Getting Started

danA3T · Jun 7, 2010

Hi guys,

As you might have read on the 8P forum, I've just got myself a nice Ibis White A3. I seem to have been lucky that the dealer was careful washing the car and hasn't left any swirls etc on the new paintwork.

I've also been checking out this forum and seen that sponges are a no-no so I've just been hosing down with a pressure washer thus far but it's pretty ineffective at removing dead flies and the like. So I've made a start with getting my own Karcher, but I could use some recommendations on what to use as part of my washing regime...

-What product to use with the Karcher (suds or detergent or whatever)
-What to actually wash down the paintwork with (eg removing dead flies and stuff) as the sponge and chammy are out?
-What to finish off with - I'm probably going to stick with doing it by hand so I'll need a cloth and some product again

Thanks guys,
Dan

JD09 · Jun 7, 2010

HI Dan,

Worth having a read of the Polished Bliss guides at the top of this forum, in the stickies.

But to get you started;

For pre wash, a foam lance from I4D/Polished Bliss coupled with a PH neutral foam.
For washing, two buckets, one filled with warm soapy water, the other just warm water. A meguirars wash mitt (lambs wool mitt) and shampoo (masses of choice, but personally Megs Gold Class).
For drying, a large, thick, plush towel or two and pat dry the car, rather than draggin it across the paint.

Really depends how far you want to go, £50 or £500!

What are you after for the last stage? Polish? Sealent/wax etc?

danA3T · Jun 7, 2010

Thanks for the reply.

JD09 said:
Worth having a read of the Polished Bliss guides at the top of this forum, in the stickies.

I've had a read of the white/light coloured sticky a few times and there's a lot of information but I found it hard to glean the products and techniques to use for getting cracking - especially as some weeks I'll have 20 minutes to do a wash, others I might have a couple of hours - and don't want to do anything stupid (causing swirls for instance) when doing a "quick" wash.

JD09 said:
Really depends how far you want to go, £50 or £500!

I think I'll be working at the fifty quid end of the scale so far mate - the car's set me back enough this month (got a Karcher half price from TJ Hughes though, happy days).

JD09 · Jun 7, 2010

Happy days indeed pal, always nice to find a deal

OK. Well my advice to start with is don't do a quick wash, unless it's non-contact i.e. just a spray with the Karcher.

I would suggest getting some protection on it. Technically speaking, it would be worth going over the car with something basic like Lime Prime on a hand pad. This preps the surface for wax and/or sealent. Then apply a sealent for long lasting protection, or a wax for looks.

If the car is a daily user and you are not likely to have time to top up as often as you'd like, get something like Chem Guys Blitz Spray - a long lasting sealent that will look just fine.

White can be a ****** of a colour in all honesty!

danA3T · Jun 7, 2010

JD09 said:
OK. Well my advice to start with is don't do a quick wash, unless it's non-contact i.e. just a spray with the Karcher.

That's exactly what I've been doing so far (see I've been paying attention as to avoiding swirls in the paintwork), but it's no good for getting baked on splatted flies from motorway runs.

The paint work beads up water pretty well, but I hear what you're saying about keeping it protected. I like the look of the Lime Prime / Chem Guys Blitz Spray combo - looks like even I'd struggle to ****** it up. Any material I should be going for/ avoiding for the hand pad?

I guess the best place is online to get stuff like this (polished bliss, cleanyourcar, etc)?

Ibis White's not been so bad yet (Fair enough I got the car in May) - nowhere near as the black three series I had a while ago, but time will tell. I have visions of having to wash the ****** thing every couple of days when the weather gets nasty.

Thanks fort the help, I gotta say your motor looks the dogs from your sig pic? Is it your daily?

JD09 · Jun 7, 2010

Good man, you've been reading!

Hand pad, I swear by Lake County pads and German Applicators;

http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/lake-country-light-cut-hand-pad-cat24.html

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/accessories/ultimate-german-applicator/prod_280.html

Those should sort you out just fine.

