A moron's guide to cleaning a car?

Hi guys,

Have been mooching on this forum for a wee while. I've no real knowledge on car cleaning or such (though I do make an effort to keep my current car clean, and give it a going over whenever I get a chance to do so).

However, I was wondering if anyone could point me to a website where I could buy a few bits, and a website that would explain (in really straight-forward, simple english) how to go about cleaning a car properly.


(Pretty much, i am lead to believe that polishing a car can help get cover up the smaller marks/scratches that are on the paint work - I'm not sure how true/effective that is, but I'd like to give it a try).

I figure for the money that I'd spend getting the car polished and waxed by someone else, I'd be able to get some gear and give it a go myself. Am I delusional?

I know there is a 'terminology' sticky and all that on here, but im really looking for an over-simplified explanation.

For example, I hear of ye guys always de-tarring and claying your cars. I've no idea what this actually is/does/means. I've googled with limited success but everytime i hear either word when im reading a thread, i tend to just tune out and skip on as I get lost, not knowing what it is/does.


Also, on a related note, Can anyone recommend a good tyre paint? My mechanic had some (just looked like water) that was applied by brush to the wheel. However, he said it was bought off a sales rep who popped over to him a couple of times. He said he cant recall the name of it and the sales rep hasn't been around in a while. It was an excellent product, lasted about two weeks with a good shine, but I cant find anything really similar to it at all. I'm a bit lost.


Sorry for the thread being a bit all over the place. Just a bit lost and want to have a shot at polishing the car and giving it a good going over (more concerned about exterior than interior, which is relatively clean anyway).


Cheers to anyone who managed to read this without gouging their eyeballs out.

Scortho

I'd advise pming curran.
He'll hook you up with some good cleaning stuff (that you will be hard pressed to find elsewhere) and is a wealth of advise on every cleaning/detailing topic under the sun.

MAJJ

I completely agree with Scortho, got great advice on this thread and top service from Curran (Dave). Thread went a tad off topic but all good and very happy with the results of cleaning.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=85564750

So read this thread and ask away.

Ded_Zebra

De-taring is using a solvent (sold for the purpose) to dissolve tar spots that a cars wheels flick up onto the bodywork.

Clay is a sticky putty that is rubbed over the body panels to remove bonded contaminants from the paint surface. It is used with a lube to help it slide easily.

Do you have any idea of how much you would be willing to spend? there is a huge range in what you could so this would help. Also what (if anything) do you already have?

hoodie6029

The video in this link got me started in proper paint care/detailing. Plain (american) english. All the products available here. Start here and you won't stop!
Meguiars 5 step paint care

opinionated3

Try the detailing world forum. Fantastic advice there. Should find out everything you need to know

vectra

opinionated3 wrote: »

Try the detailing world forum. Fantastic advice there. Should find out everything you need to know

And bring your credit card, you will need it

Cheers folks (and Curran, who got in touch).

I'll do a bit more digging before buying stuff. I'm gonna sit on it for a week and then re-approach (to ensure the same enthusiasm is there before I spend an arm and leg's worth on stuff). Thanking you all, very, very much

Just looking through a very thoughtful PM that someone sent me, and I have a very stupid question (that only mildly relates to car cleaning).

Power washer shows up quite a bit. How does a power washer work? Is it like a hose that must be attached to a running water supply? or does it have it's own storage tank or such that can be filled and used remotely?

Also, more related to car washing, if there are paint chips on a car (my bonnet has a couple of them), will using a power washer cause these to worsen, or cause more paint to chip away due to the pressure?


Sorry for the silly questions (give you an idea of my current knowledge!)


EDIT: And would this be suitable?!

http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/7420023/Trail/searchtext%3EPOWER+WASHER.htm#tabrev

Curran

Power washer is attached to a hose and pumps out water at a higher pressure. You can run the hose from an indoor or outdoor tap, to the washer, provided you have half decent water pressure. They do not have their own storage tank, though if you had a water butt or similar you could take a feed from that provided the outlet from the tank is a foot or two above height the inlet of the power washer.

There is a small amount of risk around paint chips, but you shouldnt use the power washer too close to the paintwork. Flasking clear coat would be a far greater risk. Most domestic power washers do not produce crazy powerful jets of water, but up very close may cause damage - but with sensible usage, there is no major risk.

For the price you'd pay for the Power Washer you have linked, Id be quick and stick an extra 10er to it and buy this machine before the offer ends - superb machine, have one and hasnt let me down. The B&D will probably have a plastic pump, verus an aluminium in the Nilfisk.

