Washing Your Car!

Wife wasn't feeling so well today, so took the chance to give her car a full detail :)

Washed, de-tarred it (was full down both sides), polished and sealed with wax...then hoovered it out, cleaned inside and windows, finished with sealing glass and tyres dressed. very pleased with results and in good books (y)
 
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Spent a few hours yesterday, washing, buffing out a few swirl marks, then polished and waxed the car. Car was gleaming and I earned myself a suntan too. Just been out to the car to Hoover it out and what ever caused water droplets on the car over night had beaded and dried, but not before it was covered in sand / dust. My car now looks like a leopard. :(
 
nilagin said:
Spent a few hours yesterday, washing, buffing out a few swirl marks, then polished and waxed the car. Car was gleaming and I earned myself a suntan too. Just been out to the car to Hoover it out and what ever caused water droplets on the car over night had beaded and dried, but not before it was covered in sand / dust. My car now looks like a leopard. :(
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Well, the storm was coming from the southerly direction ......Saharan dust perhaps???
 
I clay-mitted mine yesterday, so quick to go round with it using a heavily shampoo rich bucket as lube. fnarr.
Then black-hole glaze, then 2 coats of FK1000p. Prob should have took a photo. It looks good but highlights how bad the rear wheels and the fabric roof are now. :LOL:
Got one rear wheel off to clean and it really needs refurb, fair bit of corrosion. Did me best and also tried car pro PERL on the tyre as a dressing. Think i may need a second coat, not that black/glossy really.
At that point gave up. My body feels like its run the marathon, bad back, bad neck, aching leg and arm muscles. #toooldforthissh*t ;)
May order some Renovo reviver and try the roof with that. Also may do the rest of the wheels this week and attempt the interior at some point. Front wheels should be fine to spruce up as they were renovated last year.
 
Keep an eye on Amazon as they’ve had some of the Renovo on their daily deals.

#withyouonbringtooold :)
 
Spent just over 7 hours last week on daughters fellas car. Full decontamination including tar removal, polished, sealed and a coat of wax. Glass sealed, interior cleaned and leather cleaned.

Very pleased with the results, very glossy and he was very happy.

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Spent from 10.30 to 7.30 pm washing the car friday. Pre wash/spray with Bh autofoam from a garden sprayer, 2 Bucket wash, Wax mitted, Super resin polished, then AG Extra Gloss protection applied. CarPro PERL applied to plastic trim. Then took front wheels off to clean, clay and reapply FK1000p wax and PERL the tyres. Ah well at least out in the fresh air all day.
Still got rear wheels, glass and interior to do. Sheesh.
 
Did next door neighbours new car for them yesterday. Wasn’t in bad nick, but for a 66 plate, was full of swirls and no protection on it.

Started about 8 in the morning and finished 3:30-4. Was chasing shadows as was very hot when the sun was on the car.

Full wash and decontamination.
Clayed it
Polished and cleanser polished it.
Applied sealant and topped with wax.
Wheels sealed and tyres dressed.
Exhaust tips cleaned and sealed as in a right state

Very pleased with it, as were they - was like a mirror :)

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DorsetDude said:
what did you use to seal 'em? Presuming autosol used to clean first.
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Hi mate, cleaned with Peak metal polish first - impressed with it as it brought the tips from this ...

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Then used some of my Raceglaze nano sealant on one and a wax (Bilt Ham DSW) on the other to see if one performs better than the other - first car I’ve done with 2 tips either side of car, so good opportunity to test 1 against the other.

Main reason for sealing is to just help keep the muck from proper sticking and make easier to clean.
 
Had chance to give the MX-5 it's first clean today after getting it yesterday.

Exterior, each wheel cleaned separately and archers, rinse, snowfoam, rinse, wash, tar remover, wash, rinse, dry, fallout, rinse, wash, rinse, dry, 1 coat of fk1000p.
It had a new winderscreen fitted so all glass cleaned with ipa then sealed with gtechnic g5.
Interior, leather seats cleaned with specific cleaner then conditioner, plastics with a interior cleaner/dresser, and a good hoover.

It really needs a clay and a polish but that will have to wait.

MX-5 09 by Scott, on Flickr

MX-5 06 by Scott, on Flickr

MX-5 05 by Scott, on Flickr

MX-5 10 by Scott, on Flickr
 
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foggy4ever said:
Had chance to give the MX-5 it's first clean today after getting it yesterday.

Exterior, each wheel cleaned separately and archers, rinse, snowfoam, rinse, wash, tar remover, wash, rinse, dry, fallout, rinse, wash, rinse, dry, 1 coat of fk1000p.
It had a new winderscreen fitted so all glass cleaned with ipa then sealed with gtechnic g5.
Interior, leather seats cleaned with specific cleaner then conditioner, plastics with a interior cleaner/dresser, and a good hoover.

