*** The Car Cleaning Thread ***

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Thanks for the advice Fett. It's really helpful.

I've just added all that stuff to my basket and its come to over £100 with delivery. This seems like an awful lot of cash for a hamfisted noob's first attempt at machine polishing.

Would I not be better off for the first time just getting 1 backing plate, 2 pads and using it to apply Super Resin Polish until I'm happy with how the machine works, then building up to the more serious stuff at a later date?

Or is that pointless?

I really enjoy polishing the car and getting it looking great but all this stuff just seems so out of my depth and overwhelming at the moment :eek:

This present is turning into a bit of a poisoned chalice! :D
 
stoke1863 said:
Any products that would aid in removal of the scratches better than t-cut? got no chance of getting rid of the awful stone chips. It needs a re-spray .
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By hand? ScratchX and then SRP to hide the marks. Simple and cheap.
 
[TW]Fox;16117598 said:
I've just added all that stuff to my basket and its come to over £100 with delivery. This seems like an awful lot of cash for a hamfisted noob's first attempt at machine polishing.
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I know how that feels Fox. I just spent about £70 on a few pads, wax, shampoo, drying towels and a backing plate.

Crazy how quickly it all adds up.

Ah well, I've had this Porter Cable sitting here for 2 years. About time I used it.
 
[TW]Fox;16117598 said:
Thanks for the advice Fett. It's really helpful.

I've just added all that stuff to my basket and its come to over £100 with delivery. This seems like an awful lot of cash for a hamfisted noob's first attempt at machine polishing.

Would I not be better off for the first time just getting 1 backing plate, 2 pads and using it to apply Super Resin Polish until I'm happy with how the machine works, then building up to the more serious stuff at a later date?

Or is that pointless?

I really enjoy polishing the car and getting it looking great but all this stuff just seems so out of my depth and overwhelming at the moment :eek:

This present is turning into a bit of a poisoned chalice! :D
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No worries.

Absolutely, get the minimum as above, stick with SRP and see how you go. You may hate the machine, sell it and get a pro around once a year. I only recommended what I did as a 2 day project for swirl removal. I'm not sure about SRP by DA, I'm sure it will be fine, it just seems a little pointless in using a machine to apply something with so little cut.

An alternative is to just go with the 85RE and one green pad. If it's light swirls, you may just do it with that and it leaves a perfect, ready-to-wax finish. This gives you time to get used to the PC (you won't need it though) and even if you don't remove everything, it will still be nice and wet looking if done properly. Then return later in the year with 203S and another pad.

edit - Yes, two pads if you buy the 85RE as the orange will remove what the green cannot. If the paint in your eyes is moderately swirled, then buy the two pads and the 203S. It will still finish down (the polish) very nicely, not just quite as good as the 85RE. *But* you have a greater chance of defect correction.

The 85RE is used to "jewel" the clearcoat for maximum looks.
 
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Fett said:
This is a good option. You have to sort of enjoy polishing your car to get a decent result and it's a fair amount of time invested. Paying someone leaves you with a minty fresh car, no clean up and zero hassle. I can see the appeal.


And yes, as MrLOL and Clarkey said, a good light source is needed otherwise you are just guessing with every pass. Also helps to see at what stage the polish is at (hazy, clear etc, that comes later)
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Oh I certainly enjoy cleaning and polishing it, anyone who's seen my car will instantly know this :D - but the cost and variety of a DIY rotary polish is just too much of a time consumer for me and possibly cost wise as well because one person recommends x rotary and another recommends y pads then someone else recommends z compound and so unless I've spent a long time trying bits of them all I wouldn't know what would give the best result.

I'd be willing to do just that though had a rotary polish been something you'd do regularly but since it's not a regular thing I see little point in spending £hundreds on everything required when £50 to get a professional to do it is another option :)

I'll take care of the rest after that!
 
Fett said:
An alternative is to just go with the 85RE and one green pad. If it's light swirls, you may just do it with that and it leaves a perfect, ready-to-wax finish.
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You know what - I was looking at the Polishedbliss site reading the Mazerna description thinking just that. A bottle of 85RE, a backing plate and a green pad. Then I can add my choice of sealent the old fashioned way but still get the benefit of the machine and the Mazerna for the first stage. Does this sound sensible?

That comes to about 40 quid - which seems like a more sensible idea for my first go.

How much of a benefit is the smaller pad option as well - it adds about another 20 quid to go for that. You know what a 5 Series looks like, its a big 3 box saloon, so not that many intricate bits?

And leaves me with some change to spend on Chemical Guys New Look Trim Gel and some Poorboys Natural Look dressing for the interior :D
 
any recomendations of polishing cloths and a dryer?


I bought "perfect polish cloths" by Auto Glym and they are awful! As soon as you get them out of the box the things just shred into a million pieces that get stuck to the car
 
[TW]Fox;16117646 said:
You know what - I was looking at the Polishedbliss site reading the Mazerna description thinking just that. A bottle of 85RE, a backing plate and a green pad. Then I can add my choice of sealent the old fashioned way but still get the benefit of the machine and the Mazerna for the first stage. Does this sound sensible?

