*** The Car Cleaning Thread ***

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Yeh i've been doing a bit of reading over the passed couple of days, and lots of people say the Silverline is heavy and cumbersome.

I also have been scared off buying one. It just seems all so....complicated!

I just wanted to remove light swirl marks from my car. Could i just get a silverline, finishing pad, and medium cutting polish and just go over the car?

Also i didn't really understand how many times to go over a particular area - do you just do it until the swirls are gone? How fast do you set the rotary to? How long do you polish for - until the polish goes clear?

People on DW were saying they wouldn't recommend doing rotary polishing without a depth gauge - is this right?

Many people have 10-15 year old Corsas to practice on which is what i would prefer because i really wouldn't want to ruin the paint on my car.
 
You won't ruin the paint unless you are an idiot with it.
IMO a depth gauge is not necessary, handy if you are doing somebody elses car and want to cover your ass, but for you own? You either want the paint scratch free or you don't, if you can't achieve that finish without burning through the clear then it needed repaint to achieve what you wanted anyway.
Also from my experience, BMW paint is tough as nails, you won't get anywhere with a medium compound, you need to bring out the big guns. YMMV though, always start mild and work your way up.
 
Put two or three blobs of polish on the pad, press them onto the paint area, start off with a lower speed (like 3 or 4) then after a few seconds go faster. keep it held evenly flat and don't press too hard and you won't damage anything. You're done and ready to buff off when the polish has mostly disappeared
 
Did you guys practice on a scrap yard panel like so many people seem to do on DW? I've heard BMW paint is hard. I was also wondering, could you just use light/medium cutting pads and polishes and do it for longer (obviously whilst being careful of heat), as opposed to using a heavier cutting pad and polish?

I'd want to take it really slowly to begin with, using slower speeds, and light cutting compound and pad. I only have fairly light swirls on the car so i figured even a light polishing would make the swirls fainter and increase the shine?
 
I did, yes. Only for about 5 minutes though when I thought 'meh, this is easy' and went on over to my car :D

The thing is the longer you do it, the hotter things will get and you'll just tarnish the paint. Start with a medium cutting compound and see how you get on. There's plenty of rotary guides on DW as well. Just don't rush yourself and you'll be fine :)

I only bother with the rotary on big panels (roof, bonnet etc) and just do the rest by hand.
 
Cleaned my wheels with Bilberry wheel cleaner tonight, left it on 15 minutes whilst I had tea, washed it off then noticed it was drying with marks all over the wheels!

Spent the next 2 hours polishing them all back up to a shine.

:mad:
 
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Needed a good wash after being down the lanes, through floods and on some farms lol.

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Already getting too warm to do it this morning at about 11am, bodywork was very hot. Have to wait until tomorrow morning to do the tyres again and arches.
 
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Was out there with the jetwash at 8 this morning, what with the giant orange ball in the sky making an appearance!

Snow foamed, tardis'd, washed 2bm, hand polished and sealed with Megs wax.

Apologies for pants mbl pic

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Ok, I'd like to claybar and wax my car.

Currently, I wash it bi-weekly with..

ph neutral snow foam
jet wash off
maguires gold class & sheep wash mitt, 3 buckets
jet wash off
dry with towel


What else should I buy to claybar the whole car, I've never done it in the 4 years I've owned it. Can someone give me a link to what I need to get?

Also, which wax & applicators should I get?

I don't want to spend a fortune, just want it looking better than it currently does.

It's a black Integra if that makes any difference.

Thanks
 
I'm cleaning my car this weekend - I was thinking of buying this, but have heard mixed things about it:

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_753637_langId_-1_categoryId_255233

Does anyone have any experience with the Turtle Wax Black Box?

Can the same affect, the "mirrored black glass" look be achieved by hand by other means? ie: without using a machine polisher or getting the car professionally detailed? If so, what products should I also consider?

Cheers!
 
bledd. said:
Ok, I'd like to claybar and wax my car.

Currently, I wash it bi-weekly with..

ph neutral snow foam
jet wash off
maguires gold class & sheep wash mitt, 3 buckets
jet wash off
dry with towel


What else should I buy to claybar the whole car, I've never done it in the 4 years I've owned it. Can someone give me a link to what I need to get?

Also, which wax & applicators should I get?

I don't want to spend a fortune, just want it looking better than it currently does.

It's a black Integra if that makes any difference.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Just a claybar and a quick detailer spray that can be bought from anywhere that sells auto materials. I have used Megs, Astonish and some others and they all do the same job, just act as a lube for the claybar on the surface.

Fit the claybarring in after you've washed and rinsed as normal above then once clayed (sp!) just rinse off, dry and apply your choice of polish and then seal it off with a wax.

The gloss and depth of gloss will be out of this world.
 
bledd. said:
Ok, I'd like to claybar and wax my car.

Currently, I wash it bi-weekly with..

ph neutral snow foam
jet wash off
maguires gold class & sheep wash mitt, 3 buckets
jet wash off
dry with towel


What else should I buy to claybar the whole car, I've never done it in the 4 years I've owned it. Can someone give me a link to what I need to get?

Also, which wax & applicators should I get?

I don't want to spend a fortune, just want it looking better than it currently does.

It's a black Integra if that makes any difference.

Thanks
Click to expand...

This clay bar only requires water as lubricant and does a good job:

http://www.elitecarcare.co.uk/autoclay.php
 
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