Whats Best now?

[Funkyfin2000]

Hi There,

Ive got my car locked up (ooo err) and washed and polished and all clean and tidy......just had an autoglym wash on it and then wash and wet spray wax from turtle...

I would like to maybe now apply a clay or something like that to then polish off by hand to give it a nice deep shine.

I have also been told it has "bad deposits on some of the paint work" build up of grime and stuff, and its very rough to run your fingers along and doesn't shine up that well (Car is black by the way!)

What product would be best to get to or do i need a combination of products...not looking to go mental just something to try and give it a deep shine.....with the next product on....

Cheers peeps!

Rich

 

[Sisson]

if your going to clay the car the wax you applied is now useless.

Products you can use, [bought from halfords]

Meguiars clay bar kit - comes with quik detailer for lubricant

Now the car will have a clean smooth finish to build on.

Follow this up with Autoglyms Super resin polish - this will fill any light marks and restore some of the colour.

Now you want a wax to protect it all, you can use either Autoglym Extra gloss protection or even Meguiars gold class wax.

There are better products that you can get online, but these are fine if you want to spend little and get good results.

Also... if your using a sponge, chuck it in the bin, this will only inflict more swirls and scratches, get yourself one of the meguars wash mitts and also ditch your chamois if your using one and invest in a nice microfibre drying towel, i think autoglym and meguiars do these.

Hope this helps.

 

[Funkyfin2000]

ahhh all this is availble from halfords then?

What does the clay bar look like, it sounds like its like a soap bar but presume its a spray is it?? Will that get the grime off the paint, the rough stuff????

Excellent stuff, will do as you say but thats great.....with the car clean and stored in the dry at present i can go and start to put these products on...

any recommendation for the grey plastic???? or clay that too? Presume you don't clay the wheels or glass

Rich

 

[Funkyfin2000]

what do you recommend for applying each one?

1. The Clay?
2. Autoglym super resin?
3. Autoglym Extra Protection?

Looks like halfords are doing 3 for 2 as well on all products...which works well for me

 

[Reg]

The clay bar is, not surprisingly, a bar of clay. Using the supplied quick detailer as a lubricant (sprayed onto the panel you are working on), move the clay bar back and forth over the paint surface with just fingertip pressure. You'll feel its slightly grabby to start with, and even hear the 'hissing' sound. As the crap gets pulled out it will feel smooth as glass. Keep checking the clay very regularly - every few strokes - for any big lumps of shite it might have picked up, and keep folding it in half on itself to expose new clean clay. Its worth cutting the bar into 2 or 3 pieces at the start, keep the ones you are not using in a mug of warm water and swap them over now and again. If any of them touch the ground, put it straight in the bin. Once you have clayed all the painted surfaces, do the glass. Once you have done the glass, do your wheels. Then throw it away because chances are if you haven't clayed before it will by now be utterly shagged.

Rinse the car with water, then dry off, ideally using a decent microfibre drying towel.

Then you can polish with AG SRP, use a microfibre covered foam pad for that, work it well on the paint and buff off with a soft cloth. Once you've done all that, use another pad and apply a thin layer of EGP, in straight lines with the absolute minimum of pressure. No rubbing needed as you're not trying to break anything down. Leave it to cure for as long as possible - a couple of hours is great. Buff off and repeat this step if you can.

Now sit back with a beer and admire your handy work.

 

[Funkyfin2000]

great stuff dude, thats really really useful!

i shall go out and buy buy buy today at halfrauds....

hopefully have the clay bar stuff as i couldn't see it on their online site!

 

[Funkyfin2000]

just been and got the stuff...

got the clay kit from meguairs......got the applicator lubricant, the clay and some wax stuff (but won't be using the wax stuff)

got the autogllym bits and got a box of the 8 autoglym towels....

also got the megauirs drying towel as well so presume that will be everything i need

 

[Sisson]

sounds about right to me.

For the bumpers, try Autoglyms bumper care, awesome stuff and doesnt run.

Then you'll want some MEguiars endurance tyre gel on the tyres so they dont let down the rest of the finish.

Dont forget to post up after pics.

 

[Funkyfin2000]

yeah man will post up pics....looking forward to the challange tonite! its in a big lockup, will get the radio on and get going...

should i defo run the water over it after the clay has been lifted? inbetween the clay and the super resin?

