Calling all detailers !

MugMugs

Gentlemen and Ladies,

I need advice. I've got advice on this subject before and frankly walked away a bit confused by the whole thing.

I've got a black car which takes roof racks and kayaks on top. She spends a lot of time in Donegal and on beaches with salt water dripping onto her and in the winter months spends a lot of time covered in river water.

She also serves as a work horse for me during the week doing motorway and a bit of back road work and does good mileage.

I washed and waxed her on Sunday and although she looks well I still wasn't happy. I'm using old rags to wax and I won't even go into what kind of wax I am using either.

What I need are suggestions. I checked out a few sites and I just can't figure out whats reasonable and what's not.

I just won 80 quid so would like this money to go toward everything I need. What I need is everything to restore my motor to a factory fresh black gem. (for a toyota that is) I want a mirror glaze shine off her and something that repels the dirt.

I've got a leather chamois, some wheel cleaner, Turltle wax window polish, Aldi mitts and Turtle Wax car shampoo and a power hose.

Do I need a drying towel?

My demands !

1. I need a good claybar
2. I need a good lube for said claybar
3. I need a good polish
4. I need a good method of applying said polish and working it out (and I don't frankly mind hand work)
5. I need a good effective black wax
6. I need a good method of applying said wax (and again, I don't mind the hand work)

Can anybody point me in the direction of anything / all that fits the above?

MetzgerMeister

To get this "mirror glaze shine" you speak of, you will need to do a paint correction.

MugMugs

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

To get this "mirror glaze shine" you speak of, you will need to do a paint correction.

Which is highly labour intensive I assume ?

MetzgerMeister

Antares wrote: »

Which is highly labour intensive I assume ?

Well it took me 30 hours total to do mine!

MugMugs

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

Well it took me 30 hours total to do mine!

Feck the Glaze so !

What do you generally use for your current motor re the above? What kind of clay bars did you have on her? Or polish/wax?

MetzgerMeister

Antares wrote: »

Feck the Glaze so !

What do you generally use for your current motor re the above? What kind of clay bars did you have on her? Or polish/wax?

Meguiars clay bars + Meguiars quick detailer as a lube
Meguiars deep crystal polish
Meguiars foam applicator pads
Aldi microfibre cloths (2 for €1.89) They're excellent
Meguairs Gold Class Liquid Wax/Meguiars NXT 2.0 Wax
Meguiars foam applicator pads

Please don't buy Turtle Wax "Colour Magic" sh!te because it's nothing but sh!te.

Curran

You might need to spend a slight bit more than 80 quid, but what I 'd recommend and which would give decent results is.....

Clay Kit
Polish - with fillers - not a permanent solution, but will help hide the swirls.
Glaze - will help with giving a deep wet look shine and hide swirls.
Good Wax / Sealant

A few applicator pad, microfibers, and a good drying towel.

You should be able to get decent results by hand!

MugMugs

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

Meguiars clay bars + Meguiars quick detailer as a lube
Meguiars deep crystal polish
Meguiars foam applicator pads
Aldi microfibre cloths (2 for €1.89) They're excellent
Meguairs Gold Class Liquid Wax/Meguiars NXT 2.0 Wax
Meguiars foam applicator pads

Please don't buy Turtle Wax "Colour Magic" sh!te because it's nothing but sh!te.

Curran wrote: »

You might need to spend a slight bit more than 80 quid, but what I 'd recommend and which would give decent results is.....

Clay Kit
Polish - with fillers - not a permanent solution, but will help hide the swirls.
Glaze - will help with giving a deep wet look shine and hide swirls.
Good Wax / Sealant

A few applicator pad, microfibers, and a good drying towel.

You should be able to get decent results by hand!

Would you lads rate Meguiars direct or Ebay shops ?

MetzgerMeister

Antares wrote: »

Would you lads rate Meguiars direct or Ebay shops ?

I don't think Meguiars sell direct to consumers. I get all my Megs stuff from a local motor factors.

The Irish agents for Meguiars are Strongline. Give them a ring on 01/4624631 and ask them to tell you which motor factors in your area deal with them and you can get Meguiars stuff no problem!

Also, don't forget there's www.detailingshed.com and www.cleancar.ie to get stuff from.

TestTransmission

Poor Boy's black hole glaze works great on black cars when you're feeling a tad lazy.

colm_mcm

I actually find that colour wax good for small bumper scrapes.

MugMugs

colm_mcm wrote: »

I actually find that colour wax good for small bumper scrapes.

The stuff I've used is quite aggressive but does much the same. Heard Poor Boys a few times, might try it out

Curran

By hand, Id probably go along the lines of....

Chemical Guy's P40+
Optional - CG's Glossworkz Glaze or Blacklight
Pete's 53 Wax (designed to work best with Black)

Or

Autoglym Super Resin Polish
AG's Extra Gloss Protection or HD Wax

Whatever you choose, its usually best to stick with the same manufacturer for the polish and protection as they are designed to work best with each other. The secret is all in the prep. Pre soak with a decent mix of All Purpose Cleaner to help strip anything on the car, a quick wash, a good claying and a light polish, will set up a good surface for your protection. Prep is 90% key to the look of the finish - choosing waxes and sealants only really boosts the finish by 10%. Several layers of protection add to the deep wet look!