*** The Car Cleaning Thread ***

Status
Not open for further replies.
chroniclard said:
Essentially what Havana_UK posted, though I would also be adding a smaller backing plate for small areas and the relevant pads. Possibly some spare pads too if you ruin some.

Do you already have the basic cleaning stuff? Anything?
Click to expand...
Thanks. Yeah I have a whole box of meguiars soaps, clays, autoglym Polish, waxes etc. Just want to give a random orbital polisher a whirl.
 
I'm sure this has been asked loads of times, but 631 pages later...

Any suggestions for what I should buy to get best results for minimum effort? I don't have much time to spend cleaning my car, so I'm looking for 'bang for buck' products here! So far I have a couple of microfibre cloths, and a hosepipe ;) Cheers in advance.
 
RoboCod said:
Thanks. Yeah I have a whole box of meguiars soaps, clays, autoglym Polish, waxes etc. Just want to give a random orbital polisher a whirl.
Click to expand...

I tried one in the past - a halfraud's one.. my advice would be to find something to try it on before hand.. i.e. some old scrap etc. If not then find the smallest panel on the car and do a complete end-to-end attempt on it. Then move to the others.. so if you have dirt or something gets picked up..... better to be paranoid about it with a orbital polisher.. from bitter experience!
 
Freakitchen said:
I'm sure this has been asked loads of times, but 631 pages later...

Any suggestions for what I should buy to get best results for minimum effort? I don't have much time to spend cleaning my car, so I'm looking for 'bang for buck' products here! So far I have a couple of microfibre cloths, and a hosepipe ;) Cheers in advance.
Click to expand...

Don't know your budget or how far you want to go with essentials but my recommendations for a cost-effective kit would be the following (almost all available via the jungle for ease):

AutoGlym Fast Glass - well priced high quality glass cleaner
AutoGlym BodyWork Shampoo - you want a reliable pH neutral shampoo, don't have to use this one but it's easily available and reasonably priced
Large Microfibre drying towel - if you're only going to have one of these I recommend a large fluffy type rather than a waffle type, if you search for 'kent extra large drying towel' you'll find what you need at a fair price
Meguiars Microfibre Wash Mitt - good quality mitt for the price, recommend using this for the bodywork

Optional - Dodo Juice Captain Crevice Mitt - I like to use a separate mitt for wheels and other areas low down on the car which attract the most grime
Optional - Gtechniq C2v3 or C1.5 - finish your wash off with either of these quick detailers for a quick and easy shine with moderate protection and the all important beading effect. C1.5 is better and lasts longer than C2 but it's not always as easy to find.

Wash the car top to bottom using the traditional two bucket method (guides available everywhere if you're not familiar).
After rinsing, dry the car with the drying towel to avoid water marks and streaks

You can then clean the glass with the glass cleaner and a clean microfibre cloth

If you went for either of the quick detailers (C2/C1.5) I mentioned then your final touch can be to apply these and buff/dry off with a clean microfibre.

With all the above you should be able to finish comfortably in under 1-2 hours and you shouldn't have to spend more than £25-50 depending on what you buy.

I don't consider this too involved or expensive considering the finish you can get but everyone is different.
 
Where's the best place to pick up polish? I've got the original DAS-6 Pro and have used most of the Menzerna polish that came with it and now feel like I've just got so much choice both of vendors and products that I'm a bit overwhelmed and don't know what to go.

Currently using Chem guys hexlogic pads if that influences choice of polish at all.

Also need to restore headlights (must do more research, didn't do an amazing job on the Z4!), otherwise the car came up pretty well from its first intensive clean :D

17308835_10154419011816966_8862853344909522863_n.jpg


Beads well too :D

17437807_178575985984907_2033986345474457600_n.jpg
 
It's not something which is worthwhile IMO. Will mask 50% of swirls but only for a matter of days, and doesn't really do anything to enhance gloss depth over just using a wax alone.
 
Clarkey said:
It's not something which is worthwhile IMO. Will mask 50% of swirls but only for a matter of days, and doesn't really do anything to enhance gloss depth over just using a wax alone.
Click to expand...

Can't be any worse than AF Tripple. Last time I used Tripple and topped off with AG HD wax with good results - hoping the BH will be on par if not better :)
 
Phil W said:
Got some Poorboys Blackhole to play with this weekend. Looking forward to seeing what sort of a finish it leaves me with.
Click to expand...

It's good stuff, works better with a machine, but you can get some not bad results by hand.
Also Prima Amigo is similar and very good also.
 
Carpro Ech2o as rinseless, using lots of plush microfibres in a single bucket (empty 2nd bucket just for discarding used wipers to go in the washing machine later) followed by blackfire crystal seal, wheels get carpro hydro2 (as did the whole car from new and plan on topping up every 3 months - if the car is really dirty I use hydrofoam anyway which acts as a top up for places I can't get in to with crystal seal)

Whole car takes less than an hour, about 30 if just doing a rinseless with no sealer top up

I also use ech2o as a detail/clay spray with a polymer cloth instead of clay, but so far its only needed odd spots doing and not the whole thing

0e5047a733.jpg

0ec090529e.jpg

0e521adb3a.jpg
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom