*** The Car Cleaning Thread ***
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Mine isn't. Is really does need a good going over with a Clar Bar and some Tar Remover
Clar Bar
Buttery smooth panels feel gooood!
Adds 10more MPG too*
*may not be true.
Soldato
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- 18 Oct 2002
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- Stone, Staffordshire
As you've just had a full car detail I think you can miss step 4, shouldn't really need a polish.
Peronsally it's got to be the Paul Dalton way.
1. Rinse vehicle with 30C purified water
2. Spray citrus degreaser on entire car
3. Repeat rinse
4. Wash top half of vehicle with pure warm water and shampoo
5. Repeat rinse
6. Wash top half of vehicle with pure warm water and shampoo
7. Repeat rinse
8. Spray citrus cleaner inside arches
9. Repeat rinse
10. Decontaminate paint and windows with clay mixed with secret solution
11. Repeat rinse
12. Wash entire car with pure warm water and shampoo mix
13. Repeat rinse
14. Dry vehicle with microfibre towels
15. Apply wheel cleaner and brush
16. Repeat rinse
17. Turn wheels 180 degrees
18. Reapply wheel cleaner and brush
19. Repeat rinse
20. Dry wheels
21. Dry door, engine and boot edges
22. Blow compressed air in cracks and towel dry
23. Measure all paintwork in microns (1/1,000mm)
24. Sand paint to remove orange peel, scratches and swirls
25. Sand paint to remove orange peel, scratches and swirls
26. Sand paint to remove orange peel, scratches and swirls
27. Sand paint to remove orange peel, scratches and swirls
28. Re-measure paintwork
29. Pre-wax cleaner to paintwork
30. Remove pre-wax cleaner with towel
31. Zymol Royale wax applied to paintwork
32. Remove wax
33. Buff windows
34. Windows cleaned inside and out
35. Interior vacuumed thoroughly
36. Clean interior trim
37. Clean and shampoo carpets and mats
38. Clean leather
39. Dry leather with cotton towels
40. Condition leather and buff
41. Clean interior with compressed air brush
42. Pre-wax cleaner to door edges
43. Condition and preserve door rubbers
44. Zymol Royale wax applied to door edges
45. Tyres dried to a satin finish
46. Exterior trim cleaned and conditioned
47. Clean wheels using clay mixed with secret solution
48. Clean and polish wheels
49. Pre-wax cleaner to wheels
50. Zymol Royale wax applied to wheels
51. Final buff with small cloth
52. Windows cleaned inside and out again
53-55. Additional Zymol Royale wax layer application, buffed twice
56-58. Repeat above wax application
59-61. Repeat final wax application
Clar Bar
Buttery smooth panels feel gooood!
Adds 10more MPG too*
*may not be true.
Typo
I've used Meguiars (in kit form) and Sonus Green with Megs Last Touch, and not really noticed much difference between the two!
I'm going to need something thats quite hard/abrasive* (if abrasive is the correct word to use!).. basically, something thats going to pull all the crap off!
Yeah I've had steps 1 through 61 done recently by a detailer, I just want to give the car a quick rinse thanks
HEADRAT
You had Zymol Royale
for £220 was it? 
worth every penny thenYeah I've had steps 1 through 61 done recently by a detailer, I just want to give the car a quick rinse thanks
HEADRAT
Your 'detailer' would really know whats best to stay on top of the finish you now have.
I'd be getting in touch with him to be honest.
I'd say you'd definately need a Snow Foam lance, 2 buckets, a wash mitt and a couple of drying cloths (thats just for the washing/drying - not even considering Wax/Polish etc).
I've decided that I agree with what someone said a while back in that a matt sidewall looks better than a glossy "wet look" sidewall!
I have only sparingly applied new look trim gel this time round and dried it completely using a MF towel (which turned black from blue no less!) and the results were impressive. Matt certainly looks more pro than gloss
I have only sparingly applied new look trim gel this time round and dried it completely using a MF towel (which turned black from blue no less!) and the results were impressive. Matt certainly looks more pro than gloss
Can anyone recommend a wheel brush and alloy cleaner?
Currently have multispokes and think some new wheel products could make cleaning them far easier.
Also is there such a product as a wash mitt but like an actual sponge shape? I'm not a fan of the wash mitts you see and I'd look like a right wally with one of them stuck on my hand.
