Cleaning & Detailing: what did you do to your motor today?

[ckyliu]

Full detail with lots of products new to me, first time I've ever used a machine polisher of any kind:

1. Pre-wash with Koch Chemie Greenstar at 1:15 dilution applied with garden sprayer, then pressure washed
2. Fairy liquid (!) wash with an Incredimitt, then pressure washed again
3. Clay mitt with Mer's Clay lube
4. Katsu 850w 6" DA polisher with Scholl S20 Black One Step using Chemical Guys hex logic green pads of 3.5" and 6.0". Did about 4 passes per section.
5. Some very old Autoglym SRP glaze applied by DA using Chemical Guys hex logic black pads - surprisingly a lot less dusty than hand application
6. Collinite 845 hybrid wax applied by hand with a German tri-foam applicator

 

Roof has been done previously with Johnson's blue baby bath, an upholstery brush and Fabil+UV. Black plastic trim and rubbers previously done with CarPro PERL. Wheels I could not be arsed with today!

 

With hindsight I should've gone a bit more aggressive with the pad or polish since I didn't get all the swirls out but it is much better than it was. I am now considering some Koch H8.02 and orange hex pads for the really messed up areas. It's 6 year old soft Mazda paint and been subjected to a few dealer washes so it was very swirly. Apologies for the lack of Skoda!

 

Edited 15 June, 2021 by ckyliu

[JohnnyJohnBoy]

On 07/06/2021 at 21:39, nutters_uclan said:

 

Really good job, here, btw. I'm going to tackle this on "General Custard" soon, so this was useful to read.

 

You're just up the road from me too, I see.

 

 

Oh yeah...just over the border...I'm quite near Hedben so not far at all....I've been really busy with work the last few weeks 

so haven't had chance to give it a clean and already the black deposits on the caliper are returning. Surely I don't have to do a wheels off clean everytime to keep calipers clean?

Edited 15 June, 2021 by JohnnyJohnBoy

[whitevx]

Im loving this thread however with most of you all in the UK some of the brands you've mentioned I've not seen here in the sunny land down under.

 

My Karoq is about 2 months old and would love to throw a wax/polish on her. I know McGuire's and also Autoglym. I love a home grown brand call Bowdens own, and I've heard good reports of Purewax. Is there a polish you could recommend? (One that will protect and also shine)

 

I blame my new addiction of looking at whitedetail on youtube for this new interest.

[ckyliu]

@whitevxA lot of the brands discussed are not available in bricks and mortar stores in the UK either, we have to order online or from specialist detailing suppliers. I use stuff from all over the world: Chemical Guys, Poor Boys and Collinite are American, Koch Chemie and Scholl are German, from Britain I have Meguiars, Autoglym, Dodo Juice, GTechniq, Autofinesse and CarPro.

 

In terms of products it all depends how deep down the rabbit hole you want to go! Polish, protect and shine really needs two products for best results. I assume you are applying by hand, so my recommendation would be an All in One (AIO):

• Autoglym's Super Resin Polish. This isn't an abrasive polish, more of a "glaze" meaning it fills fine marks to achieve a smooth finish and shine enhancement, rather than removing a thin layer of top coat paint. It easily achieves nice results by hand although after a few months the fillers will wash out and it will need treating again, if you want it to last longer top with a durable sealant or wax and you'll probably see 6 months longevity from it.
  • Shake well before use, apply 3 skittle sized blobs on a firm foam pad and then work in small circles over an area about the size of half a door. Wait until dry to a haze, buff off the residue with a quality microfibre (not the crap they sell in supermarkets on the cheap, something like 350+ gsm Korean edgeless plush microfibre). If it gets a bit dusty coming off then dampen with a fine water mist. And don't get it on plastic trim or rubber as it's a pig to get out!

• Autofinesse Tripple is worth looking into too, it's a similar product AG SRP and some prefer it but could be harder to obtain down under.

• Autobrite Cherry Glaze is magic stuff, smells lovely(!), fills excellently and gives everything a warm glow but the longevity is rubbish, it lasts about a month outdoors if you don't top it with something. Probably an online order job in Aus too.

If you prefer permanent correction of minor defects and are willing to put in the elbow grease, Gtechniq Nano P1 is one of the most effective by hand but it's long, slow and hard work. There's no protection layer at all with this as it's purely fine abrasives, so you must top it with something. When cutting to correct you'll want a good firm foam pad, otherwise all the rubbing is for naught.

