* The Car Cleaning Thread *

hohum · 13 Mar 2010 at 21:49

Looks great, well done. I'd like to be able to do stuff like this in the future (as the end result clearly justifies it), but as I don't have my own driveway or enough spare finances currently... it isn't really practical to attempt at the moment.

Presumably you're going to use some back to black on those bumpers aswell?

Kappa · 13 Mar 2010 at 22:06

wanted some sort of wax, to go on top of SRP today (not really happy with EGP to be honest... or just wanted to try something new). Found this old school style tin of Simoniz Wax in halfords, £8.

MAN this is some hard work, but on the silver paintwork really still looks good. I'm sold on the wax front, I've only ever used liquid polish/sealant/wax type thingies before, will be trying the legendary collinite soon, but this Simoniz Wax looks as if it will last forever!

After washing, drying, claying, putting on SRP, I was so tired I only put the wax on the bonnet, roof and boot... lol will do the rest tomorrow!

wassap · 13 Mar 2010 at 22:27

I gave my 6 month old Honda its first clean of the year, I dont know if its me but new car paints seem to be getting worse, mines stone cipped to hell, the paint seem really sift and thin,it looks nice and shiney after some SRP and 915, but in reality it will need some machine correction

I washed 3 other cars aswell, jeez bring back winter

I've still got the MX5 to clay/polish and wax tomorrow, I seriously hope it rains!

RoboCod · 14 Mar 2010 at 19:53

Got the bonnet, windscreen and roof repaired, then treated her to some good caressing with Werkstat....

Participant · 14 Mar 2010 at 20:09

Decided to make the most of the lovely weather today and pay some attention to the Fow Vay. In order of what was done (not all of it relevant!):

Rinse (attachment-free)
Autoglym Bodywork Shampoo Conditioner (2 bucket method)
Rinse (attachment-free)
Halfords waffle weave cloth to dry
Autoglym Super Resin Polish, one coat
Turtlewax Platinum Series Precision car wax, two coats
Autoglym fast glass on the glass, lights, and exterior plastic / rubber trim
Halford Rain-X (basically wax for the windows, works well but can cause squeaking wipers)

I have a question: what tyre trim / blackener should I buy?

Kappa · 14 Mar 2010 at 20:11

^^ autoglyms own works quite well, been meaning to grab CGs version though, thats meant to be good

Phil W · 14 Mar 2010 at 20:15

Auto Glym Instant Tyre Dressing is good, quite long lasting too if you leave it to soak in.

Megs High Gloss Tyre Gel is ok if you put it on with an applicator.

RoboCod · 14 Mar 2010 at 20:38

I use the megs tyre gel - works a treat and lasts ages - can be seen in the pic above

[TW]Fox · 14 Mar 2010 at 21:31

Finally ordering my stuff - looking for the Lake Country Orange pad Fett has recommended.

Is it the CCS Orange Light Cutting Pad?

Also, my car forward of the A pillar has new paint with no swirls at all. I don't therefore want to cut much if any of this when polishing. Should I use a different pad for this section (Or should I avoid the DA on this bit altogether and just use good old SRP?)?

Steedie · 14 Mar 2010 at 21:34

What's the best cleaner for doing the dash.

I bought some from Halfords that looked quite good, was a Matte finish for dark plastics, however when I use it, it just seems to bring up a whitish stain which I have to use water to get rid of

What do people here use?

Fr0dders · 14 Mar 2010 at 21:35

from what ive read for areas like that you just need a finishing pad, also known as a polishing pad.

not sure if the pad above falls into that category or not,but as it mentions "cut" most probably not.

[TW]Fox · 14 Mar 2010 at 21:37

Steedie said:
I bought some from Halfords that looked quite good, was a Matte finish for dark plastics, however when I use it, it just seems to bring up a whitish stain which I have to use water to get rid of

I've no idea what it is but BMW dashboards do this. If you mark the dash or something you end up with an odd white mark you can remove by just rubbing it. It's really strange.

Steedie · 14 Mar 2010 at 21:39

Oh ok so it's normal then

So just carry on using it then? Or is there one you'd recommend?

fonzee · 14 Mar 2010 at 21:40

Captain Planet said:

looking

such a nice 'lude

Phil W · 14 Mar 2010 at 21:40

Steedie said:
What's the best cleaner for doing the dash.

I bought some from Halfords that looked quite good, was a Matte finish for dark plastics, however when I use it, it just seems to bring up a whitish stain which I have to use water to get rid of

What do people here use?

Armor All Matt Dash Wipes

Fett · 14 Mar 2010 at 22:18

[TW]Fox;16156854 said:
Is it the CCS Orange Light Cutting Pad?

No. The CCS is an annoying pad to use and a couple of sites stopped stocking it because of the end-users issues. Wherever you are getting the green pad should also have the orange pad equivalent. Cleanyoucar stocks the Lake Country Flat, but only in 6.5", not 5.5". The smaller diameter helps the whole process (pressure, friction etc). I'm a bit lost as to why you looking at the CCS pads... where have you bought the green pad from?

[TW]Fox;16156854 said:
Also, my car forward of the A pillar has new paint with no swirls at all. I don't therefore want to cut much if any of this when polishing. Should I use a different pad for this section (Or should I avoid the DA on this bit altogether and just use good old SRP?)?

You will still want to polish it, green pad with 85RE, very light cut so it will be absolutely fine. It may be swirl free, but you'll refine it for shine, ready for your wax/sealant.

[TW]Fox · 14 Mar 2010 at 22:22

Not clicked Buy yet. I had an order in my cart at cleanyourcar as they had a few other bits I wanted. Happy to do a seperate order at polishedbliss if you think the pads they stock that CYC don't are worth the hassle.

I was looking at the CCS pads mostly out of confusion - I thought (but decided to check!) they were the ones you meant as I couldnt find any other pads of the same size at CYC.

Can you link me to the pads you recommend? As per your advice I'm going with the 203S with an email to you for a sample of some 85RE

Fett · 14 Mar 2010 at 22:31

Personally I like the slightly smaller pads for work time and the polish breaks down better. You tend to have a bit more control as well, the only advantage the bigger pad has is that it creates an even larger area between the edge of the backing plate and the pad. Unless you have major motor skills issues, it's not a reason to use them over the smaller pad.

For a few extra quid to save time and ease of use in the long run, I'd order seperately from PB. That said, as a beginner you may find the difference is minimal to start with, I obviously have no idea what you are going to be like with it

Pads...green and orange: http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/lake-country-140mm-pads-polish.html

[TW]Fox · 14 Mar 2010 at 22:35

Excellent - thanks once again

I honestly know what it feels like to wander into General Hardware and ask what computer components to buy when you've never built a machine but thought you know what you were doing as you could install Windows now, after this thread

Fett · 14 Mar 2010 at 22:57

[TW]Fox;16157298 said:
Excellent - thanks once again

I honestly know what it feels like to wander into General Hardware and ask what computer components to buy when you've never built a machine but thought you know what you were doing as you could install Windows now, after this thread

No worries. It's really simple once you get the pads and polish straight, the rest is just putting some simple techniques into practice. From what I've read, that's agw_01's first go with the PC on his car and he's not using anything particulary exotic or expensive, but a 15 year old motor ends up like this...

agw_01 said:

*** The Car Cleaning Thread ***

* The Car Cleaning Thread *