#1 detailing noob

[tommys]

I've had my Clio for a few weeks now, but because the weather has been pretty rubbish I haven't cleaned it very much. The other day, I took it to a hand wash drive through and they pressure washed the car.. OK as far as these places go. But they used the pressure washer on my alloys and damaged the paint on one slightly. Nothing major but I think I'll shy away from the lazy route.

However, I don't have a clue when it comes to 'proper' detailing. I've seen loads of threads etc with loads of different makes and types of products.

I'm after a simple list of things for the beginner - I haven't got a machine polisher and was hoping to hand wash to begin with.

Can someone give me a few tips on what products to use and where to buy them from? I don't want to spend too much though - looking for average at the moment, and see how I get on.

Could do with some tips on a simple but effective sequence of detailing too!

Any comments appreciated :approve:

 

[bigup7]

get ready to read and read some more

have a look here: http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/seek-advice.html

explains all the steps in depth.

 

[tommys]

Cool. Thanks matey.

I'll have a look through it.

 

[mat-nos]

basic stuff to get going will cost you about £100 if you have a pressure washer/hose/hoover and extension lead already and build up to machine polishing when your confidence grows.
there is no right and wrong products if your looking at good brands ag/megs/dodo ect but there is a right and wrong way of using them and need to be in a stepped process. alot of the beginners stage is learning what each product does and at what stage to put it into the washing/cleaning process and what to change it to if the product is not working. alot of the time people swear by certain products but you may not like them so a little bit of swapping/changing between brands will be needed until you find the best products that work for you.

detailing world also has some good short vids/ guides but as mensioned there is curtainly alot of reading to understand what your car may need before you spend your cash.......

 

[Ads_172]

Without going into paragraphs and paragraphs, the best advice I can give is take a step back before buying anything and work out exactly what you need to get started. People often impulse buy when they first get the bug and spend twice what they actually need to on products that don't have a real purpose.

On the flip side, if you really get into it you can kiss goodbye to thousands of pounds!

 

[JD]

As Ads has said, the easiest way to answer this thread is as follows;

What are you trying to achieve?

 

[Chris_786]

For a list of what people use see this thread - membership is free and invite only so sy chris invited you - http://www.performancetorque.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=4907

 

[JD]

Nice link Chris. Interesting to see what others use!

 

[Benny06]

I'm like yourself, a bit of a novice. Having only ever attacked my old car with some shampoo and a sponge, if it was lucky it got dried too!

Learnt alot about why to do specific processes such as polishing and claying from reading polishedbliss so would recommend giving it a read.

I've only really gone down the Autoglym product route so far as with 3 for 2's and BOGOF offers at Halfords it makes it all more affordable.

Engine & Machine Cleaner
Glass Polish
Super Resin Polish
Extra Gloss Protection
Interior Shampoo
Vynil & Rubber Care
Intensive Tar Remover
HD Wax Kit
Meguiars High Endurance Tyre Gell
Wonderwheels (if your alloys badly need it as it's acidic and not too kind on the clear coat apparently - but it works, amazingly well)
Meguiars Claying Kit
Autosol Metal Polish
Poorboys Wheel Sealant

Would all be products I'd recommend, easy to use with decent results. Probaly better shampoo's out there than the AG one.

You'll also want some microfibre towels, cotton cloths, valeting cloths, polishing mit, wash mit.

This is effectively what I brought and it allowed me to do a detail that I was very happy with, for my first one:

http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?524630-First-proper-going-over-the-182-Pic-Heavy

Was washed with AG Bodywork Shampoo, which seems to give okay results but there are probaly much better ones out there and I'm keen to try some others. This was also polished with Turtlewax Nano-Tech or something (green bottle, super thick stuff!)

 

[Chris_786]

No worries JD i started the thread to enable people to refer to it rather than have a million threads asking "what..." =] only put it up last night lol

 

[yellowbelly]

to be honest if you go on i4detailing and have a look at the sort of products you think you want there is a brief description thta should help you out a bit, then there is no harm in getting a list of what you intend buying and whacking it on here for peoples opinions. Having said that it pretty much comes down to personal preference so expect mixed reviews.

hope that helps a little

 

[tommys]

Thanks for all the advice.

Well atm I have things from halfords like turtlewax and auto glyn products but I dont particually think that they are very good. So I'll defo have a look through the websites etc which you've all said.

In response to what I want to achieve.. I just want to keep my car clean and use intermediate level products to do it, to begin with.

There are some small hairline scratches which I want to try and get rid of, but I don't know how to go about it.

Basically I just want to maintain the paintwork.

 

[mat-nos]

small localised scraches can be got rid of with an abrasive polish like scrach x then use somthing like ag srp/megs paint cleaner to help with hiding swirls.
it might be better to pay a detailer for a full correction then maintain it from there......

pm jd for a price, hes pretty handy with a polisher ;-)