*** The Car Cleaning Thread ***

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My chemical resistant sprayer still works fine with tardis.

I bought the autoglym wipes once but if the bird dropping has dried on it really needs something to soak and loosen it.
 
I've ordered that little bottle of wallet hurt known as C4 mentioned above, will come in handy on the piece of plastic trim that sits under my wiper blades on the windscreen. I have not seen a single E46 where this part is in its original black colour yet, always a dark grey from all the years of weathering and windscreen washer soiling it. Let's see how good this C4 is.

Burned_Alive said:
Autoglym Bird Dropping Wipes or some Quick Detailer and a MF cloth.
Click to expand...

Just do not wipe bird droppings with any sort of wipe if the dropping has solidified otherwise you will mar the top layer and machine polishing will have to be done to fix that. Instead pour hot water over the hardened dropping to let it soften then gently wipe with any polishing wipe. It will be so much easier and save you some headache!

Edit*

C4 = Miracle!

C4_2.jpg


C4_3.jpg
 
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Hey guys, with the weather getting warmer and my nilfisk needing a run out, I want to get into this world of detailing. Nothing too major but want to get the right tools for the job!
Today I trialled out the Nilfisk with its built in soap dispenser lance with CarChems Snow Foam LC247.
Despite saying dilute 1 part solution to 5 parts water in the bottle, it came out pretty watery, in the end I just whacked it in neat to the brim and got some decent foam going. After this I washed it with a standard sponge and then microfibre to dry it.
Now I need advice in terms of what products you guys are using to finish. The microfibre drying cloth was rubbish and ruined everything I had done up to that point, in the end just wiped it down but definitely want to get something better next time.
So what do you recommend to finish off the wash and make it shine?
What cloths do you use? Any recommended products? (maybe some links?) Is it worth investing in one of these powered rotary buffers? If so, which is the recommended one?
Cheers :)
 
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Don't invest in any machine yet, chuck away the sponge and the drying cloth. Buy a decent mitt, preferably a lambs wool one. Get a high pile microfibre for drying. I can create a decent list if you want :p
 
Hyburnate said:
Don't invest in any machine yet, chuck away the sponge and the drying cloth. Buy a decent mitt, preferably a lambs wool one. Get a high pile microfibre for drying. I can create a decent list if you want :p
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Please do!

As satisfying it is spraying the foam and the pressure jet washer, it would be nice to get a decent finish!
 
skaif said:
Please do!

As satisfying it is spraying the foam and the pressure jet washer, it would be nice to get a decent finish!
Click to expand...

Okay quick list:

  • 2x 15-20L Buckets with optional grit guards (I don't bother)
  • Lambs Wool Wash Mitt
  • Noodle Wash Mitt for your wheels, good at getting into the nooks and crannies, £1 shop special will do you well. You can buy wheel woolies or something similar but not necessary for starting
  • pH Neutral Shampoo - You can get some with wax in or some without. It's all down to personal preference. Recommend Dodo Juice - Born to be mild or AutoSmart Shampoos (they have a couple good ones) or Britemax Clean Max
  • Drying Towel I use a Wooly Mammoth but there's a lot of good ones and again personal preference.

That is the basics you need really.
You'll want to do some reading up on the 2 Bucket Method for washing.

The way I currently wash is:
  • Rinse the car with open ended hose (can be replaced with a citrus prewash or a snowfoam through a decent lance)
  • Fill up the wash bucket with the rightish dilution depending on the shampoo and water from the hose and then give it a quick blast with the pressure washer to make it sud up. Then fill the rinse bucket with water and a dash of shampoo.
  • Then start washing the car using the 2 bucket method.
  • Then rinse it off with the pressure washer.
  • Then clay the car if needed, and so on with polish and wax.
  • Finish off with a quick detailer

It depends how far you want to get into it, it really is a slippery slope. I would do a lot of reading into the two bucket method and drying as that's where you'll reduce the damage inflicted on your car. If you want to increase shine then you could look into Sonax Brilliant Shine Detailer which is amazing and low effort.

There's too much to say really :p

It depends what state your car is in really, and how far you want to go and thats when you start buying more select products.
 
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stokecity_m said:
Sorry if this has been discussed in the thread before, but what would people recommend for getting my red zafira back to a bight red?
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AF Tripple is meant to be good at paint restoration and then topped with a wax like FK1000p to improve its lifetime. It's all in vain if you have it washed at the local EU hand car wash though.

http://www.autofinesse.co.uk/tripple-in-action/
 
Spent 3 hrs washing the car today, long over due.

