ckyliu

If you have one, leaf blower!

I recommend and oily diminishing polish and a medium foam pad, just be careful with heat build up in the pad, swap it periodically. VAG paint is pretty hard so anything too gentle won't make much difference! As the below are oily, you will need to clean up after with panel wipe or IPA to see how you got on. Polish one-step gentler option: Scholl S20 Black 1 Step Compound or Sonax EX 04-06 Polish more aggressive option (may need a second pass with something above to refine): Scholl S3XXL, Koch H8.02 or Meguiars Ultimate Compound Pads: At a minimum you'll want a couple of medium polishing pad but as I say, VAG paint is hard, so might need a cutting pad if the paint is bad. A pad with minimal cut for refining and application of waxes and glazes should also be hond. Chemical Guys Hex (orange then blue on hard German paint, green then black on softer Japanese paint), Scholl Spider (blue or purple, then oranges) and Meguiars Pro pads are all highly recommended. Wool and microfibre pads are more aggressive, generate more heat and more difficult to clean out whereas foam ones are a little gentler so suit beginners better. Remember to prime the pad first and spread polish across your working area (typically 2 ft x 2 ft but oily polishes will let you do upto a quarter bonnet) before whacking up the speed. Once primed you'll only need 3 pea sized blobs of polish, which should be worked until they go from milky to clear, that might take 3-4 minutes, anything more than that is probably pointless; 4+ passes (2 vertical, 2 horizontal, overlap your lines by 50%) moving at 1-2" per second across the same area, applying a little pressure and you should be good to go.

Autoglym's Fast Glass, inside and outside. Awesome stuff. Spray on, wipe before it all flashes (ideally with a microfibre but kitchen towel will do) and it's job done.

300gsm+ Korean edgless plush microfibres, such as: https://www.in2detailing.co.uk/products/16-x-16-plush-350gsm-yellow-korean-microfibre-edgeless-car-detailing-cloth https://www.in2detailing.co.uk/products/16-x-16-plush-400gsm-korean-edgeless-microfibre-cloth?variant=32816749117519 If you're on a budget there's these below but they do leave some fluff until they've been washed: https://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/purestar-light-touch-buffing-pkg-5

One thing to note with leather is it comes in many flavours. Traditional leather such as aniline or nappa will benefit from leather creams, feeding etc and is typically ungrained or only lightly embossed. The leather you get in an average non-premium brand car is not likely to be those types though, it's more likely painted and then plastic coated for more durability. Some of the trim may well be entirely synthetic. Leather creams and feed will just make coated or painted leather sticky and attract dirt since they cannot be absorbed through the plastic coating, and this dirt will wear them out quicker. However, you can be a bit more aggressive cleaning coated/painted leather and throw dilute APC at it with a soft upholstery brush, and then afterwards treat it as you would plastic; I find a solution of CarPRO PERL works well as this leaves a matt, non-greasy finish on all interior plastic and modern leather. I actually use my face degreasing wipes for cleaning my interior leather and pleather and it seems to work well.

Polish makes no difference as it's used to correct defects, it doesn't leave a protective film (AIO products generally leave some protection but you'll be lucky if that lasts much beyond a month). A good wax might provide a little protection, and I expect a ceramic coating might provide a little more, but ultimately you want bird poo off ASAP (generally within 48 hours) before it eat into the clear coat because as you said that won't polish out. To remove guano, a soft cloth soaked in hot water and applied to the droppings for a little while if possible will soften it so it's easier to remove, you don't want to go in scraping it off and scratching everything. And of course, prevention is better than cure so generally avoid parking under trees where possible (also honeydew won't damage paint but it's unsightly and makes it hard to see out!)

If you have to correct yourself by hand, GTechniq P1 Nano works very well with a foam applicator. You will be at it a while though, work it in small circles with some pressure. Have a bottle of water handy to mist on it, this will reactivate the polish. As others have said, machine correction with a dual action (DA) polisher is preferable but you may not have ready access to this and the required pads and compounds. Much will depend on how deep the scratch is, if it's gone all the way through the clear coat the best you will manage is to soften the appearance of it. EDIT: Just realised this is a thread revival 🙄 Hope it worked out for you!

