Ok,

I'm no expert at cleaning cars, and tbh I want my car to look clean and tidy but I dont want to spend more than say 5 hours from top to bottom at the weekend cleaning it.

At the moment I just have some turtle wax wash & wax which to be honest was a cheap tub I bought to keep my car clean but without spending ages, literally spray the car with water with the hose pipe, use a bucket full of warm water with two cap fulls of this stuff until it appears clean then rinse off and if I felt like it turtlewax spray car wax which was average to say the least.

What im after is:

Something to wash the car with.

Something to wax the car with.

Something to polish the car with.

My budget is in the region of

I'm no expert at cleaning cars, and tbh I want my car to look clean and tidy but I dont want to spend more than say 5 hours from top to bottom at the weekend cleaning it.

5 hours! :eek:

I Diamonbrited mine. It took about 6 hours to apply it, including a thorough clean and de-wax. However, to wash it now takes about 1

This how/what /i use to clean my cars. This is just a personal opinion and I'm sure everyone has there own methods (so don't flame me plz!). Here is what works for me.

Tools required

Bucket

sponge

Car mitt

soft brush

toothbrush

Quality chamois leather

Soft 100% terry toweling

'microfibre' cloth

Products I use and recommend

Autoglym Car shampoo

Autoglym super resin polish

Autoglym bug and tar remover

Autoglym clean wheels

Autogym tyre cleaner

Autoglym bumper and trim cleaner

Meguirs stage 3 carnuba wax

Meguirs claybar and detailer

A good few beers

Preparation.

1. Rinse car thoroughly. I use my jetwash for this. Pay particular attention to the wheel arches making sure you remove most/all of the grit and dirt you can.

2. Again concentrating on the wheel arches give them a good clean trying to get in all the 'nooks and crannies' and remove all the built up dirt that inevitably accumulates there, removal of the wheels are the only way to ensure this.

Change water

3. Now is as good a time as any to wash and rinse alloys using the sponge paying particular attention to the brake calipers. The calipers are best cleaned using a tooth brush and alloywheel cleaner. Most alloy wheel cleaners contain some form of phosphoric acid. While this does the job to great effect there have been reports of the cleaner actually damaging the finish of the wheels/calpier paint. I personally have not had any trouble with Autoglyms 'clean wheels' but you MUST make sure you do not exceed the timelimit stated in the instructions. Have the hose handy for rinsing the wheels/calipers off. Some aggitation may be required to loosen excessive build up of brake dust, especially if the dust has 'embedded' itself into the alloy. I use a soft brush for this purpose.

4. Get as much 'soot' off the exhaust as possible, don't worry if you can't remove it all as I'll cover that later.

5. Change water (make sure your bucket is completely CLEAN of brakedust and contaminates).

5. Sills. Er...clean em! You will find there is alot of tar spot contamination here but for the moment just remove as much as you can.

6. Change water again.

7. Give the car a good soak with luke warm water, this will help 'loosen' any stuburn stains such as tar spots and bug splats.

8. Wash with car shampoo using a lambs wool car mitt. I use Autoglym car shampoo (or equivelent CAR shampoo) NOT washing up liquid as some liquids have detergents that are too strong and will remove any previous wax/protective layers applied to the paintwork. I always make a point of washing the roof and boot of the car first-rinse-change water-side 1-rinse-changewater-side 2-rinse change water-bonnet and bumper-rinse. I ALWAYS use a car 'mitt' for this stage as a sponge will 'hold' grit on the outside of the sponge and this can obviously lead to scratches/swirl marks-not good. The reason I change water so often and then rinsing is because there is little point in using one bucket for the whole car as after you have completed one part of the car you will be using 'dirty' water to wash the rest in effect just 'shifting' the dirt from one part of the car to another. Don't forget to clean the inner doors/boot and bonnet 'surround's. Also give your windscreen wipers a wipe to remove any soiling there.

9. Remove tar deposits and bugs with Autoglym tar remover (or eqv). Around wheel arches, sills and especially the rear bumper is where you will find tar spots. The front bumper is obviously a bug graveyard. Elbow grease is required to remove the above. For bird crap make sure you remove as much as possible with the jetwash and DO NOT rub vigourously as bird poo contains seeds which will scratch you paintwork if care isn't taken.

10. Wash the whole car again with car shampoo (yes you can use just the one bucket now!) as this will remove any remaining tarspots/bugs/slight blemishes you may have missed while giving the car its initial clean. Rinse.

11. Do not allow the car to dry naturally otherwise watermarks will form on the paintwork. Instead use a quality chamois leather to dry the car thoroughly. While you are drying you will unfortuantely (if your like me) come across stone chips. I would suggest that once the car is dry to repair these before you wax the car as primer will hold better onto the original paintwork if it isn't waxed! Obviously you wont be able to wax the car until these chips are repared and time is given for the paint to dry completely. Do this before progressing onto the waxing stages.

