*** The Car Cleaning Thread ***

[chrisoverson]

Hi Chaps .

Just ordered a brand new Ocean Blue SEAT Toledo and waiting for delivery.

As I should be getting the car with the paintwork spotless (in theory) is it a good idea for me to apply a decent sealant straight away (first sunny day at least)?

I've got a supagard kit which a friend of mine that works in a dealership valeting cars gave me a while back, and was thinking of doing it myself. I've applied it to my old car before and it worked well, although a bit pointless on a 10 year old Rover.

I was thinking of a gentle wash with Autoglym shampoo using a microfibre mitt, rinse, dry, then not sure if I should polish with super resin polish or not, then apply supagard, leave it a few hours, buff off, wax with autoglym deep gloss, rinse and dry.

Also was planning on doing the alloys in much the same way, but wouldn't polish them.

Never had a car that's actually worth cleaning properly before, does this sound like a good plan?

 

[Howard]

But...you can't.

I've had pretty much every wheel brush Halfords have on offer and they've all been ****.

TBH I only need a sponge to clean my wheels so I don't really care for brushes these days

 

[mrkambo]

Guys....

Cleaned my car last week and put all my towels and mitts through my washing machine as normal (handwash setting, no temp no spin etc etc)

My wookie fist mitt fell apart, im kinda upset!

Now....any recommendations on a mitt or should i just get another wookie fist?

 

[Howard]

I use one of these

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/washing-and-drying/meguiars-microfibre-wash-mitt/prod_305.html

 

[Voxination]

How do you find the Megs mitt in terms of sudding up Howard? I've got the lambswool one and it doesn't produce any sort of suds at all

 

[Howard]

It suds up fine, although I do use a quite gentle cleaner (Chemical Guys Maxi Suds) - it glides over the paintwork and cleans it with very little effort which is why I like it.

 

[mrkambo]

I use one of these

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/washing-and-drying/meguiars-microfibre-wash-mitt/prod_305.html

i use that on my wheels, i could get another one for the bodywork....

 

[shauncr91]

Can anyone help me identify what this crap is all over my wheels? It looks like road salt as it's very rough but I cant fetch it off at all, went at it with a clay bar and it shifted probably <10% of it

 

[Traffic_Warden]

It looks like really harsh stone chipping (basically like sand blasting) to me, have you tried polish on it?



Where is the cheapest place I can get wheel woolies (the 3 pack + 1 angled) from?

 

[Blackhawk47]

How do you find the Megs mitt in terms of sudding up Howard? I've got the lambswool one and it doesn't produce any sort of suds at all

I have the same megs mitt has howard but I don't really see how the mitt is going 'produce suds'. Surely it is down to the car shampoo.

Recently bought some autoglym car shampoo and has barely any suds where as meguiars gold class has loads.

 

[E61 Grouphead]

Get a Microfiber Madness Increditmitt or Incredisponge. They both have a foam bit in that will aerate the wash solution, which will apparently 'produce' more suds. More importantly, they are as safe as lambs wool with their two ply microfibre build, and they are more durable. Dirt comes out easier in your rinse bucket too.

Not sure on the wheels above, but maybe worth a going over with Iron X?

recently bought some autoglym car shampoo and has barely any suds where as meguiars gold class has loads.

That's good though isn't it? Suds don't actually clean. Suds/foam are just there for the sake of appearance. One of the best shampoos is Dodo Juice Supernatural, with next to no suds and no added scent.

 

[Voxination]

I have the same megs mitt has howard but I don't really see how the mitt is going 'produce suds'. Surely it is down to the car shampoo.

Recently bought some autoglym car shampoo and has barely any suds where as meguiars gold class has loads.

Come to think of it I did change shampoo at the same time... Blonde moment from me there!

Get a Microfiber Madness Increditmitt or Incredisponge. They both have a foam bit in that will aerate the wash solution, which will apparently 'produce' more suds. More importantly, they are as safe as lambs wool with their two ply microfibre build, and they are more durable. Dirt comes out easier in your rinse bucket too.

Dad has one of the Incredisponges and have to say it is rather good. Annoyingly he bought that at the same time I bought the lambswool mitt and now I feel slightly obliged to keep going with the mitt to get my moneys worth.

 

[DJMK4]

Compound polish / Wax

Hi all,

Its getting warmer now and I want to start giving my car a bit more of a clean, since I purchased it last Oct (its a used car, with 65k) on the clock, there are some minor marks and a few swirls I want to try and get out with some compound polish or resin polish, but not only that but to give my car a good polish/wax after all the winter crap on the road.


I want to try and buy what I need within a reasonable budget

I was looking at something called Gtechniq P1 - Nano Composite polish which seems to have good reviews and not a bad price.

Does anyone have any experience with this stuff?


I was thinking of getting the following:


standard triple wax shampoo bottle
Gtechniq P1 - Nano Composite polish
A suitable wax

What are people using to apply this composite polish ? pads of some sort?

 

[chanjy]

Wouldn't get wax shampoo if you are planning to polish and wax the car after the wash, just get a gentle shampoo.

You can get special pads to apply product and microfibre cloths to wipe/buff.

Gtechniq C2 v3 seems to get good reviews for the final layer, although it's a sealant not a wax.

 

[DJMK4]

Wouldn't get wax shampoo if you are planning to polish and wax the car after the wash, just get a gentle shampoo.

You can get special pads to apply product and microfibre cloths to wipe/buff.

Gtechniq C2 v3 seems to get good reviews for the final layer, although it's a sealant not a wax.

OK will do.

The GTechniq was specicially going to be used to buff out any marks, or swirls where they can be removed. Once the GTechniq is on can I then buff it off for the after results, and then apply a finishing wax?

 

[Jonnycoupe]

Not sure on the wheels above, but maybe worth a going over with Iron X?

Good suggesting. My wing was covered in brake dust/metal when my pads found the backing material. Took ages to remove with clay on the spot i tried, so knowing it was basically iron on the paint I tried Iron X and it pretty much washed off after the dwell time. VERY IMPRESSED.

 

[BananaDunka]

Any of you guys had a protection wrap applied to your cars? I'm exploring this idea just to keep the paint in good condition over the years. I just want to know what is involved in maintaining a wrap, I've heard that you're not supposed to put wax or polish on top of it?

 

[pepsilol]

I had a quote on my car for the protective wrap to stop stonechips etc. The price was something utterly lubricious like a grand if I recall correctly.

Cheaper for me to pass it off to a bodyshop each year.

 

[BananaDunka]

:S For that kind of cost I'd rather pay a bit more and get a full respray which will be more permanent! If that's the case then I'll just let stone chips and light scratches accumulate over time and decide once they get noticeable

 

[DXP55]

I used Iron X on my wheels this weekend - By heck don't that stuff stink

Dave