Curran

Curran wrote: »

Power washer is attached to a hose and pumps out water at a higher pressure. You can run the hose from an indoor or outdoor tap, to the washer, provided you have half decent water pressure. They do not have their own storage tank, though if you had a water butt or similar you could take a feed from that provided the outlet from the tank is a foot or two above height the inlet of the power washer.

There is a small amount of risk around paint chips, but you shouldnt use the power washer too close to the paintwork. Flasking clear coat would be a far greater risk. Most domestic power washers do not produce crazy powerful jets of water, but up very close may cause damage - but with sensible usage, there is no major risk.

For the price you'd pay for the Power Washer you have linked, Id be quick and stick an extra 10er to it and buy this machine before the offer ends - superb machine, have one and hasnt let me down. The B&D will probably have a plastic pump, verus an aluminium in the Nilfisk.

Cheers for that, Curran.

I went over to DID and picked it up today. A bit of fiddling around but it seems pretty decent alright, yeah.

How do I make it snow?!

Also, is snow foam stuff just a nonsense gimmick or does it really help?

Zoney

Just did my fourth wash ever and now a lot happier with the results - have it down to 40 mins or so. For now I'm using Turtle Wax wash and wax. Very simple procedure (trying to trade-off time vs. effort)...
* Hose down the car (spray nozzle) making sure any big visible dirt is washed all the way down to the drive.
* Use a fluffy mitt to gently soap up the car.
*Hose down while gently swooshing the water off the surfaces with the mitt.
*Extra care at the bottom to rinse off, as I do this top to bottom.
*Then dry off using a chamois leather.
Then finally use a sponge to clean the alloys with the remaining water/soap in the bucket.

Any suggestions for improving this without spending extra time? Or any obvious errors/changes that I should make?

Planning to get something to do a more proper wax as a once every 2-3 months job, there are some swirls in the paint I'd like to hide (I probably added a bit too in my first couple washes that weren't as meticulous about rinsing off and used a sponge to rub the soapy water).

Ded_Zebra

Zoney wrote: »

Just did my fourth wash ever and now a lot happier with the results - have it down to 40 mins or so. For now I'm using Turtle Wax wash and wax. Very simple procedure (trying to trade-off time vs. effort)...
* Hose down the car (spray nozzle) making sure any big visible dirt is washed all the way down to the drive.
* Use a fluffy mitt to gently soap up the car.
*Hose down while gently swooshing the water off the surfaces with the mitt.
*Extra care at the bottom to rinse off, as I do this top to bottom.
*Then dry off using a chamois leather.
Then finally use a sponge to clean the alloys with the remaining water/soap in the bucket.

Any suggestions for improving this without spending extra time? Or any obvious errors/changes that I should make?

Planning to get something to do a more proper wax as a once every 2-3 months job, there are some swirls in the paint I'd like to hide (I probably added a bit too in my first couple washes that weren't as meticulous about rinsing off and used a sponge to rub the soapy water).

By using 2 buckets, one for soapy water and one for fresh water. Dip the wash mitt into the soapy water and wash a portion of the car ( about 1 panel depending on how dirty the car is) then squeeze out the wash mitt and then put it into the fresh water bucket and agitate the wash mitt surface. This makes sure that all of the dirt from the car is removed from the mitt. Squeeze the mitt out again and then put it back into the soapy bucket and wash the next portion of the car.

Also for drying the car you would be much better off using a microfiber towel. The problem with the leather is that it has no pile so any dirt left on the car will be ground into the paint instead of being lifted away which will lead to fine scratches on the paint.

I should warn you that cleaning cars is very addictive. You'll keep doing more and more and add more steps each time

Supergurrier

Final rinse with an open hose will also reduce drying by like 50-75% depending on paints condition as most of the water will just sheet off.

It has an advantage during summer if you have hard water as it reduces waterspots of you don't get a chance to dry and in winter it means less freezing water on the car.

For a shampoo invest in some Meguiars NXT emulsifying shampoo for 20 quid in halfords will last afew months and works really well. That stuff you are using is not great my dad used to use it now he is forever nicking my shampoo and all my tyre shine

Curran

Zoney wrote: »

Any suggestions for improving this without spending extra time? Or any obvious errors/changes that I should make?

Two big things stand out!

You seem to be using only one bucket - need to change that to two buckets as Ded Zebra has pointed out above!
Bin the chamois...it will damage the paint work - a plush microfiber drying towel as a replacement...you'll probably find and improvement in time too.