I was given much useful advice at https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/478648-daro-polishing-machine-advice/?tab=comments#comment-5548053 Specific panel wipe chemicals are available but you can use a solution of 10-20% isopropyl alcohol IPA (aka isopropanol) that's nearly as good and a lot cheaper (under £2.50/L once diluted to <20% with distilled water). 4 plush microfibres are recommended for removing the polish before going on with the IPA, the Korean Edgeless 350 gsm plush is cost effective at around £2.50 a towel, there's also Interdetailings Open Pile and Rags Edgeless 300, then flip the cloth over and go in with the IPA spray. Make sure you get all the polish out the shut lines before it bakes in, the edgeless clothes are great for this. Scholl S3XXL, Koch H8.02 or Meguiars Ultimate Compound I would recommend to do a 1 step polish on harder paint with a medium foam pad, work them until they go from milky to clear as they're oily and diminishing. The diminishing should help avoid overdoing it, again using a softer pad will reduce the cutting action too. As these are oily they will need cleaning up afterwards with panel wipe so you can see the final result. I'm not familiar with Menzerna's range so can't advise there but they have a good reputation so I'm sure you'll be fine, if they're oily make sure you panel wipe to check your results, otherwise the oils will fill/mask defects temporarily.

I thought most people who lived on Dartmoor were at Her Majesty's Pleasure and thus have no access to a car 🤣

I wouldn't worry too much about temperature in Devon, it doesn't that cold compared to the Peak District where I ran seversal sets of Pilot Sport 4 on a RWD car all year - yes they drop off a bit when the gritters come out but I only had serious concerns in snow and that will upset any summer tyre. I've ran other UHP summer tyres (e.g. Eagle F1 Assy 5) all year and the only model I've noticed a really rapid drop off with declining temperatures is my current Falken FK512 that seem very unhappy at anything below 10'c. The PS5 has just arrived on UK shores so there's not much feedback on it yet. The PS4S is what they fit to quite a few supercars out the factory so may not be worth the extra cash unless you've got 300 bhp going to the rear tyres... If you are worried about performance in rare light snowfall and if/when temperatures hover around zero, a recent innovation is summer-biased/UHP all-season tyres; Michelin's Pilot Sport All Season 4 comes to mind and pricing is similar to the summer PS4, if you want better snow performance then there's the 3 Peaks Mountain rated M+S Michelin Cross Climate 2. These two models seem to demand the smallest compromise in summer and wet weather performance in exchange for better grip when its colder and could comfortably be run all year in most of the UK. You want to avoid Nordic/Alpine tyres such as Nokian, they are very ice and snow focused and will not work well in Devon's mild climate. To be honest I think any true winter tyre (so not even Nordic) is overkill in Devon, you'd be best running an all-season even just for winter (as would most of England and Wales imo, given their daily mean in Jan/Feb is still above 3'c).

The final result is very dependent on prep beforehand, to make it look shiny it needs polishing to the surface is glass smooth before you go on with waxes. Glaze is a bit of a cheat since it fills in defects rather than permanently correcting them, you get the results a lot quicker but they do wash out! I forgot to mention if you really want black to pop, Poorboys Blackhole show glaze is something of a go to for anyone interested in detailing, great results but longevity is pants outdoors it soon washes off. Autoglym SRP always gets a mention since it goes on very well with hand application, it's an All-In-One (AIO) so very similar to a glaze. There's Autofinesse Tripple too, I have no experience of that but people seem to rate it. With those two AIOs, they will last better if topped with a durable wax, I think that King of Gloss Dark would probably fit the bill but so would the 845 and spray ceramics I mentioned.

I run my pressure washer on max (it isn't adjustable anyway), but it is only a 110 bar machine (previously used 140 bar on my Fabia vRS though). The choice of nozzle and how you use it is more important. I have a low pressure nozzle that I use for the MX-5's mohair/canvas roof, everything else gets the normal fan jet at full whack. Wasn't familiar with Fusso King of Gloss wax but what I've read of it would not sway me away from my current wax of choice, Collinite 845 (which is an easier to use version of Collinite 476S that King of Gloss is often compared to). I'm all about the easy life and longevity, so once I'm out of 845 I'll probably switch to a spray ceramic.