That comes to about 40 quid - which seems like a more sensible idea for my first go.

How much of a benefit is the smaller pad option as well - it adds about another 20 quid to go for that. You know what a 5 Series looks like, its a big 3 box saloon, so not that many intricate bits?

And leaves me with some change to spend on Chemical Guys New Look Trim Gel and some Poorboys Natural Look dressing for the interior :D
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Spot pads are a useful thing to have, you will find out which bits are just awkward to do with a full size pad. For example on mine such areas include the roof pillars, sideskirts, strip under the tailgate, top part of rear bumper.

[TW]Fox;16117667 said:
Whats the difference between 85RE and 85RD?
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RD has stronger cutting ability, RE doesn't have much at all. I'd probably say RD is a mild->medium, and RE is very mild. According to DW though, they both finish down to a very similar finish quality though. I think Fett said 203S, I don't think there is much difference between 203S and RD, but RD finishes down better. That's just hearsay though, from DW.
 
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To make this simple Fox:

Buy the two pads and the backing plate.

Then, depending on your assesment of the swirls, buy either:

Menz 203S - more chance of defect removal, slightly less polished look
Menz 85RE - less defect removal (still some), more polished look

Both will look good, it depends on your standards and your eye. Not very helpful I know, but if it's a financial thing, prioritise...looks or defect removal?

Regarding the spot pads, I wouldnt be without mine and on exactly the areas Clarkey mentioned plus creases and wings. Polished Bliss are quick with the delivery, maybe stick with the basics and give it a go one weekend, if you come across a lot of awkward areas, try again the following weekend. That gets a bit messy because you should remove any sealant or wax you applied the previous weekend and you'll have to ensure the car is pristine as well as you don't want anything caught between the pad and panel. Again, it's how much time you want to invest, along with money. There really is no quick or cheap way to a good job, imo.

Using 85RE or 203S by hand is doable but will require the strength of Samson and olympian endurance.
 
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Definately looks, as you can imagine with virtually all new paint the car isn't badly swirled - the fact its silver helps in this regard even more.
 
Go with the 85RE.

85RE and 85RD are slightly different but you won't notice the difference right now. Either will do, I use 85RE.
 
The reason I ask is that Cleanyourcar dont appear to do an RE only an RD :(

I'm not really sure what my limitations are. I could afford to blow a fortune on bits and bobs but I'm a bit minded of it being a bit like turning up to my first ever Golf taster session with £10,000 with of Taylor Made clubs and then realising that I'm just crud at Golf.

I think if I start with the basics, if I'm good at it or I enjoy it or I'm happy with the potential, collect more stuff for the next time?
 
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stoke1863 said:
any recomendations of polishing cloths and a dryer?


I bought "perfect polish cloths" by Auto Glym and they are awful! As soon as you get them out of the box the things just shred into a million pieces that get stuck to the car
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Use an applicator (foam or microfiber) pad. Good choice here:

http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/microfibre-towels-and-applicators.html

Same site has drying clothes with descriptions. I personally like the Poorboys blue waffle weave, sucks up a silly amount of water and no marring.
 
[TW]Fox;16117757 said:
The reason I ask is that Cleanyourcar dont appear to do an RE only an RD :(

I'm not really sure what my limitations are. I could afford to blow a fortune on bits and bobs but I'm a bit minded of it being a bit like turning up to my first ever Golf taster session with £10,000 with of Taylor Made clubs and then realising that I'm just crud at Golf.

I think if I start with the basics, if I'm good at it or I enjoy it or I'm happy with the potential, collect more stuff for the next time?
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I'm just double checking the RE / RD thing.

And yeah, start gently, you may hate it and you'll end up like some of the DW crowd with all the gear and no idea.
 
"We've dropped 85RD because it doesn't always cut enough to nip out minor compounding hologramming or wash marring in harder paints - 85RE is by far a better finishing polish in this respect. On this subject, 85RE also greatly reduces the need to step up to a more aggressive polish such as the now redundant 106FA. On the theme of minimising paint removal (yet still getting the job done quickly and efficiently), opting for 85RE allows for a greater level of correction at the minor end of the scale, meaning that we now have a solution that works more consistently than 85RD and does away with the need to remove additional paint by stepping up to 106FA."

That's from Rich on why they only stock RE.

In all honesty, I think you could go with either 85RE or 203S, I doubt without using one after the other you will really see the difference. I shouldn't do this, sorry, but I'd go with the 203S on a silver BMW as a one step correction. It is bloody hard paint.

203S with two pads and see how you get on. I know it's more aggressive but you have a better chance with a DA to see a real difference with 203S. If you like the results, keep in mind that 85RE will bring it up even better with some practice.
 
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I'm sure there is a long-winded explanation of why hard is better than soft paint or vice versa, less prone to chip or more likely to indent rather than chip etc, etc.

Soft paint is a pain when trying to maintain the car. Hard is a pita when trying to correct.

If it's not factory, I can't tell you what you have. I use both 85RE and 203S on soft Nissan paint and hard Merc and Audi, no issues. That said, I think to make my life easier, order both polishes. You might as well, I've offered to send you both but if you want to pay, it's only 8 quid or so and youve doubled your options.
 
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