*** The Car Cleaning Thread ***
- Thread starter wassap
- Start date
- Status
you get lots of products like duragloss wax eraser for example, a popular one is going to the supermarket and buying groundnut oil, it's meant to work well
you could try an abrasive polish to remove the swirls, such as menzerna intensive polish or scratch-x, or you could mask them with a polish full of fillers such as auto glym srp
Shopping list check:
Collinite #915 Kit (inc. cloths and applicators)
Meguiars Gold Glass Shampoo & Conditioner 64oz
Meguiars Hot Shine Tyre Spray - for my tyres
Meguiars All Surface Interior Brush
Meguiars Carpet and Interior Cleaner
Meguiars Natural Shine (Vinyl & Rubber Protectant) - for my dash
Forever Black - Bumper & Trim Cleaner and Reconditioner - for my bumper
Meguiars Lambswool Wash Mitt
Meguiars Deep Pile MicroFibre Wash Mitt
Eurow Medium Waffle Weave Microfibre Drying Towel
Autoglym Super Resin Polish
All present and correct? Do I need anything special for polish application / removal? Anything I'm wasting money on?
Collinite #915 Kit (inc. cloths and applicators)
Meguiars Gold Glass Shampoo & Conditioner 64oz
Meguiars Hot Shine Tyre Spray - for my tyres
Meguiars All Surface Interior Brush
Meguiars Carpet and Interior Cleaner
Meguiars Natural Shine (Vinyl & Rubber Protectant) - for my dash
Forever Black - Bumper & Trim Cleaner and Reconditioner - for my bumper
Meguiars Lambswool Wash Mitt
Meguiars Deep Pile MicroFibre Wash Mitt
Eurow Medium Waffle Weave Microfibre Drying Towel
Autoglym Super Resin Polish
All present and correct? Do I need anything special for polish application / removal? Anything I'm wasting money on?
Last edited:
Some people argue you can't see a difference between collinite 915 and 476s, you might see a slight difference but nothing that warrants the extra cost - 476s is also a bit more durable. Generally people say 915 is deeper but 476s is glossier...it's an each to their own situation
Personally I'd get meguiars shampoo plus or hyperwash, far better value for money
i'd swap the tyre spray for a tyre gel, such as meguiars or blackfires - lasts far longer
I wouldn't waste my money on a megs microfibre mitt, I just get £1 tesco ones as they're only used for wheels/arches and any dirty bits so get wrecked quick.
Foam applicator pads are the best for applying and microfibre cloths for removing
other than that, seems like a decent starter kit - the only thing i'd highly recommend adding is some clay
Thanks for all of your advice, I've taken some on board and revised:
Questions:
1) Will polishing or claying ruin any of the touchup done by the previous owner (looks to be using a touchup pen)?
2) What does one use to clean crap from exhausts, under the hood etc? Some kind of degreaser?
3) Does the whole car need doing or just the obviously contaminated areas?
4) lite Car Care say that Autoclay is safe to use just with tap water as lubricant; is this true?
Many thanks,
I take that I am right in thinking the whole car needs to be polished? Blindly guessing, would it be sensible to buy some of the Auto Glym SRP for the whole lot, and some Megs Scratch-X for the tougher / more apparent scratch marks?
Looking on Elite Car Care, there seems only to be a few pounds between the two, but thanks for the insight
Done, swapped.
Makes sense, done and swapped.
As I'll pretty much only be using it for the tyres, I have bought one of those high durability pads for £2.49. No local Tesco here, anyhow
My wax kit comes with them and buffing towels.
Done - I just picked the best reviewed: Autoclay.
Questions:
1) Will polishing or claying ruin any of the touchup done by the previous owner (looks to be using a touchup pen)?
2) What does one use to clean crap from exhausts, under the hood etc? Some kind of degreaser?
3) Does the whole car need doing or just the obviously contaminated areas?
4) lite Car Care say that Autoclay is safe to use just with tap water as lubricant; is this true?
Many thanks,
Last edited:
Thanks for all of your advice, I've taken some on board and revised:
I take that I am right in thinking the whole car needs to be polished? Blindly guessing, would it be sensible to buy some of the Auto Glym SRP for the whole lot, and some Megs Scratch-X for the tougher / more apparent scratch marks?
Looking on Elite Car Care, there seems only to be a few pounds between the two, but thanks for the insight
Done, swapped.
Makes sense, done and swapped.
As I'll pretty much only be using it for the tyres, I have bought one of those high durability pads for £2.49. No local Tesco here, anyhow
My wax kit comes with them and buffing towels.
Done - I just picked the best reviewed: Autoclay.
Questions:
1) Will polishing or claying ruin any of the touchup done by the previous owner (looks to be using a touchup pen)?
2) What does one use to clean crap from exhausts, under the hood etc? Some kind of degreaser?
3) Does the whole car need doing or just the obviously contaminated areas?
4) lite Car Care say that Autoclay is safe to use just with tap water as lubricant; is this true?
Many thanks,
1 - Shouldn't do as long as it isn't too abrasive, may actually help it.
2 - Some metal polish for the exhaust tip and never done the engine bay too scared. Well expect for the plastics and just used megs plastic detail stuff.
3 - I polish, clay, wax the whole car.
4 - Possibly is, but I would use a concentrated mix of your shampoo and water.
Associate
Just done my car yesterday, washed using Megs Hyper wash which has an incredible the dilution rate (400:1). Then clayed using Bilthamber autoclay which took off a nice load of dirt. Gave a quick polish using SRP and then waxed with Collinite 476 which worked really well. Wheels were done using Bilberry wheel cleaner. Still waiting to get a Meguiars G220 though as their all being restocked in a couple off weeks with an updated model.
Chris
Chris
Pictures!
Soldato
Does anyone here take their car to get detailed on a regular basis rather than the DIY approach?
Soldato
Maybe, but I was just thinking price of products plus the time taken (and probably not a good job as the pros) might be worth paying someone else.
Soldato
- Joined
- 7 Feb 2004
- Posts
- 3,072
I suppose it depends if you enjoy doing it and getting the satisfaction afterwards or if you find it a chore.
Permabanned
I was thinking the same thing as for £350 I could have paint correction done, however I really did fancy having a go myself and now I'm glad I did as you get so much satisfaction from the results. I have also been doing some correction for family and friends and I earn lots of beer tokens from doing it.
Also now I have all the stuff I can polish out any light scratches for free.
Also now I have all the stuff I can polish out any light scratches for free.
In which case that's imported stuff as 3M doesn't sell direct to anyone other than Bodyshop distribution companies in the UK.
Associate
You have to be careful here as the plastic holds the heat more than metal so use slower rpm and recheck the work often.
whether that is the case or not, who cares if it makes it available to the public
you can also get a bigger 3M range here:
http://www.consumablesexpress.co.uk/acatalog/Polishes_and_Compounds.html
Last edited:
- Status