How to get the best result

[Pint]

Hi guys,

Was hoping some off you cleaning experts out there could advise me on the best methods to get the best result. Want to give the car a spring clean but im no expert.

This is a list of kit that i have at my disposal:

AG shampoo
AG SRP
AG bumper care
AG intensive tar remover
Megs clay kit
the usual wash mit, drying towels and microfibres

Took delivery today of some snow foam and poor boys wheel sealant

Also expecting tomorrow snow foam lance, megs wheel brightner with sprayer, megs apc and sprayer, 2x 1" detailing brushes and uber drying towell.

Can anybody give me a run down of what order i should be doing things and if theres a particular way to use each product to get its best results.

cheers

 

[Stonebaked]

That megs clay kit does an impressive job, I did my car last week. Feels so smooth :star:

 

[Cliotoby]

Best result?

Clean paint - Clay, iron x, tardis etc.
Multiple hours/days of machine polishing to remove paint defects, and refining to give the best possible finish.
Prime Strong to pull remaining dirt from paintwork.
Decent wax.

 

[Pint]

Best result?

Clean paint - Clay, iron x, tardis etc.
Multiple hours/days of machine polishing to remove paint defects, and refining to give the best possible finish.
Prime Strong to pull remaining dirt from paintwork.
Decent wax.

All very good but how about with what I have available?

 

[yellowbelly]

Best result?

Clean paint - Clay, iron x, tardis etc.
Multiple hours/days of machine polishing to remove paint defects, and refining to give the best possible finish.
Prime Strong to pull remaining dirt from paintwork.
Decent wax.

All very good but how about with what I have available?

Come on Toby, you know what the chap meant regardless of the title

 

[Cliotoby]

OK, Ill throw my personal opinion of products/methods you could use. Im assuming you want to know the best methods too? This post might get a little sloppy, I hope this is the advice youre after.....

Get your wash/drying technique right first.

2 Buckets. One for shampoo, the other for rinsing with clean water. (I use Megs Grit buckets, http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/washing-and-drying/meguiars-grit-guard-and-bucket/prod_232.html)
Decent washmitt (http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/washing-and-drying/eurow-sheepskin-wash-mitt/prod_452.html)
Decent Shampoo (http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/wax/dodo-juice/dodo-juice-born-to-be-mild-shampoo-500ml/prod_491.html)

If youre using a Megs Grit Guard bucket, 2 caps of Dodo Born Shampoo will be sufficient.

Pressure wash loose dirt off the car as best you can. If its heavily soiled then best use snowfoam. In the trap I use about 1cm of foam, rest water. Snowfoam the car, leave it to dwell for a few minutes (Do the wheels in this time), and then pressure wash off. Continue to wash car as normal. I start with the bonnet and front quaters first as to me theyre the most important pannels. Then go onto the roof and work downwards. Dip your mitt every pannel or before you need more shampoo. Youll see the benefits of doing this in the rinse bucket once youve done. Make sure you do all sills, door shuts etc.

Once youre done pressure wash the car down and remove all shampoo. If your car was well protected and waxed, you should then take the hose pipe with nothing on the end and run water over each pannel (Top down) to remove any standing water. In theory water will just run off the pannel. This makes drying easy and reduces damage to your paintwork from drying towles (Which are the worst cause of damage in my experience - if you have a bad one).

Dry the car with one of these (I have 2, I replece them once a year to keep them fresh, I also treat the towels better than I do my car) http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/pb-luxury-drying-towel-cat5.html
Youre ment to pat dry (Actually pat the paintwork with the towel) but with these I dont see the harm in wiping so long as they are immaculate. Dry pannels first and then dry sills and door shuts.

For your wheels (I do these first, or while snowfoam is dwelling), either use a strong wheel cleaner (Espuma, Non acidic) if theyre not protected, or a mix of shampoo of some sort (I use shampoo plus, as I use this as a bulk maintenance shampoo on company cars) if your wheels are protected.