Avon aren't British, haven't been for decades. The factory at Melksham stopped producing car tyres in 2018, they just do motorcycle and race tyres. The brand is currently owned by Cooper (USA), who in turn are owned by an Apollo (India) which have many factories across the globe. I think Goodyear had a go at buying Cooper, so it might be American again by now. Your tyre was probably made in the Far East, as with most budget and mid-range tyres.

Snowfoam requires a dedicated foam lance (the shampoo bottle bundled with pressure washers does not work well) which can be expensive and working out dilution ratios can be complicated; therefore I apply a non-harsh APC (Koch Chemie Greenstar) via handpump garden sprayer to soften dirt on lower areas prior to pressure washing - this isn't as fun and doesn't look as fancy but does the same job with the added bonus that APC can also be used for other stuff like the interior cloth and rubber mats (and my leather sofa indoors!). This is called the "pre-wash" and definitely worth doing, it really reduces the amount of dirt you have to remove during the "contact wash" which is where swirls (fine scratches) occur. Personally I favour Nilfisk pressure washers at the cheaper end of the market as they have aluminium pumps whereas entry-level Karchers are plastic (I think metal starts with the K4). Use a fan jet (never the rotary pencil jet of doom as it'll strip paint), keep the jet moving and work at an angle, never fire it straight into the paint or at seals. I've been using them for over a decade now and the only damage I ever had was on a bad smart repair where the clearcoat hadn't bonded properly, and I suspect it just sped up the failure tbh. Like any powertool, used with a bit of care they're great. For the "contact wash" do not use a sponge, a deep-pile or chenile noodle washmit is the order of the day - Kent car care have some for about £3 online and they're grand. You should rinse the mitt to get grit out of it before dunking it back into the shampoo bucket, you can use a second bucket of cold water for this (aka 2BM) but I prefer to use the low pressure setting of my jet washer. For drying afterwards invest in a good quality drying towel with large twisted loop pile microfiber that is deep, heavy and soft - should be a good choice for under £20. One towel should dry a whole car without wringing, I usually get the worst off with one side of the towel and finish it off with the other. Liquid Elements Silverback XL or Purple Monster Edgeless XL are examples. Chamois leathers are things of the past and that's where they should stay! I've got a step-by-step guide with product names in and application techniques I've written over several years as a guide for myself, I can DM if interested.

You're going to have to be more specific about the product, what "Ceramic Polish" is it you speak of? Like UnderTheRadar said unfortunately “ceramic” is a buzz word that everyone is using now, it covers such a huge range of things it’s almost meaningless beyond saying the product has some silica content that will promote water beading. And "polish" implies no protection abilities, polish is used to correct defects by fine abrasives and sometimes polymer fillers. Any long lasting tough ceramic coating with 3+ year life span requires professional application after machine correction (yes, even on a new car), it's unlikely to be a one day affair but plenty of detailers offer it using a variety of products, so you should find someone local who can get it turned around in a couple of days. Here's a post I did elsewhere last year that you may find helpful, the bit I've bolded in particular:

If you have access to a decent APC you can try that on it. Or better still a wet vac. I would think household carpet cleaner (e.g. 1001 mousse) should be safe to have a pop with too?

Best cure is don't wash in direct sunlight (difficult sometimes I know), I often do wash evening time when the sun is low in the sky so there's some shade. Then a good drying towel (the aforementioned Woolly Mammoth has a good reputation, you could also consider Liquid Elements Silverback XL and Purple Monster Edgeless XL). Finally you can try a spray of quick detailer or drying aid (discussed in some detail recently at https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/493668-drying-aid-and-quick-detailer/ ) whilst drying, this helps but don't expect miracles. I have no experience of water filters but would be interested to hear from anyone who has, I use similar things in my work to reduce limescale. I have noticed my Dodo SourPour shampoo reduces water spotting though, compared to my Dodo BTBM shampoo which doesn't have any wax in it.

@Ben46How you getting on with them? I had Rainsport 3 on my Fabia MkI vRS and they were very grippy... however they are so soft the fronts were knackered in under 8,000 miles. The sidewall was rather soft too which made roll more apparent, I think they suit lighter and comfort focused cars better, especially on the rear where the quick wear rate isn't a factor; they served well on a Mazda 2 under my care.

