Complete cleaning newbie

[Gmj92]

Hi, i've been reading through some of the threads on here lately and seeing how amazing some of the cars look with a good clean and detailing work compared to my pressure washer (karcher k2) or taking it to the nearest drive through car wash.

Safe to say after looking at some of the threads, i'd like my car to look as good as some of the ones on here and evidently the drive throughs or pressure washes alone aren't quite going to cut it.

I own an 05 titanium 182, there's some marks i wont be able to get rid of, such as someone who must of opened there door just a bit too forcefully and took out a bit of paint on the passenger door, and somehow the previous owner has managed to remove part of the paint off the spoiler, and badly tried to cover it up.

Now i have no idea where id start with all this, or what products to buy and what order to use them in. I want my car to look as good as i can get it and don't mind spending a little extra to get it that way.

I've looked at some of the sticky'd guides on here, but theres a lot of info in them and i cant quite take it all in, so basically would anyone be able to help me out and give me some advice/ condensed version of a guide where they could give me a list of ideal products (I know its each to there own to an extent and i'm not trying to start a war on which product is best so opinions will be taken as just that, i'd just like an idea), and in what order / how to use them.

As mentioned, i have a pressure washer, but no machine polisher, but if someone could point me in a direction of a decent one i'd be sure to pick it up provided the bank allows.

Take this as talking to a guy who has basically never cleaned a car before, I dabled with my old 1.2 clio but that was just cleaning and then waxing, and the shine never seemed to stay for more than a few days.

Really hope I can get some good, straight advice as i'd really like my car to look as good as possible, Cheers, George

 

[LeeRS]

Hi George,

By no means am i a detailer, just a weekend driveway jobsworth but I do like a nice shiny car.
I don't have any machinery to do mine, I do it all by hand and a garden hosepipe.
I rinse mine with cold water from the hose on the "shower" setting to loosen up any dirt/grit then give it a spray with a bug/tar remover to get rid of any contamination (Iron X product)
Leave this on for a while and you will see it highlight any contamination that is still on the paintwork. Again, rinse this off.
I then use autoglym car shampoo using the 2 bucket method (you have probably heard of this) to wash the car, again, rinsing off with cold water.
Then onto the polish. I use autoglym polish and give it a good going over, panel by panel. I then use maguires quick detailer to get rid of any smears I may have missed. Every now and then I will give it a wax to seal the finish. There are loads of waxes to choose from but one with a high carnauba content is usually best for a nice colour pop.
Again, I give it another going over with the quick detailer spray to finish it off.
As said at the start, I'm no detailer, this just gives me the finish I want without spending a fortune on products.

 

[Paul172sport]

Start with the basics, it's a hobby that will soon escalate.
Get yourself a decent wash mit, drying towel and Ph neutral shampoo. Read up on the 2 bucket method and good drying techniques.
Then suggest af triple as a all in one Polish and cleanser. Then af tough coat. These 2 always give good results and both OK to apply by hand.

Then work on maintenance. As you get on you can move onto decontamination products like iron x and tar removers etc.

 

[Knuckles]

Hai, have a look through this as a pictorial guide

http://www.cliosport.net/threads/naughty-blue-1-2-enhancement.773165/

Get yourself a valet/detail kit which has the majority of what you need then swap/add things as you go.

Top tip* clay bars are the devil to newbies and inexperienced 'detailorz'*. Use chemicals to remove as much contamination as possible before considering touching the paint with anything. Including polishes/waxes. If you leave contamination on the car, all you're doing with clay, wax or polish is dragging that s**t across your paint.




*you'll notice a fair few people on other groups using 'a claybar to get a mirror finish!!!'... Eejits.

Hth, fire over any questions if you like

 

[yellowbelly]

Is this not the most frequently asked question?

 

[Rache]

I was just about to ask exactly the same q as the OP! First time I have had a car which I am interested in doing anymore to than just a wash (with a single bucket, horror!). There are just so many different products out there and as a newbie it's difficult to tell what (if any) the differences are.

Off to order some new cleaning products tonight based on all the info I have been reading on the forum so shall see how it goes!

 

[White16valver]

Hai, have a look through this as a pictorial guide

http://www.cliosport.net/threads/naughty-blue-1-2-enhancement.773165/

Get yourself a valet/detail kit which has the majority of what you need then swap/add things as you go.

Top tip* clay bars are the devil to newbies and inexperienced 'detailorz'*. Use chemicals to remove as much contamination as possible before considering touching the paint with anything. Including polishes/waxes. If you leave contamination on the car, all you're doing with clay, wax or polish is dragging that s**t across your paint.




*you'll notice a fair few people on other groups using 'a claybar to get a mirror finish!!!'... Eejits.

Hth, fire over any questions if you like :smile:

*Dumb noob question*


I thought the point of a clay bar was to remove contaminants from the paint so one didn't drag crap across the paint when using paint cleaner / polish / wax?

 

[Sunglasses_Ron]

*Dumb noob question*


I thought the point of a clay bar was to remove contaminants from the paint so one didn't drag crap across the paint when using paint cleaner / polish / wax?

Yeah spot on mate

 

[White16valver]

Yeah spot on mate

Cheers, I thought that was the case - it's just the way it was written could be read that it's the wrong thing to do!

 

[leeds2592]

Think what Knuckles meant is Tardis/Iron X etc should be used before claying to get as many contaminents removed as possible before claying.

 

[Knuckles]

*Dumb noob question*


I thought the point of a clay bar was to remove contaminants from the paint so one didn't drag crap across the paint when using paint cleaner / polish / wax?

It is, but with dedicated tar and fallout removers on the market, it's much safer to use spray on chemicals to dissolve the majority of the crap off the paint before considering touching it with a clay bar or anything else.

If you rely solely on a bar of clay to remove all the contaminants, the clay is getting loaded up and all that crap is being dragged across the paint.

So you're right, but there are much better and safer products to use before a bar of clay

 

[White16valver]

Ahhhh, coooool, I'm with you now.

Cheers gents :up:

My paintwork is shocking so I may well post up a pic and ask for advice because it looks like someone's T-Cut it with a brillo pad and I'm not even sure I've got any paint left to cut back and remove the scratches! penmouth: