. Used the glove and washed the crap off for good. Then Shampoo and Wax (2 in 1 Turtle Wax) and did that all that and rinsed.

however im still not sure if im using the Chamois propertly at times i feel im scratching the cars :o is it circular motions? or sides motions? any other alternatives i can use instead of a Chamois?

because when i look at the car i can see those horrible circular marks :( perhaps im missing 1 more important cleaning step? styling wax? or something?

any advice?

Col

PS ive been taking my car to those Tesco hand wash places since i got my car... yes yes i know but its been freezing up in the northeast :P

[lextech86]

pleas stop using a chamois and buy yourself a drying towel, the swirl marks you are referring to can be hidden with Autoglym super resin polish and then apply a proper canauba wax to seal it all in, or you can pay a pro to machine polish the cr to remove them

[Steviewevie]

The two bucket method is good. But as lextech said, you need to get rid of the chamois (or just save it for the glass), and get some microfibre drying towels, which will minimise swirl mark creation. You can just drape them over the wet area and pull them towards you, no need to rub them dry. Check out some examples of the kind of thing I mean here. I recommend you get at least two, one for the upper parts of the car, and one for the lower.

[LOcKY]

thanks guys, i always seem to do the cleaning part fine but when it comes to the chamois i always keep thinking its making the marks worse.... ok time to buy some drying towels *sigh* payday looks far far away :( machine polish? everytime i think about it im worried the machine will go crazy and destroy the paint work.. i'll try the Super resin polish and the proper canauba wax :)

i hope my 3rd time washing will be as good as the first :)

[Steviewevie]

Proper drying towels should stop you making the marks even worse. Regarding a machine polisher, the dual action polishers like the G220 and Kestrel are supposedly more "friendly" to beginners at machine polishing, much more so than a rotary polisher.