Espuma - Dilute 10:1 for general use. Can use neat if required, believe me its powerful s**t.

http://www.espumadirect.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=16
https://www.envyvaleting.com/products_info.asp?id=236

Shampoo Plus (Also a good wash shampoo, but id stick with BTBM for your car)

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/washing-and-drying/meguiars-shampoo-plus/prod_322.html

Simply Spray the solution on the wheels and tyres, and agitate wheels and tyres with a brush (One of these)

http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/swissvax-detail-brush-cat25.html - For tyres and faces

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/wheels-and-tyres/ez-detail-brush-mini/prod_581.html - For inner rims

Id advise you to remove the wheels one day and give them a very good clean. Take the wheels off, Clean thoroughly (Espuma), de tar (With tardis - http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/autosmart-tardis-cat6.html), De Iron (http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/carpro-iron-x-cat6.html), Clay (http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/detailing-clay/sonus-ultra-fine-clay-refill/prod_327.html). Dry off properly, then apply a sealant. Either use C5 Wheel Armour (http://gtechniq.com/shop/3s-for-cars/exterior-coatings/c5-wheel-armour/) or Just apply FK1000p (I would buy this anyway to seal your doorshuts, sills and wheels - http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/sealants/finishkare-1000p-hi-temp-sealant/prod_589.html). Continue to wash wheels with shampoo (Light mix) as Espuma will strip the finish.

Will do the next bit in a minute.

 

[Cliotoby]

Next bit I guess is about protection/polishing. Big can of worms here. Everyone does it different and theres hundreds of products out there that do the same thing. Heres my 5p though.

I assume youre not going to polish by machine.

Firstly, Clay the car. Do this once every 6 months. I do mine in spring before a big machine polish (Roundabout now) and then again in October before it gets sealed up for winter.

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/detailing-clay/sonus-ultra-fine-clay-refill/prod_327.html

Use some clay lube, best off using a detailing spray so you can wipe the pannel with a drying towel once youve finished it, but light shampoo will suffice if youre a cheap skate.

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/detailing-clay/sonus-glyde-detailing-clay-lubricant/prod_42.html

Cut the clay in half or 1/3, warm it up under warm water and flatten it out, not too much just half the size it is already. Spray the pannel or area with qd, and the face of the clay bar. And rub. Do the whole car. Youll see the s**t on the face of the clay bar. Fold the clay once it gets quite dirty to a clean side. Throw away if you drop it or you cant fold it without getting a clean face.
This just removes all the ingraned shite and gives a clean surface.

Then onto the glaze/polish.

Id buy some Glaze, Poorboys blackhole (http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/glazes/poorboys-black-hole/prod_494.html)

Its Piss easy to use, and I do mean EASY, and cheap. Gives good results by hand, fills minor swirls and really gives a glossy look to paintwork. Also provides a suitable base for both sealant and wax.

Use a microfibre applicator (These are my favorite - http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/accessories/blue-perl-microfibre-applicator-pads-pkg/2/prod_186.html), apply 2 pea sized drops to the applicator, and just rub it into the paintwork.

Buff off with a Microfibre towel.

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/microfibre-cloths/ultra-fine-buffing-towels-pkg/2/prod_192.html

You could use different products, Like SRP you have. But blackhole is one of my favorites by hand.

 

[Cliotoby]

Onto the protection then.

Wax or sealant. FFS. Even bigger topic.

Sealant, crisp look, usually sealants dont bead all that well, more durable usually,often cheaper than wax.
Wax, Wet look, usually bead very well, most are pretty durable but you have to spend £40+ IMO to get one thats good. Dodo Juice waxes for example arent great.

You could top the glaze off with the Fk1000p youve used for the wheels (Forgot to add these in sorry - http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/accessories/meguiars-foam-applicators-pkg/2/prod_177.html). Its very durable, but it doesnt give the miost glamorus finish and it dulls metallic flake. I also dont like it on black, as it looks pretty streaky sometimes. If youre going to use FK, get an applicator pad (Link above) swipe the sealant in the tin once or twice and then apply it to the paintwork. Doesnt matter how you do it, wipe the pannel, do it in circles, rub back and fourth. Whatever. Just make sure its thin and even. Make it go as far as you can before loading the pad up again. With Fk, work 1 pannel at a time, apply the sealant, grab your mf cloth (Pink one linked in the blackhole removal bit) and do the swipe test. If its still greasy when you wipe the pannel with your finger, its not ready, if it wipes off easily and its fairly dry, get buffing. Just remove the product like you would remove SRP. Dont let FK dry, work 1 pannel at a time. FK is usually ready to remove once youve applied it - dries quickly.

