* The Car Cleaning Thread *

kennethsross · 25 Feb 2010 at 14:02

Lopéz said:
Bilt Hamber Soft Autoclay does not need detailing spray (works with water) and you get loads, 200g I think. I'll be trying it out this weekend.

Bilt Hamber clay gets my vote too - been using it for years.

(PS, Lopez, first read your VAX review over at DW - Is there some connection between clean cars and fast PC's! (mind you, a PC means something else to the guys over at DW!

)

Kei · 26 Feb 2010 at 00:48

Washed with autoglym bodywork shampoo and a sonus lambswool washmit
Dried with a cleanyourcar fluffy drying towel and a chemical guys miracle dryer. (both the same thing except the colour difference & cost)
Polished using Megs ultimate compound followed by megs swirlX by hand using a sonus applicator followed by a coating of chemical guys EZ creme glaze.
Finally topping it off with 2 coats of finsh kare 1000P sealant. (wheels have got collinite 476s which i applied at the start of september)

ironman · 26 Feb 2010 at 08:34

You forgot to dry your car before taking the pic.

Kei · 26 Feb 2010 at 11:33

I'd cleaned it in the morning and it subsequently rained in the afternoon before clearing again, when i took the piccies.

ironman · 26 Feb 2010 at 11:58

Kei said:
I'd cleaned it in the morning and it subsequently rained in the afternoon before clearing again, when i took the piccies.

No worries

I thought you were doing a Fox in a 'i'll take a picture of my clean car before I dry it because I think it looks good' type thing

Kappa · 26 Feb 2010 at 12:14

gurdas said:
No worries I thought you were doing a Fox in a 'i'll take a picture of my clean car before I dry it because I think it looks good' type thing

Lol when you have a silver car I find it looks best!

agw_01 · 5 Mar 2010 at 01:54

Hi guys,

Spent the last few days researching and spec'ing some detailing kit and this is what I've come up with so far....

Duragloss 901 Shampoo
Megs #80 and #83 (already own)
Carlack 68 Sealant/Collinite 476s Wax (multi-buy on CleanYourCar)
and some Megs APC

I already have a PC7424 but I'm really struggling on the pads. I'm going for a 5" backing plate and am looking at 6-7" pads but unsure on what to go for. What's the difference between a compounding/polishing pad?

chipperhead · 5 Mar 2010 at 09:04

agw_01 said:
Hi guys,

Spent the last few days researching and spec'ing some detailing kit and this is what I've come up with so far....

Duragloss 901 Shampoo
Megs #80 and #83 (already own)
Carlack 68 Sealant/Collinite 476s Wax (multi-buy on CleanYourCar)
and some Megs APC

I already have a PC7424 but I'm really struggling on the pads. I'm going for a 5" backing plate and am looking at 6-7" pads but unsure on what to go for. What's the difference between a compounding/polishing pad?

Do you have a link to the Carlack/Collinte multi-buy?
I'm interested, do you use these products together?

agw_01 · 5 Mar 2010 at 12:21

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/complete-detailing-kits/collinite-476s-carlack-kit/prod_408.html

I'd imagine so, the Carlack also acts as a paint cleaner. Gets rid of any nasty contaminants before you wax.

[TW]Fox · 5 Mar 2010 at 12:26

gurdas said:
No worries I thought you were doing a Fox in a 'i'll take a picture of my clean car before I dry it because I think it looks good' type thing

I never take pictures of my car before I've dried it?

[TW]Fox · 5 Mar 2010 at 12:27

Megs APC is apparently pointless, Tesco APC is the same stuff for a tenth of the price.

ironman · 5 Mar 2010 at 12:35

[TW]Fox;16094093 said:
I never take pictures of my car before I've dried it?

That's not entirely true now is it?

Anyway, i've got a day off and the sun is shining, i've just replenished my cleaning stock and have bought a leaf blower to try as a drying aid

*Await spangly pics*

[TW]Fox · 5 Mar 2010 at 12:40

gurdas said:
That's not entirely true now is it?

Isn't it? Drying is part of my car washing process unless I'm in a real hurry, and if I'm in a hurry I'm generally not going to stop to photograph the results :confused:

Fett · 5 Mar 2010 at 12:48

agw_01 said:
I already have a PC7424 but I'm really struggling on the pads. I'm going for a 5" backing plate and am looking at 6-7" pads but unsure on what to go for. What's the difference between a compounding/polishing pad?

You might as well go for Megs pads, I don't think theres a huge difference between manufacturers personally. Compounding pad is white and has more cut so it's the first pad you would use in theory but probably better to use a polishing pad (orange) first to see if that does the job, no point in using an heavy cut pad when it's not required.

The polishing pad has a medium to light cutting action, finishing pad (yellow) has a very light cut.

So 83 would go on the white or orange pad, the 80 would go on the orange or yellow pad, depending on the state of your paint. Play around with them, you can't do any harm.

-disclaimer: I don't use Megs stuff anymore, so the polish/pad combos won't be spot on, but you get the idea.

ironman · 5 Mar 2010 at 12:53

[TW]Fox;16094205 said:
Isn't it? Drying is part of my car washing process unless I'm in a real hurry, and if I'm in a hurry I'm generally not going to stop to photograph the results

I just remember some photos you took of your Xantia etc. with it still being wet because you liked the 'wet look'

[TW]Fox · 5 Mar 2010 at 12:56

Thats gotta be pushing 8 years ago!!

I preffered the wet look on the Xantia because it was black and 8 years old, meaning the paintwork was a horrible mess of swirls and scratches

agw_01 · 5 Mar 2010 at 12:57

Fett, thanks for the explanation. I had read that it was better to start off with the lightest cut first and then move up if there are still visible defects in the paint. Luckily I've got a few panels to try on first to get an idea of what works.

Fox, thanks for that. A quick look on DW brought up a few threads regarding different APCs so definitely something to think about.

Fett · 5 Mar 2010 at 13:01

agw_01 said:
Fett, thanks for the explanation. I had read that it was better to start off with the lightest cut first and then move up if there are still visible defects in the paint. Luckily I've got a few panels to try on first to get an idea of what works.

No worries. That's the best way of doing it to save your clearcoat but in reality you are taking off such a small amount, it is more of a time saver so you don't have to polish out the preceding compound marks/haze.

ironman · 5 Mar 2010 at 22:50

First off, the leaf blower. Just didn't work, was quite a powerful one at 2400w but it just didn't really seem to shift the water at all so i've returned it.

As for the cleaning side of things today, used the typical range of AG products, the shampoo followed by the clay, and then brought inside for SRP and then a coat of EGP, glass polished/dash cleaned with AG Fast Glass and exhaust done with AG Metal Polish.

Just after the clay'ing, my old man popped into the garage to see how things were going and decided to get the mop out so he machined half of the bonnet just to have a play and the results were brilliant, when the weather gets better he is going to give me the training and my car will be getting the full treatment.

Notice the haze around the ceiling light....

After just one quick pass with 3M finesse-it, much higher clarity....

Curing after a coat of EGP...

Buffed up...

And some shots to show off the hard work

--Mike-- · 5 Mar 2010 at 23:08

Looking good Gurdas

*** The Car Cleaning Thread ***

* The Car Cleaning Thread *