Hello folks,
After a couple of months of owning my new car I want to get away from just doing a quick wash and dry with a towel and actually give my car a proper clean. So I'm looking for basic advice/opinions for a beginner on which products/kit etc. Without spending hundred of my hard earned £'s.
Reading through the posts in this section just makes for a confusing read with names of products flying round everywhere you look. So what I want from you lot if you don't mind is advice on products for a right good clean from start to finish. Bearing in mind I do live in Scotland and it does tend to rain a lot with loads of shitty dirty roads, throw into that some road works and gritters throwing salt all over the place I want my paint to be protected.
Oh and the car is a fusion blue saab 9-3 aero that I would like to get it looking it's best and keep it that way.
I am currently looking at purchasing snow foam and lance for my PW, and possibly a DAS-6 pro DA to get started. What I need to know is what products do you recommend, ranging from polishes/waxes/sealants right down to glass cleaner/polish, tyre shine etc etc.
Cheers in advance
The first thing is a good website. Clean your car is a good one! I think Cliosport05 gets you a 5% discount aswell!
The advice here is for a BIG wash and what you'd typically do once a year or if it hasn't been kept up with.
If your car is particularly mucky you want to 'pre wash' first which is basically your snowfoam! Snowfoam it first following the instructions on it! Basically rinse the car with the washer to thoroughly wet it, ensuring you get all in the arch linings. Mix water and foam in the lance and let it sit on the paint for about 5 minutes and rinse off. This softens and removes a lot of muck so that there's less to remove when washing.
A good snowfoam is the clean your car own brand in the 5l container. It's cheap and PH neutral which means it won't remove any products you have put on the car to make it shiny or protect it like wax or a sealant.
Next do the wheels. Spray the wheel with a wheel cleaner and use a wheel brush and separate sponge to the car. Spray wheel cleaner onto the wheel and let it work for a few minutes. All the crap will be softened and pulled off the car and you can then wash the wheel with some shampoo water to clean the wheel, using the brush for intricate areas. Rinse the wheels with a hose or pressure washer.
A good wheel cleaner is wonder wheels hot wheels or demonshine wheel cleaner.
Next wash the car using the 2 bucket method which is widely known and can easily be looked up but in essence use 2 buckets, one full of shampoo and water one full of just water. Use a soft microfiber or lambswool mitt. Dip into the one with the shampoo and water, do a stroke of the sponge and inspect. If mucky, wash in the water bucket and only dip into the bucket with shampoo once it's clean again. Do this until the car is clean.
A good shampoo is autofinesse lather. This is also PH neutral so doesn't remove your wax. A good sponge is the dodo juice blue microfibre one and the various lambswool mitts are also good. For drying towels get good ones. I have a purple monster and it's incredible. I also have the eurow towels as they're great for applying products.
Next step is to remove the tar from your paint, the black dots mainly near and around your wheels where they splash road tar. This is best done with a dedicated tar remover. Spray the car all over, and work in with water on a clean sponge to agitate all the areas. Then rinse off after letting settle for a good 5 minutes.
A good tar remover would be autofinesse obliTARate. Autosmart Tardis is also widely regarded.
After the tar, use a dedicated iron remover to remove any embedded metal the washing and tar remover won't get. Sounds daft but your car picks up a real lot of contamination, even in a few months!
Spray this on and agitate with a wet sponge the same as the tar remover. Filings will show up on the paint and the black dots left by the product are the product highlighting and removing the metal deposits.
Iron X is great, try the lemon one as I was recommended, the normal one smells like death. Rinse the car again with water or a quick going over with the 2 bucket wash method to remove anything left from the products you've just used.
Next would be to clay the car to remove all remaining contaminants. Use a clay lube and do it whilst the car is still wet. Spray a 2 ft section with lube, and snap the clay bar into a piece as big as a finger. Make that into a flat disc and rub over the paint, ensuring plenty of lubricant is used as to not let it drag over and scratch the paint. It'll be worst near the wheels where all the s**t is. If you encounter resistance go over it again as these are the contaminants were trying to remove! Do the window's and headlights too!
Next dry the car and you'll have a pretty decent shine, as clay lube is also a fast wax and does add it's own element of shine.
I bought a kit from the aforementioned website from chemical guys being the clay block and luber set. Autofinesse also do a glide product as the luber and their clay bar separately which is good also! Get a mild clay as you'll inflict scratches if you don't know what you're doing with a more aggressive clay.
If the car needs polishing then you'd now polish. By hand use autoglym super resin polish in overlapping motions on a microfibre towel, buffing after 5 or so minutes. You could also use autofinesse triple, this works well by hand or on a machine too!
If using a machine by a DAS 6 PRO. I got the autofinesse revitalise system and read the stickied thread on how to use a dual action polisher in the detailing section. Using the zenith technique. This is how to remove swirls and scratches etc.
Next would be a glaze if you're going mad, which hides swirls and scratches and gives a good shine and overall depth of colour to the car. Use this on a machine on a low speed such as 1 on a finishing pad. Black hex logic chemicals guys ones are good. Also can be done by hand, work in with a microfibre and remove with a clean one after its dried to a haze.
Poorboys black hole would be effective on the car you have due to it being good for dark and blue cars.
Next would be the final protection.
In winter a sealant is recommended for its durability. It lasts a long time. A good easy one would be Hydro2. This is applied to the car whilst wet, allowed to dwell and is simply washed off. This can last numerous months and is highly rated on the forum. Another good sealant would be autofinesse tough coat, which you spray on and leave and then wipe off. These products make the water bead and sheet, thus carrying away the muck by sliding it off the paint.
A wax is another option but best saved for summer as waxes aren't as durable but tend to look shinier and better.
A good starter wax would be poorboys nattys blue. It's awesome. Wipe a small amount on a section at a time. Do the whole car and then remove it once you've waxed the whole car. Apply another coat the next time you wash the car.
Next just apply a good tyre dressing to the wheels. Autofinesse satin is good.
Then wax the wheels if wanted. Mint rims by autofinesse is excellent. It is harder and more resilient than csr wax and bonds to the rim, stopping dirt sticking and making it easier to remove during washing.
When you next wash the car just use the two bucket wash, doing the wheels first and apply another coat of wax. You could also use a quick detailer to wipe over the car. Spray a few sprays onto the paint whilst it's wet after washing before drying, then dry the car. This adds it's own shine and helps the sealant or wax out. After a few weeks apply another coat of wax to keep it topped up. Do this every few washes. Same with a sealant just a lot less frequently.
Remove bird s**t quickly with a quick detailer too. A good one is autofinesse finale I belive it's called or I personally use poorboys QD.
The car will shine like a b*****d.
Clay the car every three months or so and repeat the decontamination steps also. Never polish without decontaminating, I.E tar removal, iron removal and then claying. Remember this will remove wax or sealant so reapply after this.
Just a small write up
so if you need anymore help just ask.
All the products above can be found on clean your car.com and their delivery Is fast as hell!
@Knuckles. This is the longest thing I've ever written
you impressed? Hahaha
