wash/wax/polish/clay....

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myzeneye

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o.k..... call me ignorant..... but i really want to change my wicked ways and show my cars the love.
ive read a few things about washing ,waxing ,poishing etc.... and it all sounds good.
now, dont get me wrong, i keep my car looking well but i simply wash with turtle wax car shampoo, chamois dry and ocaisionally polish with auto glymm super resin. finish off with turtle wax wet n black...
it looks rather good when its done.
however, i understand now that waxing and polishing are two different things....
what is the correct order for doing these things??????
wash
dry
polish
wax ?????????

am i right to think waxing is like a milky wash over the car ??? does it need drying or is it better left to dry naturaly ???
i just dont know ????
clay bars ??? is this after wash, do you just rub it over the paint work ???#

help me help my car !!!!!!!!!
if anyone has a good routine they can share with me, id be greatful.....



/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/noidea.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/noidea.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/noidea.gif
 
OK...HERE WE GO...

1, clay bar (gets rid of stuck on rubbish on the cars surface)...if you use all the lube when doing this, a bucket of car wash shampoo will do the same job as you use the bar.

2, glaze - slightly abrasive will remove swirls and light oxidation, also brings back colour depth.

3, polish ..this is what brings back the darkness and the "ping" to the colour.

4, id use a sealant now ...synthetic type such as meguiars #20 or #21

5, wax - this protects the polish and holds the sparkle. (nxt is kind of a polish wax combo in one) or p21s which is legendry.

depends how mad you wanna go....but you can spend some serious time if you wanna!

check out cleanandshiny.co.uk for some great stuff.
 
From what I've learned it depends on how new your car is /how neglected plus how much you want to spend.
 
well, say i want to remove scratches that are visible, but not down to the metal ,just like scratches in the lacqure ( not sure how to spell that, but you know what im talkin' bout' wilis...)

and, what is best for black plastic trims... i use turtle wax wet n black, but this is a squirty spray and can be a bit unruly on application..... its alright though..... lasts well.
do the reknowed miguires do anything ??
 
Meguiars products are great, i have been gradually getting there stuff for a while as my old products ran out, and can thoroughly reccomend them.

Meg's do a trim detailer for the outside black parts which is a gel as opposed top liquid, so you use a pad to put it on where you want it.

I would also reccomend there 3 stage clean polish and wax treatment. It willtake an afternoon, but the stuff goes on and off real easy and the looks are fantastic. the paint is nice and smooth to the touch.

Can mail you pics of my old car if you want. I just picked up an a4 last week and haven thad the time to treat it yet.

HAve fun

Nige
 
Apologies for the bad spelling above, my minds on an auction item. Any questions please mail us, i will try to help.
 
Aye... that thread on tyresmoke.net is resposible for me ordering the following this last week:

1 x Porter Cable 7424 Random Orbital Polisher with Sonus SFX pads
Meguiars #80 Speed Glaze
Meguiars #83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish
P21s Paintwork Cleanser
Klasse All-In-One Polish
P21S Carnauba Paste Wax

Poor for another month... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
jimmy, can i ask what that little lot cost ????
firstly with the polishing tool and secondlt ,for just the materials.....

im just on the brink of taking my car to have a machine buff done, but with the price of it, im considering buying the gear myself for future use............. ???
only thing is, i know its a real messy job..... i borrowed a kakky buffer off the brother inlaw and only did the bonnet with it, the amount of polish that flew all over the windscreen, wiper arms and black plastic put me off straight away........
still, im sure with the right tools its not as bad.... right ???
 
I was in exactly the same boat mate... needed to get it done, thought I'd be better off buying my own gear. It broke down like this:

The Polisher and the pads are from the US based company Autopia: http://www.autopia-carcare.com/son-sfxpol-kit.html

If you join their forum you get given a discount code which gives you 10% off your first order, so that made things a bit easier. The lot with carriage came to about $190

Becuase it's from the States you'll need a 110v transformer, cabling and socket...

You need:

http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?id=73851&ts=85702

http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro....ll%26homeRef%3D

http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?ts=52613&id=19947


Which comes to £46 ish

As for the polish and wax type stuff:

Meguiars #80 Speed Glaze - £14.04
Meguiars #83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish - £15.40

from www.cleanandshiney.co.uk - this lot should get rid of the oxidisation, swirls and other imperfections.

P21S Paintwork Cleanser - £9.99
Klasse All-In-One Polish - £19.99
P21S Carnauba Paste Wax - £17.99

from www.seriousperformance.co.uk - there's a 10% discount to be had with Serious Performance if you're a member on the UK MK-IV forum /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

The Autopia website is a wealth of information - the How-to section has loads of useful stuff in it. Definately worth a look.
 
was quoted about £500 to have a cut & polish on my car. Hence bought the stuff as listed above. Got a sander from B&Q and was an end of line one so was lucky cause was cheap.
 
how much mess does the job create.... id have to do it on my driveway...... and what do you do when machining near to window rubbers and balck plastic trims ???
i have a transformer and lead.... im looking into buying an orbital sander but im unsure on what bonnets to use....do i need one for putting on and one for taking off for each of the different products??

thanks for the advice guys.........
 
bought some back to black for the black plastic bits on the car.

Used meguiars pad for sander. Only ised sander for the dual action cleaner/polish. Elbow grease using applicator pads for the other products.
 
[ QUOTE ]
bought some back to black for the black plastic bits on the car.

Used meguiars pad for sander. Only ised sander for the dual action cleaner/polish. Elbow grease using applicator pads for the other products.

[/ QUOTE ]

yes , but you know how polish leaves a nasty white stain on black plastic trims.... didnt it do this?? or if it did, did the back to black get it off or just cover it up ??? and again, was it messy ??? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beerchug.gif
 
Not sure if this works but I think I read it in AutoCar magazine about a month ago. They said using a "smooth peanut butter spread" on black plastic trim removes all the white stains caused by wax, polish etc.

I don't know if you leave it on for a while or what but apparantly they said it really works. They found Sainsburys own brand to be the best and it costa something like 89p.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Not sure if this works but I think I read it in AutoCar magazine about a month ago. They said using a "smooth peanut butter spread" on black plastic trim removes all the white stains caused by wax, polish etc.

I don't know if you leave it on for a while or what but apparantly they said it really works. They found Sainsburys own brand to be the best and it costa something like 89p.

[/ QUOTE ]

But unfortunately, unless you have the rare "Dogsh!t brown trim" option leaves a nasty mess on the car..... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
 
Daveo i read the same article, you put the peanut butter on, let it dry and then wash it off, the dirt etc sticks to the butter, also if you take a loaf of bread out whilst doing it, if you get peckish HEY PRESTO peanut butter sandwiches.
 
hey no promises it does work but worst comes to the worst it will be the only product you ever buy in your life that you can eat if it doesn't! Best avoid licking it off the car and not for people with nut allergies
 
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