It really needs a clay and a polish but that will have to wait.

MX-5 09 by Scott, on Flickr

MX-5 06 by Scott, on Flickr

MX-5 05 by Scott, on Flickr

MX-5 10 by Scott, on Flickr
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Looks very nice indeed. A mate I used to work with has one and loves it :)
 
Nice same model as mine except mine black.

foggy4ever said:
1 coat of fk1000p
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Only 1?! I put two on my MX recently. As an aside, do you find that the FK1000 is a bit sort of "flakey/crumbly"? I get little bits of yellow of it scattered round when I use it. Wondering if Collinite liquid wax or summat might go on easier but still give longevity?

foggy4ever said:
It really needs a clay and a polish but that will have to wait.
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Get the farcla clay mitt and whiz round like nobodies business. I must have finished in about 20 minutes with it. Break it in a few times on the windscreen first though and dont forget to give it a good rinse when finished.
 
DorsetDude said:
As an aside, do you find that the FK1000 is a bit sort of "flakey/crumbly"? I get little bits of yellow of it scattered round when I use it.
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I tend to get that when it's cold outside. I try and warm up the wax as best I can prior to applying (I just keep swirling the applicator pad into the wax or sealant) but a warm car or warm weather will help.
 
DorsetDude said:
Nice same model as mine except mine black.


Only 1?! I put two on my MX recently. As an aside, do you find that the FK1000 is a bit sort of "flakey/crumbly"? I get little bits of yellow of it scattered round when I use it. Wondering if Collinite liquid wax or summat might go on easier but still give longevity?


Get the farcla clay mitt and whiz round like nobodies business. I must have finished in about 20 minutes with it. Break it in a few times on the windscreen first though and dont forget to give it a good rinse when finished.
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I always give it a week between coats, second coat went on Saturday, then top up with purity x each wash after.

Don't have an issue with it crumbling.

I have that mitt but it's done a fare few cars by now so I'll wait till September when I have a week off and clay and polish it. Ive had a go on the sister in laws boot lid(NC 1.8) and it seems very similar to working on my Honda.

Also polished up the tail pipes with Autosol
2018-06-12_07-56-48 by Scott, on Flickr
 
Just read this thread through from start to finish and it's weird to think how much time, effort and money I used to spend on 'detailing' my cars.

I bought a DA polisher way back before they were even available in this country, so my Porter cable has an American plug. But to answer the question posted a few pages ago, they are, essentially sanders - you just need to put sanding discs on them.

The reason I bought one of those as opposed to a rotary polisher is because it's harder to burn your paint if you get it wrong. Not impossible though.

Back in the day I'd spend 9 hours cleaning our then car - a Black MKI TTC. But this was all BC (Before Children). Once we sold that car and bought an estate car, I still did it for a while, but lost interest (and spare time).

Back then, snow foam wasn't really a thing, but I have got a proper snow foam lance and the correct snow foam stuff, but I've not really been that impressed with it. The thing that made the biggest difference to cleaning an untreated car is a clay bar.

I helped a mate of mine clean his car before he sold it, and he was staggered with the amount of crap that came off.

Some of the tips i picked up along the way...

Don't do the classic Karate Kid 'Wax on, wax off' circular motions. Use straight motions whether you're washing, polishing or waxing - front to back along the car. This creates less opportunity for swirls.

Don't rush it. You can't get a mirror shine without having a flat surface - it's all in the prep.

Take your watch and/or any rings off.

DO NOT be tempted to pick up any cloth/sponge/mitt/clay bar off the floor using the 5-second rule. You might get away with it. Chances are very high that you won't.

When polishing, start off with the LEAST aggressive pads or polish and work up if they're not getting results.

Finally, do it if you have the time and want to put in the effort. For me, when i first started I had a new build house with a tiny garden that required no maintenance. These days, we have an old house where most of my weekends are involved with fixing something, painitng something, mowing something etc.

I simply don't have the time to devote to cleaning cars 'properly' that often. now i might do a pre-winter and post winter deep clean/polish/wax, but certainly no more often than that.

Here are some of mine over the years. Only the TT was new, and that I cleaned properly from day one...

TTC

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TT and the wife's Golf

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Golf

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Mini

Swirls:

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Swirls (mostly) gone:

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Does anyone on here use a DA outside on their drive as it were? Im sometimes tempted to blow a load of money on one but some sources say you have to be indoors at a conrtrolled 20 degrees etc to be able to do it properly.
Also , with the modern compounds is it something a beginner could pick up fairly easily and do without destroying the car paintwork?