 

If you're happy to do a two stage process there's loads of easy "spray on, wipe off" waxes and sealants that can give a few months protection and a bit of shine but they're not going to hide any scratches so you would need one of the above polishes first. Think of this as an optional second step to make your work last longer:

• TAC Moonlight, Gtechniq C2v3, Gyeon Wet Coat or Kamikaze Overcoat are all hardy examples of the spray ceramic breed
  • Very easy to apply, generally misiting a couple of sprays onto a panel, spread around with one microfibre and remove excess with a second microfibre almost immediately; some are recommended to go onto a car that is damp after washing or be rinsed off immediately so do check the instructions. Waxes, sealants etc generally don't bond well to SiO2 coatings, so don't waste your time topping these with anything other than top-up sprays of the same chemical after a few washes.
• Collinite 845 is a hybrid liquid wax that I've sworn by for years, it lasts 3-6 months and leaves a lovely waxy glow on darker colours.
  • It's more work to apply then the spray stuff as it has to be wiped on with soft foam then buffed off after a quick cure and I do two coats. If using ensure you warm the bottle first and shake very well, then 4 penny size blobs is enough to do a whole door, you want it on really thin otherwise it's awkward to remove later.

 

Whatever you polish with, ensure the car is as clean as possible first because you're going to be rubbing all it all over and don't want to be dragging dirt across and creating scratches. One of the biggest things you can do to protect your car's finish is wash it carefully: that means spraying an All Purpose Cleaner (APC) on the lower areas to loosen as much dirt as possible, pressure washing thoroughly, then using a well lubricated shampoo with a deep pile or chenille noodle washmitt. Under no circumstances should a sponge go near your paint! And for drying afterwards, you will want a big plush microfibre, no old bath towels or chamois leathers! Poor wash technique imparts many fine scratches (swirls) that really dull the finish shine over time.

Edited 24 June, 2021 by ckyliu

[HeavyMetalRich]

On 24/06/2021 at 16:44, ckyliu said:

@whitevxA lot of the brands discussed are not available in bricks and mortar stores in the UK either, we have to order online or from specialist detailing suppliers. I use stuff from all over the world: Chemical Guys, Poor Boys and Collinite are American, Koch Chemie and Scholl are German, from Britain I have Meguiars, Autoglym, Dodo Juice, GTechniq, Autofinesse and CarPro.

 

In terms of products it all depends how deep down the rabbit hole you want to go! Polish, protect and shine really needs two products for best results. I assume you are applying by hand, so my recommendation would be an All in One (AIO):

• Autoglym's Super Resin Polish. This isn't an abrasive polish, more of a "glaze" meaning it fills fine marks to achieve a smooth finish and shine enhancement, rather than removing a thin layer of top coat paint. It easily achieves nice results by hand although after a few months the fillers will wash out and it will need treating again, if you want it to last longer top with a durable sealant or wax and you'll probably see 6 months longevity from it.
  • Shake well before use, apply 3 skittle sized blobs on a firm foam pad and then work in small circles over an area about the size of half a door. Wait until dry to a haze, buff off the residue with a quality microfibre (not the crap they sell in supermarkets on the cheap, something like 350+ gsm Korean edgeless plush microfibre). If it gets a bit dusty coming off then dampen with a fine water mist. And don't get it on plastic trim or rubber as it's a pig to get out!

• Autofinesse Tripple is worth looking into too, it's a similar product AG SRP and some prefer it but could be harder to obtain down under.

• Autobrite Cherry Glaze is magic stuff, smells lovely(!), fills excellently and gives everything a warm glow but the longevity is rubbish, it lasts about a month outdoors if you don't top it with something. Probably an online order job in Aus too.

If you prefer permanent correction of minor defects and are willing to put in the elbow grease, Gtechniq Nano P1 is one of the most effective by hand but it's long, slow and hard work. There's no protection layer at all with this as it's purely fine abrasives, so you must top it with something. When cutting to correct you'll want a good firm foam pad, otherwise all the rubbing is for naught.

