*** The Car Cleaning Thread ***

[Smokey McPot]

Would anyone care to advise me about the following selection of equipment?

I will be predominantly cleaning a Black 2007 Accord with almost identical paint to the one posted above, and a 1993 Clio Williams.

I have a fair amount cleaning and polishing products already but am lacking in a range of things that will enable me to remove light scratches and swirls.

Dodo Juice - Supernatural Buffing Towel DOD159 £5.91 £5.91
Dodo Juice - Blue Velvet DJBV250 £27.66 £27.66
Sonus Glyde Detailing Clay Lubricant SON-300 £5.91 £5.91
CleanYourCar - Fine PolyClay (240g) CLEI9 £11.02 £11.02
3M 3434 Masking Tape 3M3434 £2.38 £4.77
Dodo Juice - Spin Doctor rotary DODJ17 £80.81 £80.81
Sonus SFX-2 Paint Polishing Pad SFX-2FP £7.62 £7.62
Sonus SFX-4 Final Gloss Seal and Protect Pad SON-SFX-4FP £7.62 £7.62
Sonus SFX-3 Final Finish Polishing Pad SFX-3FP £7.62 £7.62
Sonus SFX-1 - Swirl and Scrtach Remover Pad SFX-1FP £7.62 £7.62
5" Dual Action Flexi-Plate SON-DASFP-5 £11.02 £11.02
Sonus SFX-2 Enhance Polish SON-420-8 £7.62 £7.62
Sonus SFX-3 Final Finish Polish SON-430-8 £7.62 £7.62
Sonus SFX-1 Restore Polish

I've stuck to a group of products that I've read up on and believe to work well together, and thus should provide the range of finishes that I will be looking for.

Does that lot seem resonable? Does anyone prefer another product over the ones I have listed that do a similar or better job?

Thanks

 

[danza]

RAGE!!!

Gave my company car a really half-arsed clean with the pressure washer and a brush attachment and a hoovering, then embarked upon a nice afternoon's cleaning of my CTR. It was/is filthy. Just got to hoovering after dusting and cleaning the interior/windows, and the heavens open. So now I have a half-clean interior and still a filthy exterior. And a wet Henry.

 

[mrk]

Pwned!

I washed/cleaned my car today and the weather is superb

Also, I laughed when a relative brought his Mitsubishi round to get someone here to fit his car seats, he really is useless at anything that requires some DIY of a basic level

 

[danza]

Pwned!

I washed/cleaned my car today and the weather is superb

Also, I laughed when a relative brought his Mitsubishi round to get someone here to fit his car seats, he really is useless at anything that requires some DIY of a basic level

Some people are totally useless with a spanner and need all the help they can get.

I could probably go out and finish cleaning now, but I CBA to get all the stuff out and uncoil the hose again. Might try again tomorrow if the weather's looking good.

 

[[TW]Fox]

Minor swirls on the E60 ALREADY. Grrr! I'm being SO careful, two bucket method, proper wash mit, etc etc.

Dark coloured cars suck, I can never own anything other than silver as it would just drive me up the wall

 

[Fr0dders]

RAGE!!!

Gave my company car a really half-arsed clean with the pressure washer and a brush attachment and a hoovering, then embarked upon a nice afternoon's cleaning of my CTR. It was/is filthy. Just got to hoovering after dusting and cleaning the interior/windows, and the heavens open. So now I have a half-clean interior and still a filthy exterior. And a wet Henry.

STOP STOP STOP

You used the brush attachment ?

The bristles on those things are horrendous !! Use anything other than that on your paintwork as it will just be swirling it to shreds, especially on a dirty car as it will just be scraping the dirt all over the paintwork !

 

[Clarkey]

Minor swirls on the E60 ALREADY. Grrr! I'm being SO careful, two bucket method, proper wash mit, etc etc.

Dark coloured cars suck, I can never own anything other than silver as it would just drive me up the wall

So instead of looking bad once in a while after it's not been polished for a bit, it looks meh all the time. Cutting your nose off to spite your face much?