Cheers
 
DorsetDude said:
Does anyone on here use a DA outside on their drive as it were? Im sometimes tempted to blow a load of money on one but some sources say you have to be indoors at a conrtrolled 20 degrees etc to be able to do it properly.
Also , with the modern compounds is it something a beginner could pick up fairly easily and do without destroying the car paintwork?

Cheers
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I've only every machine polished outdoors since I never had a garage large enough to store the car and work on it at the same time. A DA is less aggressive than a rotary polisher so much harder to burn through the clear coat. Wind blowing dust would be the main worry for me so I'd do it on a warm but dry and still day. Have a look on detailingworld about machine polishing. Here's a guide: http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=63859

If you're really worried, you could always get a bonnet from the scrap yard and practice on that. I never did that. I started off with applying a pre-wax cleanser (Lime Prime) and learning how to use the polisher over the car. After a while, I bought a sample pack of polishes (Menzerna) and used these - again starting at the mild end until I was more confident.
 
I take no responsibility for saying this, but I've rarely used mine inside.

Our old house's garage was only just wide enough to get one car in, but you couldn't move around it. So I always did it on the drive. A couple of times, I 'borrowed' my Brother in law's garage as it was a double, but it certainly wasn't the norm.

Our current house doesn't have a garage, but it does have a car port, so I do it under there, but that's because of convenience as it's nearer the house.

I'd imagine that, like every other hobby, there's an element of GAS and 'the proper' way to do stuff, and while I'm sure that in a hermetically sealed, dust free environment a professional would achieve a better finish, doing it outdoors will not ruin your paint.

As for compounds, as I mentioned above, start with the least aggressive you can. This goes for clay bars, polish and pads plus anything else that will/could remove 'stuff' from the paint.

Also mentioned on the thread is that German paint is notoriously harder than, for example, Japanese paint, so many products come specifically formulated to deal with them. As an example, the wax I used was Swissol Zuffenhausen (now Swissvax I think) and that was specifically for German paint. I remember the shock from my wife (and friends) that I was even contemplating spending upwards of £70 on a small pot of wax.

ETA - I've just noticed the tub I used to buy is now £130... and now says it's exclusively designed for Porsches :eek:

http://www.theultimatefinish.co.uk/...MIpKjG_P7f2wIVSZ4bCh35HAGBEAAYASAAEgKOEvD_BwE
 
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DorsetDude said:
Does anyone on here use a DA outside on their drive as it were? Im sometimes tempted to blow a load of money on one but some sources say you have to be indoors at a conrtrolled 20 degrees etc to be able to do it properly.
Also , with the modern compounds is it something a beginner could pick up fairly easily and do without destroying the car paintwork?

Cheers
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My only option is outside, I look for a cool cloudy still day if I'm lucky. Never had an issue.


Carport now up for the MX-5

Diy carport by Scott, on Flickr
 
As above, unfortunately garage is full, so not accessible for polishing / waxing - tend to do on drive and if (as we’ve had) hot, then move down side of house so in shade for most of car, not had a problem :)
 
Final touches with guttering added. Also bought a trombone cleaner for the rear drains, drivers side fine, passenger side blocked so well worth checking and keeping clear.

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Of course, who'd want one in black, somebody went up the kerb going round a bend yesterday because they were looking at it not where they were going, so far I've spent about £40 in Costco on cleaning products but I draw the line at a £15 bucket with a plastic grid in the bottom
 
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do it properly - wash/clay/polish/wax - but one panel at a time, especially if you are working outside

It will take you at least most of the day and probably carry on through to the next, that's why I suggest one panel at a time, completing the treatment on that panel, before moving to the next - I always do the roof first, (maybe treating it as 2 panels) and then the bonnet

when you have completed the wash/clay/polish/wax on each panel wash the car again using a hose pipe/garden watering can and mit - the water will run off the car so you can dry it with compressed air and microfibre cloth used lightly

Polish, polishes and cuts back the clear coat - how deeply you polish depends on how much damage there is to the clear coat and how far you wish to go - if there is damage to the paint, (under the clear coat) and primer, (the undercoat under the paint), this will need repairing as no amount of polishing will remove it .......... when you polish the car you are removing clear coat and there are various grades of polish, from very aggressive to less aggressive that can be use to achieve the desired work

wax protects and if you are really into "it" you can apply it with your hands:)

avoid working in sunlight - overcast shade is the best
 
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wack61 said:
Of course, who'd want one in black, somebody went up the kerb going round a bend yesterday because they were looking at it not where they were going, so far I've spent about £40 in Costco on cleaning products but I draw the line at a £15 bucket with a plastic grid in the bottom
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:D

I’ll keep my eyes open at Oulton for it if I manage to get down shortly :)
 
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