 

If you're happy to do a two stage process there's loads of easy "spray on, wipe off" waxes and sealants that can give a few months protection and a bit of shine but they're not going to hide any scratches so you would need one of the above polishes first. Think of this as an optional second step to make your work last longer:

• TAC Moonlight, Gtechniq C2v3, Gyeon Wet Coat or Kamikaze Overcoat are all hardy examples of the spray ceramic breed
  • Very easy to apply, generally misiting a couple of sprays onto a panel, spread around with one microfibre and remove excess with a second microfibre almost immediately; some are recommended to go onto a car that is damp after washing or be rinsed off immediately so do check the instructions. Waxes, sealants etc generally don't bond well to SiO2 coatings, so don't waste your time topping these with anything other than top-up sprays of the same chemical after a few washes.
• Collinite 845 is a hybrid liquid wax that I've sworn by for years, it lasts 3-6 months and leaves a lovely waxy glow on darker colours.
  • It's more work to apply then the spray stuff as it has to be wiped on with soft foam then buffed off after a quick cure and I do two coats. If using ensure you warm the bottle first and shake very well, then 4 penny size blobs is enough to do a whole door, you want it on really thin otherwise it's awkward to remove later.

 

Whatever you polish with, ensure the car is as clean as possible first because you're going to be rubbing all it all over and don't want to be dragging dirt across and creating scratches. One of the biggest things you can do to protect your car's finish is wash it carefully: that means spraying an All Purpose Cleaner (APC) on the lower areas to loosen as much dirt as possible, pressure washing thoroughly, then using a well lubricated shampoo with a deep pile or chenille noodle washmitt. Under no circumstances should a sponge go near your paint! And for drying afterwards, you will want a big plush microfibre, no old bath towels or chamois leathers! Poor wash technique imparts many fine scratches (swirls) that really dull the finish shine over time.

 

Great advice!

 

A little tip I have discovered helps with the problem of getting polish on the unpainted plastic trims: cover them in your bumper/trim gel of choice before you apply the polish. If you get any on the trim after that, it just wipes off. If you don't want any bumper gel on your paint, apply masking tape before you apply the bumper gel.

[nutters_uclan]

14 hours ago, HeavyMetalRich said:

 

Great advice!

 

A little tip I have discovered helps with the problem of getting polish on the unpainted plastic trims: cover them in your bumper/trim gel of choice before you apply the polish. If you get any on the trim after that, it just wipes off. If you don't want any bumper gel on your paint, apply masking tape before you apply the bumper gel.

 

That's a good one, thanks for sharing. 

 

Also great to see another metal head on here! 

[whitevx]

Masking tape around rubbers/edges where you don't want polish to get is also a good thing too.

 

Im loving this discussion thread

[ckyliu]

I don't usually mask up when hand polishing, unless you're dead set on getting right up to the edge of seals and trim it's not necessary, you also immediately spot if you get any polish where it shouldn't go and if you're in quick with the isopropyl alcohol mix it's usually straight off. WD40 will shift a lot of polish too but leaves behind a greasy film. A pencil rubber works well on plastic with a grain. You can then bring up plastics afterwards with your favoured trim treatment (I like Carpro PERL).

 

Machine is a completely different matter though, you can really ram polish into places you don't want very quickly and remove the grain from textured plastics so you need to mask thoroughly and well (look at my smurf MX-5 earlier in this thread). You want a decent low tack masking tape if possible so you're not leaving goop behind, 3M 3434 is excellent but pricey, a cheaper alternative is SP80. If you are planning on masking then don't trim gel beforehand as the masking won't adhere well!

Edited 7 July, 2021 by ckyliu

[HeavyMetalRich]

Not done anything to any of mine today but have been polishing a caravan this past few days with Autoglym Super Resin.

[whitevx]

Thought I should post some pics of the end result of my big TLC weekend. Not the best photos but a great shine. My OCD resulted in each centre cap facing towards the valve stem haha

[HeavyMetalRich]

4 hours ago, whitevx said:

Thought I should post some pics of the end result of my big TLC weekend. Not the best photos but a great shine. My OCD resulted in each centre cap facing towards the valve stem haha

 

Very nice. I will have to tackle my Scout this weekend before we go on holiday next week. 

 

My OCD with the wheels has me putting the locking wheel bolts opposite the tyre valve and having the flat of the arrow in the badge perpendicular to said bolt hole. Needless to say, I hate wheels where the spokes and bolt holes don't line up in any way! 

[whitevx]

@HeavyMetalRich I can feel your pain and if I had locking bolts on mine I'd be putting them the same or the closest to the valve stem.