@StokesyQ2M primer is a very mild polish with a bit of SiO2 as I understand it, and VAG paint is very hard so you will not achieve any swirl correction with it, it will clean-up the paint for application of subsequent protection layer and apparently needs 12-24 hours to "cure" the SiO2 in it (note I have NOT used Gyeon products and I'm not very familiar with their system). If the car isn't new it's likely to have considerable swirling unless it's been washed carefully so if you have access to a DA polisher I'd use a one-step polish then clean up afterwards with an IPA solution or panel wipe; Koch H8.02, Scholl S3XXL or Meguiars Ultimate Compound using a nice firm pad (CG Hex Orange, Scholl Spider Blue or Purple) will give you significant correction but refine down quite well to a nice finish so the paint will be ready for protection products. If the paint isn't looking too bad, something less aggressive such as Scholl S20 Black 1 Step Compound or Sonax EX 04-06 may finish a little better, at the cost of correction ability, and are more suitable for semi-regular application when used with a softer pad. I wouldn't bother with the Q2M primer afterward proper polishing as you'd just be polishing what's already polished (unless Primer is providing some magical foundation layer that makes Can Coat last better), and definitely would not put Q2M primer on before other polishes (they could remove the SiO2 they say primer contains, and a polisher coaster than Primer may diminish the finish you already had). The only thing you may want to do is go on with a glaze (filler heavy polish that will mask remaining defects) like AG SRP before ceramic coating, if the coating is compatible with glazes. When you say "machine" is that a dual-action/random orbit? Rotaries are not recommended for beginners as you can damage paint if used incorrectly. Waxes, sealants etc generally don't bond well to SiO2 "ceramic" coatings like the Gyeon Can Coat you talked about, so don't waste your time topping those with wax or anything other than top-up sprays after a few washes. . As for longevity, even with top ups Can Coat will probably wear off after 6 months. Other products that are similar you could consider and get good write ups are TAC Moonlight, Gtechniq C2v3, Gyeon Wet Coat or Kamikaze Overcoat.

I've not done this but I presume after removing the existing badges you can sand back the chrome and spray on satin black paint? Providing you get a good key it should take nicely. Probably cost little more than a tenner. Don't know how much effort it would be to get all the chrome effect coating off though. Alternatively could look at an overcoat like Plastidip but that might chip off and look unsightly.

I don't usually mask up when hand polishing, unless you're dead set on getting right up to the edge of seals and trim it's not necessary, you also immediately spot if you get any polish where it shouldn't go and if you're in quick with the isopropyl alcohol mix it's usually straight off. WD40 will shift a lot of polish too but leaves behind a greasy film. A pencil rubber works well on plastic with a grain. You can then bring up plastics afterwards with your favoured trim treatment (I like Carpro PERL). Machine is a completely different matter though, you can really ram polish into places you don't want very quickly and remove the grain from textured plastics so you need to mask thoroughly and well (look at my smurf MX-5 earlier in this thread). You want a decent low tack masking tape if possible so you're not leaving goop behind, 3M 3434 is excellent but pricey, a cheaper alternative is SP80. If you are planning on masking then don't trim gel beforehand as the masking won't adhere well!

