*** The Car Cleaning Thread ***

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I must be doing something wrong then, I use a bobbley microfibre mit, as said snow foam first with pressure washer rinses, two bucket dodojuice starting at top of car working down to sills in 4 stages, and dry off with microfibre towels, the swirls go straight back in with one or two washes.
 
Born_2_Kill_83 said:
I must be doing something wrong then, I use a bobbley microfibre mit, as said snow foam first with pressure washer rinses, two bucket dodojuice starting at top of car working down to sills in 4 stages, and dry off with microfibre towels, the swirls go straight back in with one or two washes.
Click to expand...


You said the swirls are back, how are you removing them exactly?
 
Advice on a full detail procedure?

I know the cleaning procedure is wash, clay, wash, rinse, dry, polish (will be using a DA for this) but in terms of finishing, is it best to use a synthetic sealant straight after the polish? I've read the best way to protect and add pop is to seal, then glaze, then wax, ensuring the glaze used is non-abrasive.

Any other advice?
 
Just got myself a tidy Fiesta ST3 2016 in Frozen White. It's a big upgrade from my previous motor so time to take good care of it and invest in some products.

I've bought a decent supply of Chemical Guys products from CleanYourCar, and a nice autobrite snowfoam lance and various mits, microfibre clothes and drying towels.

If anybody would be so kind as to look over my proposed detailing method it would be much appreciated, this is my first go at detailing and it's pretty exciting.

  1. Rinse car (Pressure Washer)
  2. Snow foam
  3. Rinse car
  4. Dry car
  5. Clean and treat wheels
  6. Dry Wheels
  7. 2 Bucket method contact shampoo
  8. Dry car
  9. Clay bar all panels (with lube)
  10. Hand Polish all panels
  11. Apply Wax
  12. Detail spray any remaining blemishes

Is that a reasonable method? Anything i'm missing?
 
Seems reasonable. I probably wouldn't bother drying the car after the snowfoam rinse. No real need. Just get straight into it with the 2 bucket method. And maybe add a bug and tar remover step before the claybar, if required.

You can get started on the wheels while leaving the snow foam to dwell, that will save some time. But it depends on how long you want to spend on the wheels too. I am usually pretty lazy, so once a year I take them off, and do them properly. Then after that, the rest of the year is just a quick blast, and maybe hit them with a wheel brush and Auto Finesse Imperial if particularly dirty. But then I will end up spending an hour or two per wheel when they do get done properly. Doesn't sound lazy, and it's not for that one day a year. But the rest of the year, I basically do as little as possible to keep them clean. Same with the rest of the cleaning really. I'll do the full thing like you mention once, maybe twice a year. The rest of the time it'll just be a basic snowfoam and wash, with the occasional top up of detail spray like that carplan supergloss or sonax BSD or whatever I have available.

The problem with white cars, as well as silver, is you don't often see the same visual differences after going so in depth with the polishing / waxing etc... That's not to say don't do it, as it will still give you the level of protection desired. It just isn't as visually noticeable afterwards, which can be disheartening after spending a couple days doing all that work. But the paint will still feel super soft to the touch, so still worth it.
 
Thanks for the reply xs2man. I did suspect as much re the finish of white car detailing. Do you use any products specifically for white paint?

I'm in agreement about wheels, it's a bit of a pain and not half as enjoyable as car bodywork. May take mine off and clean them fully this time around.

Just waiting for the postie to arrive with all the goodies now!
 
Freelanc3r said:
Just got myself a tidy Fiesta ST3 2016 in Frozen White. It's a big upgrade from my previous motor so time to take good care of it and invest in some products.

I've bought a decent supply of Chemical Guys products from CleanYourCar, and a nice autobrite snowfoam lance and various mits, microfibre clothes and drying towels.

If anybody would be so kind as to look over my proposed detailing method it would be much appreciated, this is my first go at detailing and it's pretty exciting.

  1. Rinse car (Pressure Washer)
  2. Snow foam
  3. Rinse car
  4. Dry car
  5. Clean and treat wheels
  6. Dry Wheels
  7. 2 Bucket method contact shampoo
  8. Dry car
  9. Clay bar all panels (with lube)
  10. Hand Polish all panels
  11. Apply Wax
  12. Detail spray any remaining blemishes

Is that a reasonable method? Anything i'm missing?
Click to expand...

Do this:
  1. Rinse car (Pressure Washer)
  2. Snow foam
  3. Clean and treat wheels
  4. Rinse car
  5. Dry car
  6. Dry Wheels
  7. 2 Bucket method contact shampoo
  8. Rinse car
  9. Dry car
  10. Clay bar all panels (with lube)
  11. Rinse car
  12. Dry car
  13. Hand Polish all panels
  14. Apply Wax
  15. Detail spray any remaining blemishes
Never dry the car until it's properly clean. Snow foam will not get it properly clean and any dirt or contaminants left on the surface will mar the paint as you drag them over it with the drying towel.
 
The leather (wheel/knob) in my m135i has taken a beating over the last few days.

It's gone really dry and patchy, possibly due to the heat?

Is there an easy fix?
 
Havana_UK said:
Do this:
  1. Rinse car (Pressure Washer)
  2. Snow foam
  3. Clean and treat wheels
  4. Rinse car
  5. Dry car
  6. Dry Wheels
  7. 2 Bucket method contact shampoo
  8. Rinse car
  9. Dry car
  10. Clay bar all panels (with lube)
  11. Rinse car
  12. Dry car
  13. Hand Polish all panels
  14. Apply Wax
  15. Detail spray any remaining blemishes
Never dry the car until it's properly clean. Snow foam will not get it properly clean and any dirt or contaminants left on the surface will mar the paint as you drag them over it with the drying towel.
Click to expand...

Clay bar is so last year.
 
Is rinsing really necessary before snow foam?

I've only recently started using snow foam but get staight to it and don't rinse before hand.
 
I always rinse (pressure wash) first because it knocks off the loose dirt easily, meaning the snow foam can soak the more stubborn dirt effectively.
 
Anyone else get depressed by the state of other peoples paintwork, sadly ive spent a lot time in rush hour and traffic jams in this glorious weather, and the state of some peoples cars is shocking, and im talking fairly new cars, that are clean. I guess its a result of people just using the local hand carwash places a little too much, but some of the paint work you see is so swirled/marred its crazy.

/rant over :p
 
Tinders said:
Anyone else get depressed by the state of other peoples paintwork, sadly ive spent a lot time in rush hour and traffic jams in this glorious weather, and the state of some peoples cars is shocking, and im talking fairly new cars, that are clean. I guess its a result of people just using the local hand carwash places a little too much, but some of the paint work you see is so swirled/marred its crazy.

/rant over :p
Click to expand...

Potential can of worms here but here we go...

The rise of easy access to more expensive cars via lease has made people less appreciative of what they are driving around in, because it isn't theirs and they haven't saved to buy it outright so they'll happily take it to the local Scratch 'n Shine. It's the same as the thousands of people you see with top of the line smartphones smashed to pieces, because they got them on a contract as opposed to saving and buying them so they don't really appreciate the value enough to care for them.
 
Could argue that your foam is having to work harder removing normal dirt leaving stubborn dirt behind. Removing the easy stuff with a pressure washer then targeting the stubborn dirt directly with the foam seems more logical. Imo anyway.
 
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