[HeavyMetalRich]

4 minutes ago, whitevx said:

@HeavyMetalRich I can feel your pain and if I had locking bolts on mine I'd be putting them the same or the closest to the valve stem.

 

Yip and it shouldn't matter because the bolts all have covers on and look the same but you just know... 

 

[JohnnyJohnBoy]

Absolute novice detailer here...

 

I had to take off the wheel to get the arch liner out so I gave the caliper a good clean...it was almost entirely black so probably rarely been cleaned 

in it's 11 years life. I've managed to get it to a pretty good state using detergent and then iron out and a very fine wire wool and a lot of time but it still not 100%. I used the iron out but I'm not convinced it actually does much more than any other cleaner...can anyone recommend a cleaner that will clean the calipers with like no effort at all 

 

Once I get them clean-ish I'm going to try waxing them with Finish Kare 1000p Hi-Temp sealant. 

 

While the arch liners are out I've give the arches a bit of a clean and I'm goint to clean the liners which are absolutely caked in bit chunky tar spots and similar. 

[nutters_uclan]

Another big gap between posts for me! I've been doing my regular washes to keep on top of the Octavias, but a lot of time has been spent fixing various bits and pieces rather than detailing.

 

That said, a 3rd Octavia has arrived and it's absolutely disgusting!

 

I've tidied up a few things already, but it's going to take some time to fully clean and restore this beast;

 

 

 

 

Halfway point on the engine bay;

 

For anyone interested, I'm documenting the full restoration of the WRC car on Instagram

 

Right, back to a leaky sunroof on the mk3, replacing ARB bushes on General Custard and cleaning up powersteering fluid leaks from the new arrival!

 

[steved83]

Added a layer of Carpro Gliss before winter sets in.

 

[HeavyMetalRich]

Cleaned the wheels of my Fabia vRS. Hadn't been done for possibly two months I'm ashamed to admit. Hoping to give it a proper wash this weekend depending on the weather.

[SC03OTT]

Winter prep wash yesterday. Didn’t take any pics as I was cold and tired by the end. Anyway, routine was:

 

Wheels

- Bilt Hamber spray at 4% and allow to dwell

- Rinse

- Carpro Reset spray and brush wash

- Rinse

 

Body

- Bilt Hamber foam and allow to dwell.

- Rinse.

- Carpro Reset wash.

- Rinse.

- Carpro Iron X, couple of panels at a time. Dwell and wash off.
- Full rinse.

- Carpro Tar X, couple of panels at a time. Dwell and wash off.
- Full rinse.

- Bilt Hamber foam and allow to dwell. 
- Rinse

- Carpro Reset wash (this is just to make sure all the above is removed)

- Carpro Reload. Coat and buff one panel at a time. 
- Carpro Hydro2 Lite. Spray one panel at a time and rinse. 
- Dry

- Tyres dressed. Carpro Pearl. 
 

Thats is. Maintenance washing every few weeks and the occasional top up of Hydro2 until March/April when I do the whole thing again. 

[SC03OTT]

Quick snap from inside the front door. Morning beading. 
 

[nutters_uclan]

6 hours ago, SC03OTT said:

Quick snap from inside the front door. Morning beading. 
 

 

Looks great! Speaking of winter prep, I really need to get a wax coat on my mk3 ready for the months ahead. Hopefully this weekend!

[nutters_uclan]

Hey all

 

I've changed up my routine a little, based on some tips I've picked up (from random YouTube vids and the Detailing Central group on Facebook).

 

 

Process (new in BOLD, removed stage strike out)

• Jet wash alloys, wheel arches and cills
• Spray alloys with AutoGlym Custom Wheel Cleaner & contact clean with Gyeon wheel brush
• Jet wash to rinse wheels
• Jet wash to loosen dirt up on body
• Snow foam (AD purple velvet)
• Jet wash rinse
• 2 bucket method wash (Sonax gloss - still using this and liking it. Exceptional value)
• Alloy clean (Gtechniq W6 Iron & General Fallout Remover then a general wash with the remaining Sonax shampoo)
• Dry (my trusty 10 year old woolly mammoth towel. Still going strong)
• Tyre dressing (AutoGlym Tyre Gel).

 

Here's "Warrior" later on that evening, shining even on a dull day. I'm still loving the Vega alloys, they really suit this car and colour I think.

 

Cheers

Edited 25 October, 2021 by nutters_uclan

[mandp]

Hello, Young Man,

Nice to see your car and read your routine.

