Cleaning Basics
- Thread starter ethos
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No? 
I was thinking:
Meguiar's NXT Car Wash
Meguiar's Luxurious Lambs Wool Wash Mitt
With the 2 bucket technique as a minimum.
How often is polishing / waxing recommended? What's good?
I've just bought a new car so wouldn't mind giving it the full treatment but without breaking the bank.
I was thinking:
Meguiar's NXT Car Wash
Meguiar's Luxurious Lambs Wool Wash Mitt
With the 2 bucket technique as a minimum.
How often is polishing / waxing recommended? What's good?
I've just bought a new car so wouldn't mind giving it the full treatment but without breaking the bank.
meguires do a 3 stage treatment also, it's called deep crystal. With halfords 3 for 2 on cleaning products, it'll cost you £13, theres a paint cleaner,a polish and a wax, but obviously you'll need a car wash too, NXT will be fine or even autoglym.
Soldato
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- 26 Aug 2003
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- 24,290
I like autoglym stuff personally.
I use wash and wax from a local motor factors, comes in a great big 5 litre container. That and warm water (and muck off but this is a bike so forget that!), then autoglym supe resin polish is good, plus their bumper gel is great for plastics. I use a crap halfords wash mitt but sponges are fine.
For your day to day, I genuinely don't think anything else is needed.
Spray it,
wash it,
spray it again,
leather it,
let it dry,
quick polish,
quick go over the plastics,
and done. If you do it nice and regular, that'll be fine. I think a lot of the real obsessive compulsive don't use this, don't use that, swirl marks will eat your car stuff is just guff.
Every minute you spend cleaning it could be spent driving it.
I use wash and wax from a local motor factors, comes in a great big 5 litre container. That and warm water (and muck off but this is a bike so forget that!), then autoglym supe resin polish is good, plus their bumper gel is great for plastics. I use a crap halfords wash mitt but sponges are fine.
For your day to day, I genuinely don't think anything else is needed.
Spray it,
wash it,
spray it again,
leather it,
let it dry,
quick polish,
quick go over the plastics,
and done. If you do it nice and regular, that'll be fine. I think a lot of the real obsessive compulsive don't use this, don't use that, swirl marks will eat your car stuff is just guff.
Every minute you spend cleaning it could be spent driving it.
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zetec452
zetec452
carwash ***. 
Soldato
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[TW]Fox said:
If you couldn't afford to drive your car for every minute you clean it instead, you clean your car way too much.
Associate
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zetec452 said:carwash ***.
if you like a car with added scratches yes
Megs is over rated and over priced imo, the experts rate autoglym super resin polish very highly, it has fillers/cleaners in it, so can mask minor swirls, top it off with extra gloss protection, and you have a long lasting shine.
Personally I think im a bit obessesive, it normally wash using the 2 bucket method,polish the car with AG SRP,wax with collinite 915 (best wax i have ever used!),polish the glass and then dress the tyres an trim, now this is a whole day for me.
I have nice car so i want to look after it.
Personally I think im a bit obessesive, it normally wash using the 2 bucket method,polish the car with AG SRP,wax with collinite 915 (best wax i have ever used!),polish the glass and then dress the tyres an trim, now this is a whole day for me.
I have nice car so i want to look after it.
I read that you shouldn't polish your car everytime you clean it. Infact here is the post (From Briskoda):
Autoglym usually lasts a couple of months or so, but for better, longer lasting results you need to use some better products and modify your washing technique.
Wash :-
Use a lambswool mitt and 2x buckets (1 decent car shampoo (not washing up liquid), 1 warm clean water). Sud-up the mitt and do one panel in straight lines, then rinse in the clean water before repeating on the next panel. The mitt has a deep pile allowing grit to be transferred away from its and your paint surface, preventing swirls. By rinsing it in the clean water you rinse out collected grit prior to cleaning the next panel. Keep the whole car wet by hosing regularly if it's drying quick. Hose well at the end.
Drying :-
A chamois has nowhere for any remaining dirt to go as you dry the car, so it's better to use a deep pile microfibre towel. I use two, one which ends up really wet to remove the majority of surface water, the other to mop up what's left which remains almost dry. This again prevents swirls. A blade or chamois can be used on the glass.
Polish :-
There is a difference between polish and wax. Polish has abrasives in which delicately grind away your clearcote to leave a smooth and shiny finish. This should be done as little as necessary. The white residue from your Autoglym is clay, which is the abrasive. Personally I never use polish until my car has a couple of years worth of light surface marking, and then I get it machine polished which will leave it as new, but can only be done a few times as you only have so much clear-cote to go at.
Wax/Sealants :-
Different to polish as they should have no abrasives in. There are two main types, wax and polymer. Wax sealants usually contain an amount of Carnuba Wax which is expensive, but as hard as concrete when it sets. A quality Carnuba based wax is ideal in winter as it will be hard wearing and very water/dirt repellent. However, wax tends to degrade at about 180 degrees F, and in the summer your paint can exceed 240 degF. During the hotter months polymers are better, as they remain stable to over 400 degF, although they aren't as hard wearing so need more frequent application.
A good coat of Simoniz Original Carnuba sees me right through the winter, but the polmer products I use (Blackfire, Chemical Guys M-Sealer, Meguiars NXT etc) have me reapplying every two months or so from spring through to autumn.
Apply with a foam pad and buff off with plush microfibre towels.
