*** The Car Cleaning Thread ***

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Lakeland said:
It's only been 6months since I did it last, would the following be acceptable?

Foam
Wash
Clay
Wax

I can do the above fairly quickly, polish on top would take twice the time. If it needs done I'll do it but I'd rather avoid if possible?
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I just did that, it depends how much swirl your paint has, if it's half decent and you are careful with your washing then you don't really need it.

I would advise to rinse after clay, then towel dry. Just to remove the last of the dirt that the claying has lifted but some reason didn't pick up.
 
Raymond Lin said:
I just did that, it depends how much swirl your paint has, if it's half decent and you are careful with your washing then you don't really need it.

I would advise to rinse after clay, then towel dry. Just to remove the last of the dirt that the claying has lifted but some reason didn't pick up.
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Perfect, thanks Raymond :cool:
 
You shouldn't need to rinse after claying as the lubricant will clean the surface once it's wiped down afterwards.

Just seems like a pointless step and unnecessary work. Same as snowfoam. Looks cool but you're going to wash it anyway.

The lubricant I use is a small amount of Megs Last Touch mixed with water.
 
peterattheboro said:
You shouldn't need to rinse after claying as the lubricant will clean the surface once it's wiped down afterwards.

Just seems like a pointless step and unnecessary work. Same as snowfoam. Looks cool but you're going to wash it anyway.

The lubricant I use is a small amount of Megs Last Touch mixed with water.
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It is a 5 min step, it also removes the lubricant, which would be a "contaminant" between the paint and the wax. The main idea is to rinse of any last residual dirt that the foam, wash and clay missed.

Anal? of course, but we are talking about detailing, that's the whole idea :p
 
The lubricant is either water or quick detailer so you can just dry it off...

There's anal and there's wasting time.

You should polish after claying, even if its a glaze or something with fillers. That's what removes the 'last' bit of dirt and a nice clean surface to seal/wax.
 
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peterattheboro said:
You shouldn't need to rinse after claying as the lubricant will clean the surface once it's wiped down afterwards.

Just seems like a pointless step and unnecessary work. Same as snowfoam. Looks cool but you're going to wash it anyway.

The lubricant I use is a small amount of Megs Last Touch mixed with water.
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Debatable. If you sheet water over the car it a) clears any of that contamination which could cause marring/swirls/scratches when drying b) reduces amount of water on car (sounds counter-intuitive but its true) allowing you to dry the car quicker and easier. I mean it takes what, 20 seconds to rinse a car?
 
Lol what a silly argument. Farecla clay mitt + bucket with shampoo = best claying method ever. Anyone who hasn't got a clay mitt needs to go out and buy one.

Then you just dip it in the bucket and glide it over the panels as if you were washing it, and rinse down with the hose as you go.
 
Howard said:
Lol what a silly argument. Farecla clay mitt + bucket with shampoo = best claying method ever. Anyone who hasn't got a clay mitt needs to go out and buy one.

Then you just dip it in the bucket and glide it over the panels as if you were washing it, and rinse down with the hose as you go.
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True, but the clay mitt does not remove as much grime as a clay bar. That said, for the time input versus results afterwards I would rather just use the clay mitt and then bar the odd panel.
 
CaptainRAVE said:
True, but the clay mitt does not remove as much grime as a clay bar. That said, for the time input versus results afterwards I would rather just use the clay mitt and then bar the odd panel.
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I wouldn't use the clay mitt in every situation. Certainly not if the car is 20 years old and never been clayed.
 
Couple of silly questions incoming....

I need to get some new microfibre cloths as current ones have been a bit abused for other cleaning stuff - I have looked back because I thought I saw a recommendation for a bulk pack on amazon but can't find it - anyone recommend some to get?

I also have half leather seats, in real good condition but I assume cleaning the leather part requires a different product than the AG interior stuff I have at the moment?
 
I could do with insect remover I can spray on and just wipe off between cleans.
AutoGlym active insect remover, or anything else out there that's superior for the same price range?
 
Shimmyhill said:
Couple of silly questions incoming....

I need to get some new microfibre cloths as current ones have been a bit abused for other cleaning stuff - I have looked back because I thought I saw a recommendation for a bulk pack on amazon but can't find it - anyone recommend some to get?

I also have half leather seats, in real good condition but I assume cleaning the leather part requires a different product than the AG interior stuff I have at the moment?
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Depends on what you want to use them for. It it's just general cleaning, like door sills, engines and interior, and you have a costco card/you know some who has a costco card, get some of these. For buffing or polishing, these are good.

It really depends on what you want to use them for.

For the seats, I and most people recommend Gliptone Leather Cleaner. Works well and the bottle goes a long way. If you have an Autosmart rep near you, you could get some leather cleaner from them, and it can be diluted.

Plenty O'Toole said:
I could do with insect remover I can spray on and just wipe off between cleans.
AutoGlym active insect remover, or anything else out there that's superior for the same price range?
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Autosmart G101 is good, diluted 5:1 or, as you said, Active Insect Remover has always worked for me.
 
Plenty O'Toole said:
I could do with insect remover I can spray on and just wipe off between cleans.
AutoGlym active insect remover, or anything else out there that's superior for the same price range?
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Autoglym works well as per my reference a few posts back. Can't imagine anything being vastly superior (as it seems really good to me)
 
Can anyone recommend any reasonable priced buckets/grit guards. The branded ones seem a bit pricey for what they are!
 
Or you could get 2x plasterers buckets from Wickes for £14 (£7 each). Fits grit guards perfectly.

I differ with the grit guards, it does trap the dirt at the bottom of the bucket and one you have them, you don't have to buy them again.
 
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