Yeah I've had my Woolly Mammoth for 9 years now and as yours, still going strong.

One thing...do you not use a drying aid (such as `CG After Wash`) on the wet car before drying?

I live in a hard water area and water spotting is my nightmare and the above does help.

As you know its such a big car and I need to get around and dry it ASAP!

All the best.

Mike.

 

[SC03OTT]

11 hours ago, nutters_uclan said:

Hey all

 

I've changed up my routine a little, based on some tips I've picked up (from random YouTube vids and the Detailing Central group on Facebook).

 

 

Process (new in BOLD, removed stage strike out)

• Jet wash alloys, wheel arches and cills
• Spray alloys with AutoGlym Custom Wheel Cleaner & contact clean with Gyeon wheel brush
• Jet wash to rinse wheels
• Jet wash to loosen dirt up on body
• Snow foam (AD purple velvet)
• 2 bucket method wash (Sonax gloss - still using this and liking it. Exceptional value)
• Alloy clean (Gtechniq W6 Iron & General Fallout Remover then a general wash with the remaining Sonax shampoo)
• Dry (my trusty 10 year old woolly mammoth towel. Still going strong)
• Tyre dressing (AutoGlym Tyre Gel).

 

Here's "Warrior" later on that evening, shining even on a dull day. I'm still loving the Vega alloys, they really suit this car and colour I think.

 

Cheers

Id be jet washing after you let the snow foam dwell. The whole point of it is to lift dirt off the surface to prevent it being dragged over the paint work. By not rinsing, you’re not removing it before washing. 
 

Other than that, nice wee routine 👍🏻

[nutters_uclan]

26 minutes ago, SC03OTT said:

Id be jet washing after you let the snow foam dwell. The whole point of it is to lift dirt off the surface to prevent it being dragged over the paint work. By not rinsing, you’re not removing it before washing. 
 

Other than that, nice wee routine 👍🏻

 

I do! Doh, I missed it off!

 

7 hours ago, mandp said:

Hello, Young Man,

Nice to see your car and read your routine.

Yeah I've had my Woolly Mammoth for 9 years now and as yours, still going strong.

One thing...do you not use a drying aid (such as `CG After Wash`) on the wet car before drying?

I live in a hard water area and water spotting is my nightmare and the above does help.

As you know its such a big car and I need to get around and dry it ASAP!

All the best.

Mike.

 

 

Hey Mike.

I don't use a drying aid, but I'm fortunate to live in a soft water area. If I still lived in Suffolk, I definitely would do! Spotting and streaking was a nightmare, there, especially in summer. You could barely do a full panel of contact wash without having to jet blast it and dry before moving on.

Cheers

[Mr Grump]

No pics, sorry !

Found my car does fit in the garage  😄😁😎

 

As I  had some as some light swirls in some areas (not by me I add). *Note to self be very specific when car goes in for work in future !

 

So todays brief: 

Jet washed, Snow foam and TFR mix left to disappear then snow foamed again, left to dwell and rinsed.

2BM wash, Jet washed and MF towel dried.

 

Clay mitt+ detailer lube used on panels I planned to DA polish.

 

Nervously machine polished the panels that the swirls were noticeable in the sun.

Swirls were light so I thought start soft, (new to a DA and machine polishing) so used a finishing compound and a soft pad (Merzena 3500 pad/polish).

Then cleaned off remainder of polish with MF, followed by a wipe down with a mix of isopropyl and de-ionized water.

Inspected using the Auto finesse Swirl Correction Light (and the 6500k LED's installed in place of the old Fluro tubes in the garage). Appears my mission was successful 😁

 

Then  put a coat of Bilt Hamber Double speed wax on the entire car, Auto Finesse Revive on the plastic/rubber parts, Sonax BSD on the wheels, and Auto Glym Glass Polish on the glass.

Dressed the tyres with Finishkare Top Coat.

 

7  hours later sit down with a glass of Cider, for half an hour then start preparing tea 😌

 

Still to do:  clean out the window seals, and do the interior.

 

Purchased some more Gyeon Q2M Wetcoat for the next interim clean, I love that stuff 😁 (TBH I usually do a  full wax around once a year, the rest are interims ☺️).

 

Edit: Snapped some pics this moring, bit of dust settled but hey 😜

 

Edited 3 May, 2022 by Mr Grump
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