Used a degreaser for the first time ever and was pretty impressed by it.

Not waxed the car for ages as I had it detailed a while ago but it needs a wax now.

I was looking into waxes and noticed there is a pre-wax cleaner? Is this worth it? Or only if you've left some time (days) between the polish and wax?

So would I need to do the following:

  1. Wash
  2. Dry
  3. Clay
  4. Polish (AG SRP)
  5. Pre wax clean (??)
  6. Wax (Collinite 476S maybe)

Is it best to wax straight after polishing?
 
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Hyburnate said:
Okay quick list:

  • 2x 15-20L Buckets with optional grit guards (I don't bother)
  • Lambs Wool Wash Mitt
  • Noodle Wash Mitt for your wheels, good at getting into the nooks and crannies, £1 shop special will do you well. You can buy wheel woolies or something similar but not necessary for starting
  • pH Neutral Shampoo - You can get some with wax in or some without. It's all down to personal preference. Recommend Dodo Juice - Born to be mild or AutoSmart Shampoos (they have a couple good ones) or Britemax Clean Max
  • Drying Towel I use a Wooly Mammoth but there's a lot of good ones and again personal preference.

That is the basics you need really.
You'll want to do some reading up on the 2 Bucket Method for washing.

The way I currently wash is:
  • Rinse the car with open ended hose (can be replaced with a citrus prewash or a snowfoam through a decent lance)
  • Fill up the wash bucket with the rightish dilution depending on the shampoo and water from the hose and then give it a quick blast with the pressure washer to make it sud up. Then fill the rinse bucket with water and a dash of shampoo.
  • Then start washing the car using the 2 bucket method.
  • Then rinse it off with the pressure washer.
  • Then clay the car if needed, and so on with polish and wax.
  • Finish off with a quick detailer

It depends how far you want to get into it, it really is a slippery slope. I would do a lot of reading into the two bucket method and drying as that's where you'll reduce the damage inflicted on your car. If you want to increase shine then you could look into Sonax Brilliant Shine Detailer which is amazing and low effort.

There's too much to say really :p

It depends what state your car is in really, and how far you want to go and thats when you start buying more select products.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this, I will be bookmarking this for next time! I have a pretty dire car at the moment so its good to practice on! :D
However, looking to get something within the next few years that I want to cherish so starting to practice getting this detailing down to a fine art.

Thanks again :D
 
shauncr91 said:
Can anyone help me identify what this crap is all over my wheels? It looks like road salt as it's very rough but I cant fetch it off at all, went at it with a clay bar and it shifted probably <10% of it :(

dCO82LA.jpg
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Just to update on this, I finally got around to sorting these out yesterday and got the wheels off the car to clean.

Purchased some Valet Pro Dragon's Breath for the job and it is far far better than Iron X as it's thicker (Like a gel but still sprays) so sticks to the wheel better to work longer. 5 hours of decontaminating, polishing and waxing later and the wheels look like are brand new :cool:
 
I didn't get any unfortunately because I forgot and was too knackered after, they are as glossy as the Vauxhall wheels posted above though :D
 
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skaif said:
Thanks for this, I will be bookmarking this for next time! I have a pretty dire car at the moment so its good to practice on! :D
However, looking to get something within the next few years that I want to cherish so starting to practice getting this detailing down to a fine art.

Thanks again :D
Click to expand...

Well if you want to practice, I'd start by getting the basics now and then once you start seeing an improvement look at Clay Mitts (much easier than the clay bars) like this. Clicky They remove contaminants bonded to the paintwork which are very easy to see on light coloured cars. Absolutely amazing things that'll be your next step. And then on to polishes/glazes and waxes. But as I said first things first :)

I agree with the comment on the Megs Tyre stuff, I clock up a fair few miles at the moment and the durability is good although I keep topping it up as I like it. I want to try the AutoSmart stuff but don't need another 5L container, perhaps get some similar from cleanyourride.
 
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Hyburnate said:
Well if you want to practice, I'd start by getting the basics now and then once you start seeing an improvement look at Clay Mitts (much easier than the clay bars) like this. Clicky They remove contaminants bonded to the paintwork which are very easy to see on light coloured cars. Absolutely amazing things that'll be your next step. And then on to polishes/glazes and waxes. But as I said first things first :)

I agree with the comment on the Megs Tyre stuff, I clock up a fair few miles at the moment and the durability is good although I keep topping it up as I like it. I want to try the AutoSmart stuff but don't need another 5L container, perhaps get some similar from cleanyourride.
Click to expand...

That mitt looks fantastic, will give that a try - easier than claying the car with a bar!
 
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