Warning...if anything your washing process will become longer!
To do a very quick, paint safe, wash; it takes me about an hour for set up, wash and tidy away!

Zoney

Thanks for the advice, that makes sense alright about the leather. Will invest in a second bucket too.

What about the panel by panel thing? I did that for the first few washes alright, but the most recent wash, I put the suds all over thinking it would loosen up the dirt if left on for a few mins (especially at the front), and it did seem to. It was almost enough to just hose off the suds again!

It is a bit addictive but in fairness, forked out for a nice enough looking car and want to take good care of it.

Of course, who knows, maybe washing at home will be uneconomical by the end of next year with the water charges!!

Ded_Zebra

Zoney wrote: »

Thanks for the advice, that makes sense alright about the leather. Will invest in a second bucket too.

What about the panel by panel thing? I did that for the first few washes alright, but the most recent wash, I put the suds all over thinking it would loosen up the dirt if left on for a few mins (especially at the front), and it did seem to. It was almost enough to just hose off the suds again!

It is a bit addictive but in fairness, forked out for a nice enough looking car and want to take good care of it.

Of course, who knows, maybe washing at home will be uneconomical by the end of next year with the water charges!!

Make sure you show us pictures next time!

Curran

Panel by panel if the car is heavily soiled. If it's only a light dusting, you should be OK to do a larger area, and then filp the wash mitt and do another large area before rinsing it out in the fresh water!!

A good shampoo and scratch guards for the bottom of your buckets, should be considered to ensure a paintwork safe approach.
Good shampoo isnt rated by the amount of suds, but rather in two main factors; slickness and pH neutral. Slickness ensures that the wash mitt and also any dirt have as little friction as possible on the paint surface. pH neutral means that any wax or sealant you have on the paintwork for protection wont be stripped away. Suds do help, but its not a sure sign of a good shampoo!

Zoney

Ded_Zebra wrote: »

Make sure you show us pictures next time!

Pics from just a day later, I think I may have rubbed off some of the wax, water was more beaded after the other times I washed it.

Car from the front:


Close up on bonnet:

MetzgerMeister

If you dry the car after washing it then the water will bead more afterwards. The wax needs to be "revived" after washing.

Zoney

Another wash, this time used the two buckets! Got a nice thorough clean while being gentle and still reasonably quick (plenty of water splashed around mind you!)

And this time, waxed the car after drying. The microfibre clothes I got from halfords seemed "scritchy", even when dampened, so I stole some softer kitchen cloths





Voila, after a damp night, plenty of beading Sorry, a bit dark - in the morning before work. I didn't get the pics when dry (got too dark on the day) but it really hides the top coat imperfections/swirls well. Still wet at lunch now so I'll stick with those pics for now! (self-conscious photoing the car in the drive!)

Don't want to spend much moneywise for now (not on this car) so I stuck with the same wash n wax and just got a €5 bottle of the Turtle wax (not the original, a different one).

Quick enough to apply and polish off actually, was surprised, but it was a surprising amount of effort!

car_beading.JPG
front_beading.JPG

Curran

The beading on the bonnet doesnt look too bad!

paperclipgrad

Damn, that's the finest beading I've ever seen.

Curran

paperclipgrad wrote: »

Damn, that's the finest beading I've ever seen.

You need to get out of the house more on wet days!

vectra

Curran wrote: »

You need to get out of the house more on wet days!

A LOT More

Zoney

I think paperclipgrad may be a bit biased, as she's the actual owner of the car in question

Back to car cleaning - what's the best product to apply to make sure dirt doesn't affect the paint much and is easy to wash off?

I'm asking because unfortunately, despite looking nice enough after cleaning, there tend to soon be little particles of soot from people's winter heating.

Curran

Ha ha...do you keep her locked indoors!! Only kidding!
That expalins it...as I wasnt sure if it was a sarcastic comment!

Soot is a bit of a nightmare and not a lot you can to stop it bonding. A good sealant will help a little.

vectra

I have tried literally everything from sealants to waxes.
Nothing stops soot from landing on your car.
Wash it off is the only answer.

Supergurrier

How do I stop my two year old boxador from pulling my good microfibre mitts off the top of my clothesline and running around taunting me with them ?

Can't find anything on the detailing sites

Curran

Fill his bowl with tar remover or fallout remover....that'll sort him out!! Available on any good detailing sites!

Get a higher clothesline is obviously the best solution!

