Car cleanliness

Slattsy

Quick one lads,

What would you recommend as a good polish/wax for the exterior of the car after a good aul wash ?

(The last one i had was turtle wax and i thought it was rubbish)

Curran

What colour is your car!!

Would be recommended to clay your car first, then apply the wax of choice! Trust me, you'll be happy with the results!

For any colour car is hard to pass up Autoglym Super Resin Polish and Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection applied on top to seal it in...especially if on a budget!

MetzgerMeister

+1 for a clay beforehand. The wax will adhere better, it will be easier to apply and buff and the shine will be much purer.

Turtle wax isn't the greatest especially their "Colour Tragic" range. It's great at colouring your hands and giving you a headache though!

I will give another option - Meguiars NXT or Gold Class wax are both very good.

Slattsy

Thanks lads.
The car is blue.

I've never head of the phrase 'clay' before !!!

I do know about the autoglym stuff though, i use it for the windows.

Curran

Generally on blue wax will look better.
Sealants usually look best on lighter coloured cars, whites, silvers etc.

That said, on a freshly clayed, well prepared car - a sealant will look almost as good as a wax....so another question would be, how often would you wax it, would you prefer something very durable that might get you 6 months as opppsed to 3 from a wax.

Slattsy

Curran wrote: »

Generally on blue wax will look better.
Sealants usually look best on lighter coloured cars, whites, silvers etc.

That said, on a freshly clayed, well prepared car - a sealant will look almost as good as a wax....so another question would be, how often would you wax it, would you prefer something very durable that might get you 6 months as opppsed to 3 from a wax.

I'd be quite prepared to give it a good going over every 3 months, that wouldn't bother me.

What's all this clay lark though?

Curran

Have a quick read through this recent thread!

Clay Bars

Slattsy

Top man, cheers

Slattsy

Read that, some good advice.

My car is in pretty good nick, it's been kept in good condition (i only have 3 months) so from reading that, im wondering will a good shampoo and polish just suffice for me ? (Autoglym products)

Lagoona Blue

my car is blue also . Iv'e tried super resin polish but found it leaves a white residue . I wash it weekly and apply Autoglym wax once a month and that keeps it looking well.

Curran

Slattsy wrote: »

My car is in pretty good nick, it's been kept in good condition (i only have 3 months) so from reading that, im wondering will a good shampoo and polish just suffice for me ? (Autoglym products)

Its only 3 months old? A 2012 car?
Even still - if it was my car, I would clay it - the car could have been sitting in a yard for months before it was delivered. You'd be surprised what you'd find bonded to your car even if it was sitting in a wide open yard. At minimum its going to have contaminated rain water fall on it.

Lagoona Blue wrote: »

my car is blue also . Iv'e tried super resin polish but found it leaves a white residue . I wash it weekly and apply Autoglym wax once a month and that keeps it looking well.

Did you just apply Super Resin Polish and leave it at that?
Super Resin Polish is quite chalky and will leave white residue if rubbed onto trim or rubber, so its best to avoid that. However, SRP isnt protection - no polish is (unless it states that its an All in One product). Polish is for rejuvenating the paint work, no protecting it, so it needs to be sealed in with a wax or sealant. If you didnt seal it in, you would find that it would wash away and thus leaving residue behind.

Slattsy

Curran wrote: »

Its only 3 months old? A 2012 car?
Even still - if it was my car, I would clay it - the car could have been sitting in a yard for months before it was delivered. You'd be surprised what you'd find bonded to your car even if it was sitting in a wide open yard. At minimum its going to have contaminated rain water fall on it.

No no (iwish) I only have it 3 months !! Its 2008.
I've washed it a few times, but coming into spring i want to have it looking its best.

So, I've decided i will clay it, but from reading the other thread im worried about the lube needed to ensure it goes on properly.

Is this the process: wash car with a good shampoo, clay, then apply some
Autoglym Super Resin Polish ?

Curran

Well if you want the car looking its very best...the minimum I'd do is....

Wash
De-Tar
Rinse
Clay
Wash
Dry
Polish - optional step...but if you are going for SRP, it will give a bit of depth and shine, while also filling swirls
Protection - Wax or Sealant

If you are going down the SRP route, it would be advisable to seal it with an Autoglym product as they are designed to work best together. Alternatively you could polish with something like Chemical Guys P40 polish and seal with a CG's product.
If skipping the polish stage, then the paint work is prepared and will take any sort of wax / sealant.

What might be best is if you pick up an Autoglym Clay Kit, it has clay, lube, and a small amount of SRP. Id recommend you get some better microfiber cloths and Extra Gloss Protection to seal it all in!

MetzgerMeister

You can use water as a lube, it doesn't have to be a quick detailer or any actual product. Just get a spray bottle and keep the surface you are working on lubricated. You needn't be worried about claying, it's a very easy process (even Curran can do it :P ) and you will only damage the paint if you get grit on the clay. This would happen if you didn't wash the car properly beforehand or if you dropped the clay and continued to use it.

Lagoona Blue

Curran wrote: »

Its only 3 months old? A 2012 car?
Even still - if it was my car, I would clay it - the car could have been sitting in a yard for months before it was delivered. You'd be surprised what you'd find bonded to your car even if it was sitting in a wide open yard. At minimum its going to have contaminated rain water fall on it.



Did you just apply Super Resin Polish and leave it at that?
Super Resin Polish is quite chalky and will leave white residue if rubbed onto trim or rubber, so its best to avoid that. However, SRP isnt protection - no polish is (unless it states that its an All in One product). Polish is for rejuvenating the paint work, no protecting it, so it needs to be sealed in with a wax or sealant. If you didnt seal it in, you would find that it would wash away and thus leaving residue behind.