Waxing

Once you car is COMPLETELY clean and free of blemishes you can set about protecting the paintwork. Try this : run you hand across a panel, if it feels rough then do step 12 if its as smooth as glass go to 13.

12. Use a claybar (I use meguirs) to 'pull out' any contaminates that have embeeded into the paintwork. Concentrate on one panel at a time. Once the feel is like glass then go to step 13.

13. Polish. I personally polish the car once every 6 months. There is a debate that polishing the car can cause swirl marks due to 'polish' containing mild abrasives. A good quality polish (I use autoglyms super resin) should damage you paintwork aslong as it is not used to frequently. I polish at this stage to remove any resins/waxes/blemishes that the previous stages do not.

14. Wax. There are many waxes around and the very basic rule of thumb here is to use a 'quality' wax such as swissol (very expensive in the short term but one of the best I hear), meguirs (I use this). Basicaly make sure that you are actaully using a WAX and not something that claims to be a wax but in effect is just a polish. Look on the contents of the bottle/jar/tub and there should be mentions of wax (carnuba etc) if there isn't then don't buy it. I personally prefer a rubbing wax rather than a 'spray' type as a rubbing wax is more accurate and not as messy. Using a quality polishing cloth apply the wax to one panel at a time and out of direct sunlight. Use circular motions when applying as this will apply the wax into the imperfections in the paintwork you cant see (swirls).

15. Use a separate cloth to remove the wax residue and then begin to buff. How much 'buffing' you do is personal but the more the better. This also applies to how many layers of wax you apply.

16. Use a microfibre cloth to 'finish' the wax and give your paintwork the best shine possible.

17 (optional) Everytime I give the paintwork a complete 'overhaul' such as this I like to apply a coat of wax sealant. I personally use autoglyms protection. Be careful here as some sealants can 'dull' the glossy finish of the hard waxing you have just done. Trial and error between brands I'm afraid but if you stick to one brand then you can be pretty sure that they will be compatible. I however use meguirs wax and autoglym sealant and they work well together. The sealant basically adds another layer of protection and makes the car shine for 'longer' by protecting the wax you have previously applied. Your paintwork is now fully protected against the environment as best as can be and will also be easier to clean next tiome around!

18. I also wax and protect the wheels (especially after cleaning them with wheel cleaner) as most alloys are painted and laquered and require as much if not more protection than body paintwork. Before cleaning off the wax residue I use a 'tyre black' (autoglym) product and leave it to soak in. Once its soaked in and dry I then buff the wheels up.

19. Autosol is fantastic for removing road grime/tar and caked on soot from the exhaust. Takes some rubbing in but the effects are worth it.

20. Bump strips/plastic trim. I've heard of peanut butter being used to gr8 effect for cleaning and 'blackening' the trim. I havn't used it myself as I use a plastic detailer and this works fine for me. Be sure not to get any of the liquid/cream (or butter!) on your shiny paintwork. Make sure you remove any polish/wax from the trim, nothing worse than a shiny car with white wax smears on the trim imo.

21. Finally the windows. I use a cream glass 'cutter' to clean ALL the windows including the windscreen. This removes every last blemish from the glass and leaves them sparkling. Don't forget the insides too.

Talking of interiors....nah...I think I've gone on too much :P

Oh I forgot to add that Autoglym have a 'carry case' that contains most of the products listed above for

My guide that I posted on UK-Polos:

http://www.tigerstyle.co.uk/poloforum/viewtopic.php?t=5967

OMG I wish i could spend 5 hours doing my car, well TBH no I dont I take 1 hour and its always gleaming no fancy stuff just my jetwash and Halfords wash/was stuff, been using it for a while now and it works without a problem gives me a nice shine without too much effort.

Jetwash off dirt, doing wheel arches in the process

change end put on brush fitment, cover car with soap while brushing

change end and rish off

turn to the fine setting spray on the same stuff out of the bucket used to wash the car but in wax mode

rinsh off after turning end again to full power

leave to dry for a few mins then leather off.

Admitidly I sometimes miss off the leather bit of the cleaning process but it still looks good.

Just my opinion, if I had my way I would get the butler to wash the car

Ic3man, I just cleaned my car almost how you do yours and I'll admit, a Turtle Wash and Wax like I (and Hellfire) used to do, is out the window. Brilliant!

I didnt do the calipers, alloys (I don't have any) and tyres, but the rest has bought the car up a treat.

Ic3man' date=' I just cleaned my car almost how you do yours and I'll admit, a Turtle Wash and Wax like I (and Hellfire) used to do, is out the window. Brilliant!

I didnt do the calipers, alloys (I don't have any) and tyres, but the rest has bought the car up a treat.[/quote']

Cool, glad I could help. It is hard work but I take gr8 satisfaction out of doing the job right (imo) and find myself glancing at the car on the drive more than i normally would;)