 

[mrk]

So instead of looking bad once in a while after it's not been polished for a bit, it looks meh all the time. Cutting your nose off to spite your face much?

Eh silver looks good all the time.

Well, mine does anyway.

 

[Clarkey]

Lies, it's just dull. No depth, no reflection, it's a colour for people who can't be bothered to wash their cars.

 

[mrk]

Oh? So how many people stare at your car as you drive past on a daily basis?

Thought as much

 

[rmuir]

Minor swirls on the E60 ALREADY. Grrr! I'm being SO careful, two bucket method, proper wash mit, etc etc.

Dark coloured cars suck, I can never own anything other than silver as it would just drive me up the wall

What wash mitt are you using?

 

[DM]

Minor swirls on the E60 ALREADY. Grrr! I'm being SO careful, two bucket method, proper wash mit, etc etc.

Dark coloured cars suck, I can never own anything other than silver as it would just drive me up the wall

What you doing it for, let your dad get on it

 

[scoobyrichuk]

Would anyone care to advise me about the following selection of equipment?


Dodo Juice - Blue Velvet DJBV250 £27.66 £27.66

Personally I'd reccomend the Dodo Juice Supernatural wax, it's expensive but well worth the extra IMO. I used it on my car last week and it looks great. You can buy a 30ml panel pot for £15, should be enough to wax the car at least twice (with two layers). I have a few pics, they're pretty poor quality as they're taken on a Galaxy S but you should get the idea of how good the supernatural wax is!

 

[Westyfield2]

Minor swirls on the E60 ALREADY. Grrr! I'm being SO careful, two bucket method, proper wash mit, etc etc.

Dark coloured cars suck, I can never own anything other than silver as it would just drive me up the wall

Which colour is it?

Our E61 is nearly two years old now and is getting rather swirly. Also there's a fair few stone chips .

 

[[TW]Fox]

So instead of looking bad once in a while after it's not been polished for a bit, it looks meh all the time. Cutting your nose off to spite your face much?

Not really - it's not a case of 'not been polished for a bit' at all, swirls are just a damn pain. It's very hard to maintain flawless perfection swirl wise.

What you doing it for, let your dad get on it

Pfft, not a chance, car stuff is my job

 

[Smokey26]

That suburu exhaust is wierd......

I actually used a few products today, and it actually did something, lol. Ive got that meguires clay bar, but it seems to take ages to take the little bits off, ive got a white car, maybe i need a new clay bar?

I change my mind on polishing, it actually got rid of a few lights marks today.

 

[danza]

pR0 t1P:

Don't spray tyre dressing (namely Autoglym) on your tyres immediately before going for a drive. It just flings off and into the wheelarch, leaving your tyres looking like you've done nothing to them (but your wheel arches smelling nice).

 

[scoobyrichuk]

That suburu exhaust is wierd......

That's because I have a bung in it to make it quieter, it looks rubbish but achieves its intended purpose...

 

[wassap]

I tried some 3M Hand glaze with a rotary on my moms Silver Merc E class, highly impressive stuff.

The Merc is a typical womans car, washed everytime her son can be assed ie once a year, the paint is pretty ropey really, and the rot is starting to appear (53 plate!!!!) but I have to say, the glaze topped with Collinite 815, has really bought out the shine.

Anyone know what the difference between a glaze and a polish is? I only used this stuff as it was in the shed and SRP was running low!

 

[danza]

STOP STOP STOP

You used the brush attachment ?

The bristles on those things are horrendous !! Use anything other than that on your paintwork as it will just be swirling it to shreds, especially on a dirty car as it will just be scraping the dirt all over the paintwork !

*shrugs*

It's my company car. My Honda gets preferential treatment.

I know brushes aren't exactly the best thing to use. What is the best method for dirt removal without having to spend 100 quid on some mystical sponge/pressurewasher attachment/mitt of destiny?