I used AG wax first and was told to use the resin polish after . Heard great reviws about it but didn't find it great myself . I used it on the body of the car but it just left a white residue no matter how hard it polished it in so I just gave up on it . still have a full bottle there . maybe I'm just doing it wrong !

Slattsy

Cheers lads, very much appreciated.

I'll try pick up the autoglym clay kit.

Curran

Yeah, you're doing it wrong!

I'm amazed by the amount of people who confuse polishing and waxing or think that they are the same process.

Always, it's polish first and then waxing (or as it's better known by people who are into it, LSP, Last Stage Protection, ie: wax or sealant)

Bet you'll be pleased if you try Super Resin Polish first, then the wax

Water can be used for claying, bit the risk of marring is far greater...not really an issue if you are polishing afterwards. I always use a bit of quick detailer...just makes it less risky!

MetzgerMeister

I often get asked to wash and polish a car. Polish can mean dry it by hand or wax but never what it actually means :rolleyes:

Slattsy

When you use the clay bar on the car, what sort of a residue does it leave?
And i assume its quite easily washable.

Ded_Zebra

It should not leave a residue at all, However it can if not enough lubricant is used. If you work in a small area at a time (1 square foot) or larger if the surface isn't too contaminated.

This covers claying pretty well and the other videos in the series cover a lot of key detailing areas. I learned lots of useful tips from Larry

Curran

If you clay in direct sun light or if the panels get warm, it can dry out the clay lubricant.

Say if you start on the bonnet and work your way around the car....after you get all the panels done, for your first time, it might be 2/3 hours. When you get back to the bonnet the clay lubricant will have dried out....and suspended in the lubricant will be some of the contamination, however, its not bonded anymore. The may even look like you havent washed it, as if you washed it with dirty water. Give it a quick wash and then dry it as soon as possible, so it doesnt water mark. Then you are good to go ahead with other steps!

MetzgerMeister

When I clay a car, I wash each panel after it's done then move on to the next panel.

Slattsy

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

When I clay a car, I wash each panel after it's done then move on to the next panel.

When you say wash after you clay, just with water or with a shampoo?

MetzgerMeister

Shampoo, you want to make sure you do it right the first time because it'll make waxing/polishing it a lot easier at the end of the day.

Slattsy

This is turning into a lot more work than I thought lol

MetzgerMeister

Well you can do it wrong, have little work and an OK outcome or the proper way :P

Slattsy

No no I'll do it properly. I just never heard of this clay process.
The elbow grease will go into it. Thanks again. Great tips.

Curran

Does seem like a lot of work - and dont be fooled, it is - but when you step back after 'x' amount of hours, the shine will put a smile on your face and it'll be all worth while!

Slattsy

Howya lads.
Im popping up to Halfords to get EVERYTHING i need to make my car look brand spanking new

Ok, so from looking at the Halfords website i can get the following :

Autoglym car shampoo
Autoglym tar remover
Meguiars Smooth surface clay kit with detailer (?)

The only thing im not sure about is what to use after claying. I know to shampoo wash the car again, but once washed what is the best to use - a sealant or resin polish ?

Stallingrad

You could buy everything (and more!) from:

https://www.cleancar.ie

Halfords is not cheap unless they have the 3 for 2 offer. Not sure how good the AG Tar remover is, Tardis from the above is the best going.

Slattsy

That website is very good actually. Well worth a look.

Regarding the clay bars, is there a huge difference between brands or are they much of a muchness?

Curran

Stallingrad wrote: »

Tardis from the above is the best going.

Tardis is decent but far from the best thing going!!

OP, I've a PM that I sent another member on here, as he contacted me directly, that is a list of directions and recommendations of products to use to get decent results on a budget.....if you'd like me to send it to you, send me a PM.

randy hickey

Slattsy wrote: »

Howya lads.
Im popping up to Halfords to get EVERYTHING i need to make my car look brand spanking new

Ok, so from looking at the Halfords website i can get the following :

Autoglym car shampoo
Autoglym tar remover
Meguiars Smooth surface clay kit with detailer (?)

The only thing im not sure about is what to use after claying. I know to shampoo wash the car again, but once washed what is the best to use - a sealant or resin polish ?

It's only fair that I give http://www.detailingshed.com/ a plug here seeing as Curran puts a fair bit of advice into the sub-forum.

Lagoona Blue

HI i'm going to try polish the car over the weekend then wax it . polish is SRP then AG wax. This maybe a silly question but what kinda cloths should I be using . Can the same cloth be used for both ? I've a leather chamois cloth should I use that ?

Slattsy

randy hickey wrote: »

It's only fair that I give http://www.detailingshed.com/ a plug here seeing as Curran puts a fair bit of advice into the sub-forum.

Very similar to the other site I was on today.

From looking at these I think I'll be staying away from Halfords.

Curran

Lagoona Blue wrote: »

HI i'm going to try polish the car over the weekend then wax it . polish is SRP then AG wax. This maybe a silly question but what kinda cloths should I be using . Can the same cloth be used for both ? I've a leather chamois cloth should I use that ?

Bin the Leather Chamois....its one of the reasons your car needs a polish! Over time its microsopically scratching and as a result dulling your paint. You should be drying the car with a good drying towel!! Dont dare ask about a water blade!

Glad to see you know that SRP needs to be protected and AG HD Wax is an excellent choice. Apply both with an applicator pad if possible, a different one for each. Buff off with a plush microfiber towel, again, ideally with two different cloths....and by microfiber towel, I dont mean the Kent ones you get 5 in a pack for 5 quid and on special 3 packs for the price of 2.....they are ideal for doing interior, glass, etc....just not on the shiny paintwork!