Currently have multispokes and think some new wheel products could make cleaning them far easier.
Also is there such a product as a wash mitt but like an actual sponge shape? I'm not a fan of the wash mitts you see and I'd look like a right wally with one of them stuck on my hand.
Reading some of this thread leaves me wondering just how much some people spend on cleaning products. I was thinking about buying a pressure washer and an orbital polisher thingy to make my life easier when cleaning the car, reading some of this thread has really left me more confused than informed to be honest.
What I have done for the past few years is the following;
Used some Meguiar’s Gold Class car shampoo in a bucket of warm water and washed the car with that, I use a lambs wool mitt to apply it now (I used to use a sponge)
Rinsed the car off with a bucket of clean fresh water, again using the mitt, but after thoroughly cleaning it and getting all the shampoo out of it (I should probably buy a 2nd one for this)
Then applied Turtle Wax 'Wax It When Wet' using a polishing mitt. I don't always do this though, I certainly don't wax it every-time I wash it. I used to use Meguiar’s Gold Class wax, but Wax it When Wet removes the drying step and is a lot less like hard work for my poor arm, finish seems decent, not as good and deep as the Meguires but it's a lot less work.
Then I wash my wheels separately, sometimes using Wonder Wheels if there is much ingrained grime, although I haven't done that to the ST220 yet, now I am thinking that I probably shouldn't either, it's quite harsh stuff really. I use a sponge and a Meguiar’s soft wheel brush thing to do this.
Finally I use some Autoglym Fast Glass, glass cleaner on the windows and the lights. Sometimes I do the inside too, although I only really need to do that every couple of months. If the grime on the windows is quite bad, I will use Autoglym Car Glass Polish, which will get just about anything off it seems.
That’s it.
I feel like I could do a much better job, and in the long run give myself less of a work out, with a bit of schooling from some of you.
Can anyone recommend a decent preasure washer that isn't stupidly expensive? ...I will only ever use this for washing the car, so I'm not looking to spend more than about £75 really. I had a look at some of those Karcher ones, but they are much more expensive than I am willing to pay to save myself a bit of arm ache. I assume there must be some cheaper ones about that are still decent?
I have never used this 'Snow Foam' stuff in my life, sounds pretty good though, so I will look into that. I gather I need the preasure washer and the lance thing to apply it first ?
I thought I 'knew' how to wash a car
...now I am not so sure.
What I have done for the past few years is the following;
Used some Meguiar’s Gold Class car shampoo in a bucket of warm water and washed the car with that, I use a lambs wool mitt to apply it now (I used to use a sponge)
Rinsed the car off with a bucket of clean fresh water, again using the mitt, but after thoroughly cleaning it and getting all the shampoo out of it (I should probably buy a 2nd one for this)
Then applied Turtle Wax 'Wax It When Wet' using a polishing mitt. I don't always do this though, I certainly don't wax it every-time I wash it. I used to use Meguiar’s Gold Class wax, but Wax it When Wet removes the drying step and is a lot less like hard work for my poor arm, finish seems decent, not as good and deep as the Meguires but it's a lot less work.
Then I wash my wheels separately, sometimes using Wonder Wheels if there is much ingrained grime, although I haven't done that to the ST220 yet, now I am thinking that I probably shouldn't either, it's quite harsh stuff really. I use a sponge and a Meguiar’s soft wheel brush thing to do this.
Finally I use some Autoglym Fast Glass, glass cleaner on the windows and the lights. Sometimes I do the inside too, although I only really need to do that every couple of months. If the grime on the windows is quite bad, I will use Autoglym Car Glass Polish, which will get just about anything off it seems.
That’s it.
I feel like I could do a much better job, and in the long run give myself less of a work out, with a bit of schooling from some of you.
Can anyone recommend a decent preasure washer that isn't stupidly expensive? ...I will only ever use this for washing the car, so I'm not looking to spend more than about £75 really. I had a look at some of those Karcher ones, but they are much more expensive than I am willing to pay to save myself a bit of arm ache. I assume there must be some cheaper ones about that are still decent?
I have never used this 'Snow Foam' stuff in my life, sounds pretty good though, so I will look into that. I gather I need the preasure washer and the lance thing to apply it first ?
I thought I 'knew' how to wash a car
...now I am not so sure.
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