@whitevxA lot of the brands discussed are not available in bricks and mortar stores in the UK either, we have to order online or from specialist detailing suppliers. I use stuff from all over the world: Chemical Guys, Poor Boys and Collinite are American, Koch Chemie and Scholl are German, from Britain I have Meguiars, Autoglym, Dodo Juice, GTechniq, Autofinesse and CarPro. In terms of products it all depends how deep down the rabbit hole you want to go! Polish, protect and shine really needs two products for best results. I assume you are applying by hand, so my recommendation would be an All in One (AIO): Autoglym's Super Resin Polish. This isn't an abrasive polish, more of a "glaze" meaning it fills fine marks to achieve a smooth finish and shine enhancement, rather than removing a thin layer of top coat paint. It easily achieves nice results by hand although after a few months the fillers will wash out and it will need treating again, if you want it to last longer top with a durable sealant or wax and you'll probably see 6 months longevity from it. Shake well before use, apply 3 skittle sized blobs on a firm foam pad and then work in small circles over an area about the size of half a door. Wait until dry to a haze, buff off the residue with a quality microfibre (not the crap they sell in supermarkets on the cheap, something like 350+ gsm Korean edgeless plush microfibre). If it gets a bit dusty coming off then dampen with a fine water mist. And don't get it on plastic trim or rubber as it's a pig to get out! Autofinesse Tripple is worth looking into too, it's a similar product AG SRP and some prefer it but could be harder to obtain down under. Autobrite Cherry Glaze is magic stuff, smells lovely(!), fills excellently and gives everything a warm glow but the longevity is rubbish, it lasts about a month outdoors if you don't top it with something. Probably an online order job in Aus too. If you prefer permanent correction of minor defects and are willing to put in the elbow grease, Gtechniq Nano P1 is one of the most effective by hand but it's long, slow and hard work. There's no protection layer at all with this as it's purely fine abrasives, so you must top it with something. When cutting to correct you'll want a good firm foam pad, otherwise all the rubbing is for naught. If you're happy to do a two stage process there's loads of easy "spray on, wipe off" waxes and sealants that can give a few months protection and a bit of shine but they're not going to hide any scratches so you would need one of the above polishes first. Think of this as an optional second step to make your work last longer: TAC Moonlight, Gtechniq C2v3, Gyeon Wet Coat or Kamikaze Overcoat are all hardy examples of the spray ceramic breed Very easy to apply, generally misiting a couple of sprays onto a panel, spread around with one microfibre and remove excess with a second microfibre almost immediately; some are recommended to go onto a car that is damp after washing or be rinsed off immediately so do check the instructions. Waxes, sealants etc generally don't bond well to SiO2 coatings, so don't waste your time topping these with anything other than top-up sprays of the same chemical after a few washes. Collinite 845 is a hybrid liquid wax that I've sworn by for years, it lasts 3-6 months and leaves a lovely waxy glow on darker colours. It's more work to apply then the spray stuff as it has to be wiped on with soft foam then buffed off after a quick cure and I do two coats. If using ensure you warm the bottle first and shake very well, then 4 penny size blobs is enough to do a whole door, you want it on really thin otherwise it's awkward to remove later. Whatever you polish with, ensure the car is as clean as possible first because you're going to be rubbing all it all over and don't want to be dragging dirt across and creating scratches. One of the biggest things you can do to protect your car's finish is wash it carefully: that means spraying an All Purpose Cleaner (APC) on the lower areas to loosen as much dirt as possible, pressure washing thoroughly, then using a well lubricated shampoo with a deep pile or chenille noodle washmitt. Under no circumstances should a sponge go near your paint! And for drying afterwards, you will want a big plush microfibre, no old bath towels or chamois leathers! Poor wash technique imparts many fine scratches (swirls) that really dull the finish shine over time.

I used Kurust on my metal gates where the paint had flaked off, never topped it with anything and rust hasn't come back two years on, so I wouldn't worry!

Full detail with lots of products new to me, first time I've ever used a machine polisher of any kind: Pre-wash with Koch Chemie Greenstar at 1:15 dilution applied with garden sprayer, then pressure washed Fairy liquid (!) wash with an Incredimitt, then pressure washed again Clay mitt with Mer's Clay lube Katsu 850w 6" DA polisher with Scholl S20 Black One Step using Chemical Guys hex logic green pads of 3.5" and 6.0". Did about 4 passes per section. Some very old Autoglym SRP glaze applied by DA using Chemical Guys hex logic black pads - surprisingly a lot less dusty than hand application Collinite 845 hybrid wax applied by hand with a German tri-foam applicator Roof has been done previously with Johnson's blue baby bath, an upholstery brush and Fabil+UV. Black plastic trim and rubbers previously done with CarPro PERL. Wheels I could not be arsed with today! With hindsight I should've gone a bit more aggressive with the pad or polish since I didn't get all the swirls out but it is much better than it was. I am now considering some Koch H8.02 and orange hex pads for the really messed up areas. It's 6 year old soft Mazda paint and been subjected to a few dealer washes so it was very swirly. Apologies for the lack of Skoda!

Cheers for the recommendations guys, I ended up with Britemax Spray and Shine for now because I know it'll go okay on Collinite 845; the car is freshly machine polished and it has yet to rain so I can't say how well it performs yet. I may give BH Auto QD or CG After Wash a try next time, see how I get on with Britemax.