Cleaning & polishing your motor

[CocoUK]

I'm looking to treat the old-girl to a bit of a scrub up as the paint work could do with a bit of attention.
I currently wash by hand using the two bucket method but fancy trying out a clay bar to lift off some dirt followed by a good polish.

Can anybody recommend a good clay bar to use & also any advice for a suitable polish?
Also what method do you use for cleaning your pride & joy?

Cheers.

[Norgles]

I have recently started using Meguiars products. They always seem to do an excellent job of removing dirt, grime and making both my cars look very very shiny. I use the following:

Ultimate Wash & Wax
Deep Crystal Polish
NXT Tech Wax 2.0

I have not tried a clay bar but fancy giving this a go in the Summer.

Cheers
Norgles

[fatwomble]

Probably worth asking here - http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/forum.asp?h=0&a...

here - http://www.autounity.net/index.php?showforum=13

or here - http://forums.seloc.org/forumdisplay.php?fid=107

[motorheadman]

CocoUK said:

I'm looking to treat the old-girl to a bit of a scrub up as the paint work could do with a bit of attention.
I currently wash by hand using the two bucket method but fancy trying out a clay bar to lift off some dirt followed by a good polish.

Can anybody recommend a good clay bar to use & also any advice for a suitable polish?
Also what method do you use for cleaning your pride & joy?

Cheers.

www.polishedbliss.co.uk

Use FinishKare 1000p sealant for the final stage.
Buy it from www.cleanyourcar.co.uk

[NJS25]

Try Bilt Hammer soft clay bar.

I have both normal and soft clays. Bilt Hammer allows you to use water as a lubricant rather than a detailing spray, the soft clay is ideal for elise, gentle on the paintwork and flexible for all the nooks and crannies.

Oh and it comes as big block so you just slice off what you need, should last a while.

Regards, Neil

[CocoUK]

Awesome replies chaps, really appreciate your time.

Right i'm thinking along the lines of:
1: Meguiars/Turtlewax wash
2: Bilt-Hamber Auto-clay SOFT
3: FinishKare 1000p (+microfiber cloth???)
4: Take it out & get it dirty again!

Bang on the money or should I be throwing something else at it?

[motorheadman]

CocoUK said:

Awesome replies chaps, really appreciate your time.

Right i'm thinking along the lines of:
1: Meguiars/Turtlewax wash
2: Bilt-Hamber Auto-clay SOFT
3: FinishKare 1000p (+microfiber cloth???)
4: Take it out & get it dirty again!

Bang on the money or should I be throwing something else at it?

I recently did this:

1. Wash with two bucket system / lambswool mitt
2. Dry with Poorboy's towel
2. Clay (Meguire's)
3. Wash again / towel
4. Blackfire gloss enhance
5. FinishKare 1000p

My 968 looks brand new and the dirt falls off when you hose it down!

[Cotty]

1. Wash with two bucket system / lambswool mitt / Meguiars
2. Dry with microfiber towel
2. Clay (Meguire's)
3. Wash again / towel
4. polish with Meguiars
5. Meguiars wax

Don't forget the glass, plastics, tyres, wheels etc

[iand17]

I used the megiuars soft clay kit which included a bar and spray did around 3 cars and good enough as a starter for £15.

I've bought the Blackfire polish and paint protection and found finish lasts really well although fair bit dearer than megiuars.
Check out polishedbliss website, tons of useful info and phone/email the guys and they will recommend a set of products for your budget.

[chris7676]

Doesn't waxing remove bits of your paint as well ? I'm sure T-Cut does and waxing seemed like light T-Cut.

[otolith]

chris7676 said:

Doesn't waxing remove bits of your paint as well ? I'm sure T-Cut does and waxing seemed like light T-Cut.

A polish is an abrasive. A wax is a coating. There are some products which muddy the waters, particularly at the bottom end of the market.

http://perma-shine.com/articles/difference-between...

[chris7676]

otolith said:

A polish is an abrasive. A wax is a coating. There are some products which muddy the waters, particularly at the bottom end of the market.

http://perma-shine.com/articles/difference-between...

Ah, thanks, much clearer now Does it mean that pure wax does need to be applied applied and left on the car (unlike polish) ?

[Bourj]

Not sure about waxing but polishing certainly does remove paint.

