Everytime I clean my car I always seem disappointed.

I dont have access to a hosepipe so it's always a bucket job.

I use 2 buckets (1 clean water, other Autoglym Shampoo) and a wash mitt. I ensure the car is throughly washed and then dry with a microfiber cloth from Autoglym.

Then I put the polish on. Still unsure if this is right how I do it..... I put it on using a perfect polishing cloth and let it dry for a bit and then buff with another microfibre cloth.

Aqua wax is then applied.

Does this sound right??? The car looks ok after I've done it and beads water great but I always feel disappointed.

Anyone any tips???

disappointed?  why?  Please expand on that.

Check out the pinned section for lots of brilliant guides to cleaning.

You may be better off without the perfect polishing cloths. A microfibre to apply and a second to buff would be better.

Autoglym super resin polish is a very good product, which you can finish up with extra gloss protection

Claying does wonders too.....

Use a G3 clay mitt from halfords with car shampoo-ey water as lube. 

Very easy compared to using a lump of clay, and quicker too. 

Your paintwork may need claying and machine polishing to cleanse the paint surface and remove a few light scratches

You will then get a much better finish prior to using your LSP

AGAW is only a quick fix...Get some decent wax or sealer

I should have explained more....

 

Here's the steps I do:-

Rinse the car with a few buckets of water to ensure loose dirt is removed. I then leave this for approx. 1 min to drip off

 

Fill 1 bucket with warm water and AG Shampoo and another bucket with warm plain water. Using a wash mitt I ensure every panel is cleaned and soapy. This is where I think I am going wrong...

I wash from up to down (roof to floor), doing every panel separately (rear 1/4 panel, rear door, front door etc)  

 

After shampooing I then rinse off again. Then I notice where I have gone wrong.... I seem to miss parts of the doors/bumper etc. Often it is just the creases where the door bends etc but as soon as I have rinsed I find more stubborn dirt and then I have to shampoo again. How can I ensure I don't miss bits? (may seem a stupid question but maybe someone has a technique)

 

After final washing I dry with a AG Yellow towel. I think mine is getting poor as it just moves the water, it doesn't seem to soak the water up. Also some of the car will dry before I have had chance to reach the area. This leaves water marks, which do go if I wipe them over.

 

After drying.... I apply the polish. I have used perfect polishing cloths before and often find them quite bad as they sometimes break up. I have used the blue microfibre clothes and they seem to work but I am afraid I am going to create more swirls. I used the AG polish for Dark Cars (I forget the name of it). Also I am that bad I have white marks on the black plastics. Should I use any tape to mask areas if I am that bad.

 

Aqua Wax is then applied after polishing. This is the bit I like as I seem to get this right. I spray it on the car 1 side at a time and buff. I use a blue microfiber cloth again and often change cloths so I don't use any wet or dirty cloths.

 

Hope the above helps.. Just after a few tips or pointers as to what can be done better or anything I have missed. I have read the step by step guides but still seem to be missing bits or doing something wrong..

 

The car looks great when I have done everything but I just don't feel 100% perfect after I do it as I know it can be done better.

U wash roof to bottom on each panel 1st?!!!!

Not roof 1st, then upper body, then bottom, sills/bumper, wheels?!!!!!!

ChrisR will have a heart attack - eeeek!

I would not use aqua wax on a dry car its best used when drying the car. If the car is really dirty sometimes you just have to wash it twice. i would only use aqua wax as a top up after i used a more hard wearing wax like collinite or ag hd wax.

Do you have access to power as many jet washers will run off a bucket. If so I'd suggest you get one plus a snow foam lance. Without these 2 its always going to be harder as the combination will remove a lot of dirt before you even start touching the car. I've swapped from a mit to a dooka wash pad which is miles better IMO as the lambs wool fibres are longer than mf so get in and lift the dirt out better. I start on the roof, then bonnet, then tailgate as being horizontal surfaces the water doesnt dry so quickly then I do the doors top to bottom, using each side of the pad to do each door. Then same with the front wings. Next are the rear wings down to the crease lines, rear bumper but again not underneath it. I then do the front. At this stage I switch to a mf mit to doo the mudflaps, sills and the rear wings underneath and behind the rear mudflaps. The rear bumper underneath is last. I spray the wheels with bilberry cleaner and let it soak. Then rinse off the paintwork. Depending on how hot it is I may do the wheels next or finish the paintwork first. rinse the wheels then again apply bilberry wheel cleaner but now agitating with a soft wheel brush and mf mit then rinse again. To dry the car I use a wooly mamouth holding the corners and pulling it across each panal followed by a couple of large kent mf towels as these are easier to do the final stages with as the wm has absorbed most of the water and these are dryer and easier to work the more trickier areas with. Finally I use sonax qd, then dry the wheels with a couple of mf cloths.

Think getting some new towels will help.

This is the best guide:

http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/car-care-advice.html

If I'm snow foaming I do believe it's better to start from the bottom of the car and work up. (Ask yourself where is the dirtiest part of your vehicle?)

It's always the sills/bottom if the car right?

This way when I foam the car it's working on the bottom of the car, and by the time I have got to the roof, the run off from the top of the car has already started working again on the bottom that you have just done. So it's getting a bit of double action

That's My opinion on it anyway and it works for me.

I know a lot of people will disagree with it. But it makes sense to do it this way for me.