I've recently bought a year old black Octavia VRS and it came with a newly applied Diamond Brite finish. I have the shampoo and conserver and I might as well use it until the finish wears off but I need to get myself the basic washing kit to look after the car for the coming months. Having read through this forum and others it would appear that I need the following.

 

1. Snow foam lance for my Pressure Washer

2. Snow Foam

3. Wash mitts, microfibre or woollen

4. Two buckets with grit guards

5. Shampoo - presume the Diamond Brite will do?

6. Drying cloths - microfibre

7. Wheel brush/cloth

8. Anything else that I forgot - please advise

 

In doing this research I realise how badly I've treated our second car and maybe I should get a polisher and associated kit now and practise on it..... or is this detailing stuff better left to the pros?

 

Hi wheelspin.  You don't 'need' all that but you'll have a good process of you have, and use correctly, all that.

 

Might be useful to break things down.

1. General cleaning (exterior)

2. Paint and wheel protection

3. Paint correction

 

1. Aim is to keep the car clean, without damaging paint or striping any protection

 

2. Aim is to protect your clean car to make it stay clean, easier to clean, and protect from the harsh effects of the elements.  It can also add to the shine

 

3.  Damage does build up eventually, so this is about restoring a high quality paint finish.

blimey, no one else jumped in yet?

 

ok I'll carry on.

 

1. if you have a pressure washer you can knock a lot of the dirt off with that without touching the car, and hence no risk of scratches.  you don't need a snow foamer but they can help.  they work just like soaking dishes.  the foam clings, you spay and leave it to 'soak' for a short while, then pressure wash off, getting more off than normal.  not essential though, eve nthe pressure wash isn't, good hand washing with the 2BM method will do.

after the pressure wash you need to hand wash to get the remainder off.  2BM.  1 bucket has the shampoo water |(shampoo, kind to the car, unlike fairy, and won't strip wax etc so fast), one bucket with just water.  mitt gets shampoo water, goes to car and gets dirty, goes to the rinsing bucket and is cleaned, repeat.  this way you aren't putting dirt back to the car with the water/mitt.  it is surprising the difference a simple thing like this makes.  you can use grit gards if you want, they go in the buckets and help keep grit at the bottom away from the mitt, but...mleh, not essential.

use a mitt not a sponge, they are better at trapping dirt and pulling it away from the paint rather than just moving it around on the paint causing scratches.  there is a thread on here from only a week or so ago about what is your favourite mitt.  answers range from ound shop specials, to 10 or 15 quid or more.  look for a deccent size, soft and holds water nicely.  here it is  http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/358640-wash-mit-glove-sponge-brick/ 

 

more to come on 2 and 3 later

Edited 16 June, 201511 yr by neiln

oh and just thought...let's split out

4. decontamination - purpose is to remove firmly stuck dirt that damages paint, dulls paint and could cause swirls if not remove before applying sealant or polish

Finishing 1. After washing you want to rinse and dry to avoid water marks.   Rinse is obvious, dry the modern way with a good MF towel, patting the car.  There's a thread about MF cloths recently too, and one about... Iirc a paragon towel that is excellent.

I recommend a drying aid too, I'm sold after trying just once.  I used auto glym aqua wax but there are others.  Simply apply very lightly to a damp rinsed car and wipewith mfcloth.  Dries far easier and adds protection at the same time.

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/340276-microfibre-cloths/

2. Protection.  Waxes or sealants, or both.  Huge choice, from as little as a few quid for a bottle of liquid wax like turtle wax, to hundreds of pounds for a small had (I came across one priced at over £800 the other day!).  Everyone has their favourite, I hope others will chip in with suggestions.  They are a balance, cost, durability, appearance (gloss etc, some work better on certain colours), ease of use, beading.   Waxes are the old original last stage protection, generally glossy.  Sealants are synthetic waxes, often a bit more durable and often easier to apply than hard waxes, but lots of exception.  How often you need to apply ddepends on what you use, how much the car is used, washed, with what, where it is stored (garaged?) And so on.   I've been using AG EGP, a cheap-moderate sealant and get 4 to 5 months before the beading drops off.  

Application is similar for all but the high end ceramic coatings.  Apply to a clean car.  Wipe on sparingly, less is more, allow to haze, buff off. Got can do it by hand with a MF cloth.  I use a cheap buffer, the £15-£20 things at halfords or you can use a day polished, but you are fine by hand. 

You can get extra shine, wax over a sealant.  Wax can be layered for deeper shine and protection.

For any durability you need a clean car to apply to.  If you need to remove old wax use IPA and water, or APC.

Edited 16 June, 201511 yr by neiln

Great reply Neil..Cant really fault your reply

 

Ive nothing to add...except you mention 'patting' dry

I never do..never had any problem wiping..EVER

Patting is not for me..too Anal..LOL

 

Also..Its worth reading this guide too:

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

Re reading the bits I wrote from a phone... I hope they make sense!

 

Jumping to 4 for a moment decontamination.  Tar spots we are probably all familiar with, a tar removal product and a cloth is all you need.  This will strip wax too so just de tar every few months before LSP.

The other baddie is fallout, iron particles.  Causes rust marks and really damages/dulls paint. IronX from carpro, or various other makes, spray over a awet car, dwell, rinse off. Job done.  Be careful though, it stinks!   Sulphur pong!   Again probably only needed every few months.  Wheels get a lot of iron from the brakes stuck on them, more frequent ironX here.