Supergurrier

Curran wrote: »

Fill his bowl with tar remover or fallout remover....that'll sort him out!! Available on any good detailing sites!

Get a higher clothesline is obviously the best solution!

He is 5ft tall on his back legs. Like an articulated lorry the fecker

The_Pretender

Supergurrier wrote: »

He is 5ft tall on his back legs. Like an articulated lorry the fecker

With a beast that size dominating your garden you might be better just hanging them over the radiator to dry

Curran

The_Pretender wrote: »

With a beast that size dominating your garden you might be better just hanging them over the radiator to dry

Noooo....let them dry naturally. Drying them out on a rad will harden them.

Scortho

Curran wrote: »

Noooo....let them dry naturally. Drying them out on a rad will harden them.

Which means he then has to buy more....;)

Mc Love

Curran wrote: »

Noooo....let them dry naturally. Drying them out on a rad will harden them.

Should I not have put mine in the dryer so!?

Curran

Mc Love wrote: »

Should I not have put mine in the dryer so!?

No...not good either!

Mc Love

Curran wrote: »

No...not good either!

noted for future detailing days!

MetzgerMeister

Curran wrote: »

Noooo....let them dry naturally. Drying them out on a rad will harden them.

After I use mine I rinse out all the shampoo, ring it both ways, lay a towel out on the table, place the mitt on one side and fold the other side over and push down to get all the excess water out. Then it goes on the radiator and I turn it after a few hours.

The only time they get hard from this is when they're over a year and a half old but this hardening is a non-issue as it softens up immediately when wet again.

Zoney

Just wondering, does it work at all washing after dark? Anyone here do that? I've a porch light and fair bit of light in the street. Car prob won't get washed for a while now if I've to wait till free time during daylight. Got pretty dirty on a drive up/down to Dublin this weekend.

Scortho

Washing is fine after dark, but waxing when it's dark is a bitch.
Not only because the dew, but because you always miss a spot that needs buffing.

MetzgerMeister

If you really want to wash/wax after dark, get a halogen lamp from Aldi or Lidl or even your local hardware store. Very handy things to have!

Curran

Or if you've a second car in the house, you can use the headlights...just be sure to give it a quick spin before turning it off!

west cork lad

Question from a complete novice. Gave the car a quick wash yesterday and all was going well until I went to dry it. Everywhere I "dried" was leaving a kind of film which was next to impossible to dry off. It all eventually dried off with no problems, but I must have used 20 MFN cloths to try and dry off, even new ones. Would this have been too much wax on last wash, it was liquid turtle wax ice, or am I missing something. Thanks.

Supergurrier

No you just need a decent drying towel is all. Even the best ones regardless of what manufacturers claim are soaked by the time you have the whole car dry.

Good one can be got for 15 quid on cleancar.ie

west cork lad

Supergurrier wrote: »

No you just need a decent drying towel is all. Even the best ones regardless of what manufacturers claim are soaked by the time you have the whole car dry.

Good one can be got for 15 quid on cleancar.ie

Must get one. I had dried the car this way before with out a problem, but even after 4-5 mf cloths on small patch and it was still covered in a "greasy film". Thought it might be something else.

MetzgerMeister

The better the beading on a car, the more soaked a drying cloth will be. I use special microfibres, one to remove the excess water which gets rung out after each panel followed by a different one to remove water streaks immediately afterwards.

Curran

The one I use is very absorpant. I use one half/end to soak up the majority of water, and then use the other end to go around the car again getting the final streaks off. No need to ring it out until Im done. Easily does a large family saloon!

bennyx_o

I find if the car is well protected, give the car a rinse with an open hose and most of the water will just glide off, making it easier to dry using a drying towel. Obviously this doesn't work so well on a car that isn't well protected

MetzgerMeister

bennyx_o wrote: »

I find if the car is well protected, give the car a rinse with an open hose and most of the water will just glide off, making it easier to dry using a drying towel. Obviously this doesn't work so well on a car that isn't well protected

This works with an open-ended hose but doesn't work at all with a pressure washer.

bennyx_o

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

This works with an open-ended hose but doesn't work at all with a pressure washer.

Doesn't work at all with a pressure washer, but if you have a pressure washer out, all you need to do is disconnect the hose from it. Makes life that bit easier, especially when it's cold

MetzgerMeister

bennyx_o wrote: »

Doesn't work at all with a pressure washer, but if you have a pressure washer out, all you need to do is disconnect the hose from it. Makes life that bit easier, especially when it's cold

Isn't that what I said