Thanks for the comments - it is indeed. Sadly came to me in a state; Audi washed for 8 years meant the paint work was more swirled than your typical bus shelter!!

fgaffney · Jun 7, 2010

I wish I could add more but JD's said it all.

I can only say what products I use and they are a PH Neutral foam pre-wash (http://www.i4detailing.co.uk/acatalog/HD_Snow_Foam_Lance_1L.html) followed by a two bucket, sheepskin mitt wash using Finishkare 1016 shampoo (http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=592) and I then pat the car dry with a Miracle Dryer (http://www.i4detailing.co.uk/acatalog/Miracle_Dryer.html)

For my wheels I use Valet Pro Bilberry Cleaner diluted accordingly (http://www.i4detailing.co.uk/acatalog/Bilbery_Safe_Wheel_Cleaner_2.html#aVPBIL1L) and the wheels are kept protected by PoorBoys Wheel Sealant (http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=9)

There's a multitude of products available for correcting and maintaining your paintwork but personally I have used Menzerna polishes (http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polis...50ml/menzerna-250ml-sampler-kit/prod_220.html) along with 3M Finesse-It (http://www.autopaint-pro.co.uk/1l-3m-09639-finesse-it-86-p.asp), Poorboys Blackhole (although you would use white diamond - http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/glazes/poorboys-white-diamond/prod_551.html) and my last step is to apply a natural Carnauba Wax.

Paint correction is done using a DAS-6 Dual Action polisher (http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polishing/polishing-machine/das-6-dual-action-polisher/prod_519.html) and always after clay. Wax is always applied and removed by hand.

You'll need to get some decent Micro Fibre cloths and I use these ones which wash up really well (http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/micro...sh-buffing-cloth-pkg/3-16-x-16-/prod_163.html) and if I was you I'd seriously consider buying a polisher in the very near future as the results can be incredible if you use it in conjunction with the right products. Just think what you could do in a 'couple of hours' with one?

Good luck!

JD09 · Jun 7, 2010

Good info there and nice to see some very good products in use.

One thing to add - if the wheels are protected as above, you will not need to use a wheel cleaner more than once a month at the absolute max. Once the wheels are protected with a product like PBWS, simple warm soapy water will clean them up a treat.

This can be reapplied as required, by cutting the wheels back with a light polish (Lime Prime again in all honesty) and reapplying PBWS.

danA3T · Jun 7, 2010

Ace thanks for the links

JD09 said:
Thanks for the comments - it is indeed. Sadly came to me in a state; Audi washed for 8 years meant the paint work was more swirled than your typical bus shelter!!

It always puzzled me that a premium card brand like Audi could employ such fools when it comes to looking after their cars (the dealer network).

Anyhow - the car's a credit to you mate, the paintwork looks like glass in the pics! Always loved a really good 8L S3.

danA3T · Jun 7, 2010

@fgaffney - nice one, thanks for that, I'll get the credit card out when I get home! Now all I need's some decent weather....

@JD09 - I was gonna ask about the wheels, I remember using a load of very harsh acidy based stuff on my 8L's wheels when I first got it as they were covered in brake dust. I'm trying to avoid that situation with the new car.

JD09 · Jun 7, 2010

Cheers Dan - the difference;

phoenixv6quattro · Jun 7, 2010

Hello mate, absolutely spot on advice there above! If you havn't much time because your family and work are raping you, but you still want excellent protection for/on your car that makes it easier to wash you could always invest in some Collinite 476. This stuff isn't the most shiny wax (though it is ok) but it gives your car A1 protection from the elements, and only needs applying once every 6 months. Very good stuff, well worth a thought! Not expensive either.......

http://www.theultimatefinish.co.uk/collinite/476-super-double-coat-wax.aspx?source=google-base

Ollie

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Getting Started

danA3T

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JD09

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JD09

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