I couldn’t get on with claying. Think I could do a better job with fairy liquid and blue-tack. The principle of claying just does not add up to me.

How I clean the Lotus.

I Use water from my water butt. Very chalky where I am. It’s filtered before it gets in to the butt thanks to old sponges!

Cheap car shampoo and water in a bucket with a hose outlet that plugs in to my pressure washer. Using a fine mist I start off under the car, then under arches and wheels. I then reduce the pressure and spray the bodywork until white. Very fulfilling.
Using a mitt I clean the top to bottom of the car. Using a different cloth for wheels and under arches ect.

I then refill my bucket with this pink demon shine stuff and spray off the car and shammy. This stuff is great specicaly on black cars. No streaks

Once dry and if I feel like it I use autoglym extra shine resin polish on the main part of the bodywork and the normal red stuff for the sides (below calf height). I am told the extra shine stuff is the least abrasive. I use a colour match polish for the front to get rid of any peppering, but before doing that I apply some back to black or WD40 to the black bits like grille and light surrounds

If I am feeling really anal I use peanut butter on my tires before polishing the wheels. Smell nice too. Shame I cannot eat the stuff. Peanut butter also works in the engine bay. I mix the peanut butter with a bit of back to black and it work wonderfully, but must be applied sparingly and goes on better when warm.

I also use 3M scratch remover (with water) and colour restorer from the 99p shop for any scratches. The 99p stuff is very fine and buffs up a treat after using the 3m to remove the initial scratches.

I also have a black daily driver that I have owned for 10 years from new. I have learnt the less aggressive you are with paintwork the better it lasts. So I try to keep polishing to a minimum and will not be claying any of my cars in the future.

[Cotty]

Bourj said:

Once dry and if I feel like it I use autoglym extra shine resin polish on the main part of the bodywork and the normal red stuff for the sides (below calf height).

You need to wax after you polish otherwise you are leaving the paintwork unprotected.

[Bourj]

I use the extra gloss protection stuff in the gold bottle. Not the extra resin polish stuff as previously stated.

[otolith]

chris7676 said:

Ah, thanks, much clearer now Does it mean that pure wax does need to be applied applied and left on the car (unlike polish) ?

It's (usually) applied, allowed to dry to a haze and buffed off, but the objective is that it leaves a thin layer of itself behind, whereas after you've finished buffing a pure polish and wiped it off it should just leave the bare surface.

[Zp]

On my last car I always used Swissvax, which I'd coat the whole car with, put it in the garage overnight, then buff off the next day.
I don't think there's many waxes you can do this with (certainly not polishes) as they dry too hard to successfully buff off.

Saying that, I've had my Exige nearly 4 weeks and it's not had a waxing yet.

[trondhb]

+1 on Meguiars products from me.

I basically use:
- Lambswool Wash Mitt (http://www.meguiars.co.uk/product/244) for cleaning the whole car initially
- Quik Clay Starter Kit (http://www.meguiars.co.uk/product/194) to further clean the paint on the lower parts of the car
- NXT Tech Wax 2.0 (http://www.meguiars.co.uk/product/209)
- Insane Shine Tire Spray (http://www.meguiarsdirect.com/product_detail.asp?T1=MEG+G13124)
- Gold Class Trim Detailer (http://www.meguiarsdirect.com/detail/MEG+G10810) on all the black plastic parts

These products and some hours effort always made my old laser blue S2 look stunning :-)

[Cotty]

CocoUK said:

Also what method do you use for cleaning your pride & joy?

Just a little point I want to pick up on. Not method per se but don't try to do everything at once. Ok so you might like to wash your car once a week but you don't have to do the whole "detail" thing every weekend.

You might only clay your car once or twice a year depending on usage. You dont need to polish it every weekend but a top up of wax once a month or two should keep it looking good. Once you have clayed polished and waxed it the dirt and airborn contaminates should just slide off.

One weekend treat the plastic trim, few weeks later clean all the glass inside and out. once in a while brush interior and hoover when needed. Treat tyres every now and then. Basically just keep topping it up, a bit here, a bit there.
I cleaned a freinds Elise and went from this

To this in a day

To be honest a proper detailer would have laughed and pointed out a number of things I had missed but im just an enthusiastic amature and even I thought it could have done with more work but after 5 hours I was shattered and needed a beer. The owner was pleased though.