Gunslingermonk
Wrench Pro
Hello, I have recently bought a new car and want to make the effort of keeping it spotless. Any tips on polishing/washing? and if so what products would you recommend?
polish is abrasive and will remove a fine amount of the clear coat. this is from getting rid of swirals.
problem is you get manufactures the make hybrid stuff like ,meguires who make a wax with a little abrasion in it or autogym whos polish contains lots of fillers and a sealant so it fills in the scratches then seals.
wax and/or sealants seal the paint and leave protection over the top. im saying wax or sealant as there are differences. wax is natural, the sealants synthetic however again theres hybrids and mis labeling. the megs nxt wax that waynne mentioned isnt a wax its actually a sealant
1st up you can use the most expensive wax you like but the shine comes from the paint condition so clean paint using tar and fallout removers and clay the car.
polish the car to remove of fill any swirals you find. hand polishing your better to use a filling polish as youll be there for hours otherwise.
OK shopping list for you
Couple of buckets - 99p orange ones from B&Q will do
good nice soft lambswool wash mitt.
cheapo washmitt or sponges for the wheels
microfiber cloths
drying towel - can use the microfibres for this as well
most of the stuff as im guessing your not going to have machines to help you im going to recommend the autogym stuff, why because you can get it easy enough in halfords and its normally on offer.
shampoo - AG bodwork shampoo and condtiononer
clay - bilt hamber regular for the leon as its likely to have hard paint
tar remover - hard to beat autosmarts tardis for performance and price. youll need to find your local dealer, give them an email to find them http://www.autosmart.co.uk/Sales Enquiries.html prices vary but your looking at around £20 for 5 ltrs of the stuff. compare this to the fiver of so for the 500ml of tar remover from autoglym that would struggle to remove anything
polish - AG super resin polish (AGSRP)
sealant AG enhanced gloss protection - this is a nice liquid thats easy to apply and remove. or AG High Def wax. DO NOT buy this from halfords as its about double the price that you can get it online. or there are plenty of other options Dodo Juice range for example.
others not necessary but will make a difference
Fallout remover - iron x is the most common one, stinks to high heaven and removes iron contamination from the paint. very effective on wheels to remove the contamination from the brake pads.
wheel cleaner autosmart again for their smart wheels 5ltrs again and water it down a 3:1 ratio for heavy cleaning and 10:1 for light cleaning
an all pourpose cleaner (APC) autosmart g101 or you can get the daisy stuff from tescos.
tyre gel
washing the car
pressure wash most of the dirt off
spray on wheel cleaner onto wheels
fill 2 buckets of hot water - one wash one rinse. soap obviously in the wash bucket. if this is a big clean then you can add some APC or, and this is the only time ill say it, fairy liqud to help strip off the old waxes.
if using bilt hamber clay throw a piece in the soap bucket
soak the crap microfibre / sponge in the hot water wring out and agitate the wheels to remove dirt. leave for a max of 10mins and dont allow to dry. pressure wash again to remove. if they need another go do it now.
wash the car in small panels at a time. make sure you rinse the microfibre often in the rinse bucket - do not shake it about as you want the dirt to fall to the bottom.
once the car is clean pressure wash it again to remove all the soap.
spary tardis on all the lower panels and again leave for a few mins. it may need gently agitated with a microfibre then pressure wash off.
wash the car again quickly to remove any remains of the tardis - this stuff will melt the clay.
feel the paintwork if its doesnt feel like glass then clay
go around the car with the clay folding when dirty. make sure the bodywork is kept wet and use the soapy water as lubricant. youll feel the difference once its finished.
dry the car off start going round the car with the SRP work the polish for a few mins on each panel then leave a min or 2 then buff off. go around the car at least twice like this. the SRP has alot of fillers in it so will need to be done every couple of months as the fillers will wash out.
next seal the paintwork with your wax/sealant. apply in small overlapping circles or and up and down motion then left right hatching pattern to ensure full coverage. Leave for 15 mins of so to haze then buff off leave for an hour or so and give it another coat.
remember and do your wheels as well
apply tyre gel to tyres for that wet look if you have any
thats a quick list. having a 6month old wanting to type out the reply is making things hard
So If i Follow this literally step by step I will get a nice finish to my paintwork?
Hello, I have recently bought a new car and want to make the effort of keeping it spotless. Any tips on polishing/washing? and if so what products would you recommend?
Cheers PG, very interesting read and I will post pics for my skills to be assessed I have a slight problem however, after 1 week of owning my car, some t*** has buffed my rear bumper and has left some scratches. I will post a picture tomorrow when I got some light but I was wondering how much I will be able to buff out if at all?