Since I mention wheels, avoid acid cleaners as they can damage and dull the finish.  Iron x and car shampoo, plus's an old mit is all you need if you keep the car clean often.

3rd time lucky. (My connection keeps dropping!)

 

3. I'll invite the experts here to cover paint correction, as I'm still researching myself.

 

 

Just to add to 1/2. A quick detailing product eg sonax BSD can be used to remove light soiling like water marks and dust.  Easy, just spray, wipe, buff. Cleans, adds shine and protection in one very similar to a drying aid (many QD s can be used as drying aids)

More 4. I forgot clays. Even after tar and iron removal some small non visible contaminate will remain. It can be felt by running your hand/finger over the paint, as roughness. A clay bar or clay mitt like the g3 farecla is about £15 and removes this.

Have I really learnt so much that no body has something to add?   Well I say just a few words on 3 then, paint correction.

 

No matter how well you care for the cars paint it will tarnish or scratch slowly and you may want to restore it.  This is done by removing a fine layer of paint, restoring a smooth finish.  Take note, you only have a finite amount to begin, so you can only polish so many times before further restoration means a respray, so the guide is always be as gentle as possible.  However paint is reasonably thick and gentle correction, swirl removal, can be done yearly for quite some time

You've done well Neil

 

To add: I always recommend the use of a Paint Gauge prior to polishing

If you haven't got one, see if you can borrow one or get your local body shop to do it for you

When I get my car I was considering paying a detailer to do it, but from reading the advice from Neil above I think I might have a go at doing it myself, looks pretty straight forward, thanks for posting.

Edited 18 June, 201511 yr by SkodaFTW

When I get my car I was considering paying a detailer to do it, but from reading the advice from Neil above I think I might have a go at doing it myself, looks pretty straight forward, thanks for posting.

 

 

Good good - glad you are finding your way around the forum.

 

 

As I said on your New Members Intro post - feel free to give me a shout, as I'm not too far from you at all.

 

If I can help on viewing potential cars or when it comes to the detailing side.... let me know. :yes:

 

 

Failing that - maybe see you at one of the local meets when you get sorted....

Good good - glad you are finding your way around the forum.

 

 

As I said on your New Members Intro post - feel free to give me a shout, as I'm not too far from you at all.

 

If I can help on viewing potential cars or when it comes to the detailing side.... let me know. :yes:

 

 

Failing that - maybe see you at one of the local meets when you get sorted....

Thanks, very kind of you, I'll be in touch as soon as I get a car. Not going to look at that one I mentioned earlier. Someone has given me a heads up on a vrs in Wakefield which I'm going to see tonight

Thanks, very kind of you, I'll be in touch as soon as I get a car. Not going to look at that one I mentioned earlier. Someone has given me a heads up on a vrs in Wakefield which I'm going to see tonight

 

No problem - Happy to help

Good good - glad you are finding your way around the forum.

 

 

As I said on your New Members Intro post - feel free to give me a shout, as I'm not too far from you at all.

 

If I can help on viewing potential cars or when it comes to the detailing side.... let me know. :yes:

 

 

Failing that - maybe see you at one of the local meets when you get sorted....

 

Great to read Ste, superb community on Briskoda!!

Thanks, very kind of you, I'll be in touch as soon as I get a car. Not going to look at that one I mentioned earlier. Someone has given me a heads up on a vrs in Wakefield which I'm going to see tonight

 

Best of luck with your search. Great to see you're getting all the info you need off here and you're getting into the detailing side. it's the most rewarding part of car ownership for me, that and keeping my family safe. See you around on here bud.

A moment to add a few more words.

 

Really gentle paint correction can be done by hand, a gentle finishing polish and a cloth, together with time and effort.  However it does take time, and once done you need to wax or seal... So you will have worked hard if you do a car by hand.   You can break it up, do a few panels each week/month.  Or you can get a dual action polisher.  For any more aggressive correction you'll want a DA polisher.   From what I've read, and researched, a DAS-6 or its pro version is a good tool.  The DAP, a soft, medium and hard pad, finishing polish and some more aggressive polish will cover nearly all your needs to produce and maintain amazing finishes, total cost in the region £150 to £200.  There's a thread recently about getting started where someone posted a link to a group discount on clean your car, for a das-6 pro.

A moment to add a few more words.

 

Really gentle paint correction can be done by hand, a gentle finishing polish and a cloth, together with time and effort.  However it does take time, and once done you need to wax or seal... So you will have worked hard if you do a car by hand.   You can break it up, do a few panels each week/month.  Or you can get a dual action polisher.  For any more aggressive correction you'll want a DA polisher.   From what I've read, and researched, a DAS-6 or its pro version is a good tool.  The DAP, a soft, medium and hard pad, finishing polish and some more aggressive polish will cover nearly all your needs to produce and maintain amazing finishes, total cost in the region £150 to £200.  There's a thread recently about getting started where someone posted a link to a group discount on clean your car, for a das-6 pro.

Found it.http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/355700-any-good-as-a-starter/ 

For something to aim at, take a look at photos of cars Chris, samuir and many others have polished and sealed.   I thought my car was quite shiny until I saw them!

Found it.http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/355700-any-good-as-a-starter/ 

 

Nice one Neil

Great site, thanks for the info. So much to learn.