Clay Bar :-
Once or twice a year, usually in the spring and autumn, it's worth cleansing the surface to rid it of surface contaminents such as tar, tree sap, bird dropping etc. These things often don't fully come off with conventional washing, but a decent clay will wick them off gently leaving a glass like surface ready for a good coat of sealant.
Autoglym usually lasts a couple of months or so, but for better, longer lasting results you need to use some better products and modify your washing technique.
Wash :-
Use a lambswool mitt and 2x buckets (1 decent car shampoo (not washing up liquid), 1 warm clean water). Sud-up the mitt and do one panel in straight lines, then rinse in the clean water before repeating on the next panel. The mitt has a deep pile allowing grit to be transferred away from its and your paint surface, preventing swirls. By rinsing it in the clean water you rinse out collected grit prior to cleaning the next panel. Keep the whole car wet by hosing regularly if it's drying quick. Hose well at the end.
Drying :-
A chamois has nowhere for any remaining dirt to go as you dry the car, so it's better to use a deep pile microfibre towel. I use two, one which ends up really wet to remove the majority of surface water, the other to mop up what's left which remains almost dry. This again prevents swirls. A blade or chamois can be used on the glass.
Polish :-
There is a difference between polish and wax. Polish has abrasives in which delicately grind away your clearcote to leave a smooth and shiny finish. This should be done as little as necessary. The white residue from your Autoglym is clay, which is the abrasive. Personally I never use polish until my car has a couple of years worth of light surface marking, and then I get it machine polished which will leave it as new, but can only be done a few times as you only have so much clear-cote to go at.
Wax/Sealants :-
Different to polish as they should have no abrasives in. There are two main types, wax and polymer. Wax sealants usually contain an amount of Carnuba Wax which is expensive, but as hard as concrete when it sets. A quality Carnuba based wax is ideal in winter as it will be hard wearing and very water/dirt repellent. However, wax tends to degrade at about 180 degrees F, and in the summer your paint can exceed 240 degF. During the hotter months polymers are better, as they remain stable to over 400 degF, although they aren't as hard wearing so need more frequent application.
A good coat of Simoniz Original Carnuba sees me right through the winter, but the polmer products I use (Blackfire, Chemical Guys M-Sealer, Meguiars NXT etc) have me reapplying every two months or so from spring through to autumn.
Apply with a foam pad and buff off with plush microfibre towels.
Clay Bar :-
Once or twice a year, usually in the spring and autumn, it's worth cleansing the surface to rid it of surface contaminents such as tar, tree sap, bird dropping etc. These things often don't fully come off with conventional washing, but a decent clay will wick them off gently leaving a glass like surface ready for a good coat of sealant.
Soldato
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- 26 Aug 2003
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- 24,290
As far as I know, super resin polish isn't actually an abrasive, proper polish, I think it fills scratches with resin as opposed to bringing the level of the paint down. Any abrasive in it is very very mild. I'd never polish it every time anyway, should have mentioned that really.
Last edited:
Soldato
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Well regardless, it's a pretty wussy one, and it doesn't worry me to give the bike a gentle go over with it fairly often, unlike a stronger polish. I still wouldn't/don't use it every time though, I like my bike with paint on
Well so far on the list i've put:
Eurow X Large Waffle Weave Microfibre Drying Towel - 26" x 36"
Eurow Medium Waffle Weave Microfibre Drying Towel - 17" x 24"
Meguiars NXT Generation Car Wash
Meguiars NXT Generation Tech Wax
Meguiars Lambswool Wash Mitt
Which comes to £54
That's without whatever I need to apply the wax, what would I use for that?
Eurow X Large Waffle Weave Microfibre Drying Towel - 26" x 36"
Eurow Medium Waffle Weave Microfibre Drying Towel - 17" x 24"
Meguiars NXT Generation Car Wash
Meguiars NXT Generation Tech Wax
Meguiars Lambswool Wash Mitt
Which comes to £54
That's without whatever I need to apply the wax, what would I use for that?
ethos said:Well so far on the list i've put:
Eurow X Large Waffle Weave Microfibre Drying Towel - 26" x 36"
Eurow Medium Waffle Weave Microfibre Drying Towel - 17" x 24"
Meguiars NXT Generation Car Wash
Meguiars NXT Generation Tech Wax
Meguiars Lambswool Wash Mitt
Which comes to £54
That's without whatever I need to apply the wax, what would I use for that?
Hi there
Yes those Eurow Large waffle weave towels are fantastic, I can dry my car using the large one in less than 5 minutes using a simple patting technique and I get no water marks.
The only thing I'd change would be the wax, get some collonite 476s as it much harder wearing, last time my car was waxed was February/March and it still shines and has good wax coating now as can be seen from recent photos I've taken.
ethos said:Well so far on the list i've put:
Eurow X Large Waffle Weave Microfibre Drying Towel - 26" x 36"
Eurow Medium Waffle Weave Microfibre Drying Towel - 17" x 24"
Meguiars NXT Generation Car Wash
Meguiars NXT Generation Tech Wax
Meguiars Lambswool Wash Mitt
Which comes to £54
That's without whatever I need to apply the wax, what would I use for that?
One drying cloth is enough tbh,get the smaller microfibres from supermarkets, and yeah get a decent wax,harley,collinite 476/915,poor boys etc.
Id get some clay for good measure too.
It might be 54 notes but the stuff will last for 2-3 years.
My tub of colli 915 was £20 but i have done 5 cars with it, and i still have 3/4 of the tub left.
