I am a complete newbie when it comes to looking after a car. I’ve never previously owned a car I was proud of, the highlight being a Peugeot 306 TD that I trashed over time.

A year and a half ago on the advice of a mate I bought a silver MK1 (’03 reg) Octavia vRS estate and I am now beginning to get the car bug - with the help of some more friends I had already clayed, polished and sealed it fairly soon after purchase and it looked great, but the birth of our son put car-life on the back burner a year ago.

It is now time to try to sort things out, and give the car a little TLC. I got a stage 1 Revo remap about 2 months ago and love it. Although there are a number of small chips and scratches to deal with in the bodywork I am first going on a mission to tidy up the wheels, as they have a healthy build up of brake dust and assorted crud on them and get me down every time I wash the car!

I have treated myself to a trolley jack and axle stands, my plan being to get the wheels off and do them right, then not have to go beyond a normal clean for the next 6-12 months. I plan to get them off, give them a bloody good clean, then depending on the remaining crud levels either clay or polish them before sealing them.

I’ve done a lot of reading on this site and frankly there are so many opinions and products that you could go mad trying to figure out what to get and never actually get anything done. I’ve decided on the following:

To stick with my Armour All ‘Heavy Duty’ Car Wash shampoo.

I have 2 Megs Quik Clay kits just in case it all goes wrong.

Followed by Megs ‘All Metal Polish’... will this do the job on it's own?

...and rounded off with Poorboy’s Wheel Sealant.

I’m kitted out with various Microfibre cloths, lamb’s wool mitts etc and have got some extra Megs ‘Even Coat’ MF pads.

I’ve already given the car a quick wash and doused the wheels in Megs Hot Rims Wheel Cleaner - this shifted a lot of muck in preparation for the main clean.

So - I’ll probably make a day of it and try to take some pics to post here, hopefully showing an amazing transformation! But any helpful comments before I start? Am I missing anything obvious? Any hints and tips that will make a newbie’s life easier?

Cheers all,

Alex

Have a good read of the guides on here and also on Detailingworld. Be prepared to take plenty of time, be disciplined with things like rinsing washmitts, cloths etc - oh, and expect a bit of back ache (though that could be my age!!)

Referring to the wheels specifically there are a couple of products that will make the cleaning job a lot easier and that would be Iron Cut or IronX along with some AS Tardis but the products you have will do the job, it will just take you longer to achieve the results you may be looking for, dependant on how bad the wheels are?

Any pics?

No pics yet, I'd say the wheels are dirty with some bits of dirt that look like they'll be stubborn but they're not disgusting - a good bit of elbow grease should get most of it off.

A good bit of elbow grease should get most of it off.

That usually works for me......... :yes:

That usually works for me......... :yes:

Well, I spent the best part of 4 hours this afternoon having a crack at the first wheel, figuring things out as I went along - I'm hoping the others will be a little quicker!

I'm really chuffed with the result, the only downside being I can now see a couple of dirty great stone chips I need to sort out. It's not a grade A finish but as a first attempt I'm proper chuffed. I cleaned it, gave it a clay (which in hindsight i'm not 100% convinced was necessary), 2 layers of polish then 2 coats of sealant. The outside looks really good, the inside is a lot less perfect but a hell of a lot better than before!

How do I post pictures? Can't figure it out...

How do I post pictures? Can't figure it out...

There is an attachement interface just below where I am typing right now, so just below your response window or you can host images on various sites such as Photobucket, Imageshack, etc........

Right, let's see if these pics work..

This is the inside of the wheel before starting -

http://i1235.photobucket.com/albums/ff433/Kendo_KYY/IMG_0485.jpg

My workstation -

http://i1235.photobucket.com/albums/ff433/Kendo_KYY/IMG_0476.jpg

This is the best I could get the inside with the time and energy available! Better but still frustrating...

http://i1235.photobucket.com/albums/ff433/Kendo_KYY/IMG_0483.jpg

There are a couple of these buggers to sort out, but that's another project.

http://i1235.photobucket.com/albums/ff433/Kendo_KYY/IMG_0478.jpg

The finished first wheel. Unfortunately it was dark when I finished so this is under a garage light, but I am still pleased with it -

http://i1235.photobucket.com/albums/ff433/Kendo_KYY/IMG_0484.jpg

I did the second wheel today, and got arty...

http://i1235.photobucket.com/albums/ff433/Kendo_KYY/IMG_0487.jpg

So two down, two to go - I'm pleased with how they are coming out even if they aren't up to most people on this forum's standard. When the wheels are done I'll be turning my attention to stone chips on the bodywork, the exhaust, and maybe a rear ARB..... it's never going to stop...

Edited 10 February, 201115 yr by Kendo KYY

Looks like a good effort there..........

Cheers!

Good work, I've added the IMG tags for you to show the pics

Right, let's see if these pics work..

This is the inside of the wheel before starting -

My workstation -

This is the best I could get the inside with the time and energy available! Better but still frustrating...

There are a couple of these buggers to sort out, but that's another project.

The finished first wheel. Unfortunately it was dark when I finished so this is under a garage light, but I am still pleased with it -

I did the second wheel today, and got arty...

So two down, two to go - I'm pleased with how they are coming out even if they aren't up to most people on this forum's standard. When the wheels are done I'll be turning my attention to stone chips on the bodywork, the exhaust, and maybe a rear ARB..... it's never going to stop...

Thanks for that =)