I didn't get any pads as such, all i got was the autoglym 8 pack of clothes and the water magnet drying cloth....but presume i can just use the clothes for everything...

 

[Reg]

Run water over the clay? Doesn't make sense.

I assume you mean rinse the car, in which case, yes, its worth rinsing the car inbetween claying it and polishing it. Any little bits on the surface will be rinsed off, then you can dry it properly and have a totally clean surface before you start polishing.

And remember, not too much polish at a time, because that makes a dusty product ten times worse. If you've only got cloths then so be it, just make sure you don't mix up ones you are using to apply products with ones you are using to remove. And don't use the same towel to apply 2 different products.

 

[Funkyfin2000]

excellent stuff

thanks dude, will get to work tonite

 

[andy43]

Also... if your using a sponge, chuck it in the bin, this will only inflict more swirls and scratches, get yourself one of the meguars wash mitts and also ditch your chamois if your using one and invest in a nice microfibre drying towel, i think autoglym and meguiars do these.

Hope this helps.

I'm yet to be convinced about this wash mitt thing. I bought a pretty pricey one and found it a pain to use having your hand permanently in a moist, hairy glove puppet...and i noticed it traps a lot of grit and crap and holds it deep in the pile and it takes a lot of rinsing to get it out.
I now use a sponge all the time, they're so cheap you can buy a new one every week, and when I rinse my sponge its totally clean, no black grit and crap held inside like the mitt, so my question is why is a mitt good when it traps dirt/grit tangled in amongst the pile which you then grind into the paintwork, while the sponge releases the dirt into the water a lot easier.
Also I've read a few horror stories about these drying towels which again pick up and hold any missed grit and dirt in the pile and then scratch the hell out of the paintwork.

 

[Reg]

Thats improper use Andy.

The mit is doing its job by picking the grit up, and moving it away from the paint. Yes it does need to be heartily rinsed out, both by shaking in the rinse bucket, and rubbing against the grit guard at the bottom of the bucket.

The problem with a sponge is not that it hold onto the dirt, but the fact that when its in contact with the paint he dirt has no-where to go, so its just scrubbed back and forth between the surface of the sponge and the paint.

A drying towel is better than anything else, and if you have left dirt on the car then it won't matter what you use to dry it, you'll cause damage. But a chamois or water blade will be worse.

 

[jetsetjimbo]

Looking forward to some before and after shots.

Your first proper(ish) detail is always rewarding. I just wish I had somewhere away from the elements to indulge more often.

Have fun!

 

[Sisson]

you don't have to have your hand in the mitt either.

I tend to hold mine on the outside, on awkward bits.

I second what Reg says, the mitt is supposed to hold the dirt.

But if you do a proper pre-soak and rinse first, there will hardly be any muck left on the car...

 

[Funkyfin2000]

at the moment i use a halfords kinda square thing which is white with long straggly things on it....

going to start in a minute hopefully, prob leave it over nite to do the 2nd part...

do the first two things first...

 

[andy43]

Thats improper use Andy.

The mit is doing its job by picking the grit up, and moving it away from the paint. Yes it does need to be heartily rinsed out, both by shaking in the rinse bucket, and rubbing against the grit guard at the bottom of the bucket.

The problem with a sponge is not that it hold onto the dirt, but the fact that when its in contact with the paint he dirt has no-where to go, so its just scrubbed back and forth between the surface of the sponge and the paint.

A drying towel is better than anything else, and if you have left dirt on the car then it won't matter what you use to dry it, you'll cause damage. But a chamois or water blade will be worse.

That does make sense I suppose, just a bit disturbing peeling through the mitt pile and finding lumps of grit trapped in it. Luckily my car paintwork doesnt look like an ice rink so far, so maybe I'll try the mitt again.

 

[andy43]

you don't have to have your hand in the mitt either.

I tend to hold mine on the outside, on awkward bits.

I second what Reg says, the mitt is supposed to hold the dirt.

But if you do a proper pre-soak and rinse first, there will hardly be any muck left on the car...

Think I'll have to invest in a K'A'RCHER then. Damn car cleaning is an expensive business.

 

[Forbez]

As for the water magnet inflicting damage, that shouldnt be the case, as you should patt / dab the car dry, and not wipe it dry, to remove the risk of this happening.

As for it being expensive:
Here's pics of my recent order,

 

[Forbez]

Got a few more things that I haven't got piccy's of yet,

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