If you want something more expensive and decent......

A good wax (One of many) Zymol Carbon.

http://monzacarcare.com/zymol-car-wax/zymol-carbon-carnauba-wax/0/

Same application as FK, except slower. Just apply very thinly, dont get too much wax on the pad. Just swipe the pot once when you need more wax, work it quickly and keep it warm and itll spread well. I usually do one pannel, do another, then go back and wait until its ready for removal (Swipe test). I like buffing waxes with eurow towels. (http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/microfibre-cloths/eurow-shag-pile-double-density-towels/prod_436.html). Should get you 3 months protection at least, I apply every month as im a ***** and like beading.

Nice tight beading......

I have more expensive waxes but actually for the price, and for the time period in which I re apply, I dont think Carbon can be beaten really.

Vics Concours (red) is good too but not very durable, its certainly up there with the more expensive waxes look wise. (http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/wax/victoria-wax/cat_60.html)

Pick a sealant any sealant. Jetseal 109 is good, works in the same way as your SRP does with a 15 min curing time. Doesnt bead well though.

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/sealants/chemical-guys-jet-seal-109/prod_484.html

Ive got a fair few sealants and only use them in winter. Ill seal my car up with a glaze, jetseal 109, and then spray the car down with Megs 135 every time I wash it.

 

[Cliotoby]

Basically, what you have is s**t.

 

[richy22]

No it isnt.

FFS some people really do have their blinkers on when it comes to detailing. I could go through the above posts and nit-pick every single product posted and post other "better" ones. But I won't/don't, the op never asked that question. "Prime Strong".... is this the new "Carbon"

OP What you have is fine, Sure its not the best but you asked what you should DO WITH THESE PRODUCTS I HAVE. I shall help you.....

This is a list of kit that i have at my disposal:

AG shampoo
AG SRP
AG bumper care
AG intensive tar remover
Megs clay kit
the usual wash mit, drying towels and microfibres

Took delivery today of some snow foam and poor boys wheel sealant

Also expecting tomorrow snow foam lance, megs wheel brightner with sprayer, megs apc and sprayer, 2x 1" detailing brushes and uber drying towell.

-Snow foam first (Preferably via foam lance, a proper one not the s**tty yellow ones..I could jaff more foam out of my japs eye then they create...)
-Whilst here attend to your wheels?..use the megs brightener (as long as you do this before shampooing I wouldnt worry)
-Rinse (obviously)
-Tar remover if need be. I put mine into a spray bottle and spray it on effected areas IF I use the Autoglym stuff (rarely).
-Foam again if you want...
-Wash with your shampoo
-Pat dry
-Clay using clay kit.
-Add SRP and remove. Ideally id say put something on top of this so im recommending EGP from autoglym...despite what people say it does protect and is very good. Buy it from Halfrauds.
- Hopefully by now you would of cleaned/dried the wheels so use your poorboys.
-Do bump/Trim bits if need be

Done.


NOW.... Yes the products you have might not be "great" have whacky advertising or dont smell nice but they are perfectly fine for someone who likes to give their car a spruce up.

Better products are available yes but thats another thread me thinks.

 

[Pint]

Thank you richy! The first to answer my questions. Lol

I know they are not the best products but for a novice I chose these based on reading through here.

Hopefully if my tw@t of a neighbour doesn't start re sanding and spraying his drive like he did today I will have a bash.

 

[richy22]

No problemo.

I forgot to add another wash routine in that list in-between claying and adding SRP....dont forget that.

The products you have are fine, they are not s**t (just not "the best" )

 

[JD]

Prefoam, wash, clay, wash, dry, polish, protect.

Products wise, there are better products out there, but you have asked to use those that you already have, which is fair enough.

As Richy has mentioned, make sure you protect your freshly cleaned paint work, or all of your hard work will be undone.