Hi all,

So picked up my new silver metallic fabia yesterday racked up a few miles in it. Then it dawned on me **** I'll have to give this a bit more love and care than my old hyundai i10 in regards to cleaning.

I've not really been into the detailing malarkey on previous cars I've had but with the fabia I've decided to make the effort. So question is for the colour of my car which products should I be buying for as someone who is in all honestly a newbie at this new car thing?

Cheers

Well I have only been here five minutes myself so not really qualified to advise other than have a read of this section while the weather is rubbish today and you can't go out anywhere.  In here you will find a mountain of advice regarding products to use some conflicting because different people prefer different products but it is all here for anyone to read up on.

 

I received loads of help when I first came on here and realised that I had been washing my cars wrong for years!  Others will no doubt add more later but my simple advice is read up on the TBM (two bucket method) and invest in a decent wash mit to use instead of a sponge and use microfibre cloths/towels instead of chammy leather.  There are loads of abbreviations that may not mean much to start with but if in doubt ask.

 

Since being on here I have spent ££££££s on products so I hope your wallet is healthy.   

 

What I do now is:-

 

Pressure wash the car down with water (hosepipe will do if you don't have a pressure washer)

Spray the car with a foam lance (Bottle attached to the pressure washer that you put a small amount of snow foam/car polish in) let the foam sit on the car and that helps shift the muck

Whilst that is doing it's work fill one bucket with clear water and the other bucket with water and a car wash product of which you will find out by reading all the threads and then use the TBM which will be explained in detail on here and in many links to other sites.

Rinse off and then dry with a microfibre towel and then I spray the car with something called Sonax BSD which is a polish that you just buff off with the cloths.

 

That is a 'very' simplistic form but really read up on here and if you are like me you will find it interesting/baffling and informative in equal parts.

Above all do not wash it with a bucket and sponge.

 

Hope that helps.

Regards Chris

A great reply Chris

Yep Chris has the basics down well there. Then a couple of times a year when your confident with this simple wash there's a couple more thinks to add in once the miles are racked up a bit. But reading through the sticky topics should tell you what these are

Cheers folks, away to see if I can find that Sonax stuff localy.

Chris has covered the basics very well for you. A jetwash should be a priority as it helps you remove most of the dirt from your car without making physical contact with it so helps prevent swirls and light scratches you can get one for under £100 if you're on a budget. Nilfisk are probably the best thought the e 145 is well worth the money if you can stretch that far. If you don't fancy snowfoam powermaxed tfr applied with a garden sprayer and jet washed off is very good. I use either a wax or a sealent, then use a quick detailing spray like sonax to 'top it up'every couple of washes then rewax again when needs be usually 2 or 3 times a year. Cleaning it ready for waxing is another subject but with a new car for now you can probably get away with just applying a good wax or sealer after you've washed then dried your car. Meguiars gold or AG shampoo conditioner as good and Halfords did have 3 for 2 offer on all cleaning products when I went in last Good luck

One of the better sites to look at for ideas including videos of how to is here.

 

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/

 

Regards Chris

Probably the best imho:

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

Yes was just looking for the link to that one Chris.  Thought I had it book marked..I have now!

 

Regards Chris