Essential Car Detailing Must Haves

HeadWrecked93

Hi so I bought a new car over the weekend 131 black VW Passat CC GT.

Now I want to find out how to look after it properly. Last car I had I just ran it through the car wash but that won't be happening with my new baby.

So bearing in mind I only have about an hour over weekend to spend on cleaning car, cost and the Irish weather (no garage to clean car in). What products do you think are a must have and bar Halford where can I source them (online, cork or Offaly) thanks

Foxhole Norman

2 Buckets with Grit Guards
pH Neutral Wash Shampoo
Non acidic wheel cleaner
Microfiber Wash Mitt
Plush Microfiber Drying Towel

They'd all be my essentials. To add to that maybe snowfoam and a foam Lance for a prewash and some form of wheel brushes.

All can be gotten from DetailingShed.com, Curran on here is the owner.

Curran

FN, is spot on - the minimum basics are 2 buckets w/ guards, good shampoo, a wash mitt and drying towel and decent wheel cleaner. That will keep the paintwork fresh and swirl free.
Get those first; and add the rest as you need to - a wax is best suited to darker colours to protect and enhance the appearance, but to apply it, it is best to decontaminate the car first, so de-tar, de-iron and a claybar. Then waxed. Hopefully the car hasnt had too hard a life thus far, and there isnt too many swirls on it - if there is, you are looking down the road of polish or glaze pre-waxing to help hide the defect, and if you want a permanent fix, you will need to machine polish the paintwork!

But, get the basics, and follow the Two Bucket Method when washing, otherwise the rest wont be worth the time and effort!

HeadWrecked93

Thanks guys. I saw two kits on your website the bucket one and the one with shampoo and mitts. If I purchased them would that be enough to get me started?

Curran

That would be the ideal start - that'll be the basics for your regular week to week wash, or every two weeks....the only other thing perhaps would be a wheel cleaner!

DuckSlice

I think I will get myself the above. At the moment I use two buckets but don't have grit guards. I use a meguairs microfiber mitt and shampoo, never dry the car. Im afraid to go to a car wash because my last car got ruined by them. swirl marks all over the car.

DuckSlice

Is Meguairs Ultimate wash and Wax an ok shampoo to use? in general cleaning and before de-tar, de-iron and clay bar??

Curran

Yeah its fine!

However, after you clay bar the car, you will need to wash the car down again...I wouldnt use it here, if you plan on applying a wax or sealant. The 'Wax' in the shampoo will hinder the bonding of the wax / sealant you plan to apply, and thus it wont perform as well as it should.

DuckSlice

cool, what product would you recommend using after the clay bar? i have some autoglym car shampoo, would that be better suited?

Curran

For after the clay bar and before applying a wax/sealant, you mean?
I'd just use a mild APC mixture and be sure to give it a good rinse down afterwards.

HeadWrecked93

So I appreciate all your advice and added what you suggested to cart only to see it was coming out at ~€150 which was too much for me, then i saw what i though looked like a good bargain on the alerts thread on here. So i went for it and bought the following in halfords for €65.

Bodywork Shampoo Conditioner
Super Resin Polish
Extra Gloss Protector
Clean Wheels
Instant Tyre Dressing
Alloy Wheel Seal
Interior Shampoo
Vinyl & Rubber Care
Car Glass Polish
Hi Tech Aqua Dry
Yellow sponge
Hi Tech Finishing Cloth
2 buckets
alloy wheel brush

so now i need advice on how to wash a car properly i.e where to start roof, sides, wheels??
which products from above list to use where?
any tips or tricks?
Hoping to do wash in morning so the more help I get before then the better, complete novice so dont want to run my new car by washing it badly

Curran

HeadWrecked93 wrote: »

dont want to run my new car by washing it badly

In that case, bin the sponge, chamois and the wheel brush, if its this one pictured below, as they will all (over repeated use) do damage to your paintwork / alloys!



If you want to go ahead and wash the car with the purchases you made...
- Power wash off as much as possible
- Alloy wheel cleaner onto the wheels and power wash off; the one you have purchased is probably slightly acidic, agitate if you feel you want to use the brush
- Wash using the two bucket method, starting at the top, wash one panel, rinse out, dip in the wash bucket, repeat
- Rinse the car
- Dry the car; not advisable with the chamois, a plush microfiber drying towel is recommended
- Polish with the Super Resin Polish, apply in circular motion and buff off with a plush microfiber buffing cloth
- Apply Extra Gloss Protection in the same motion, and buff off with a plush microfiber buffing cloth
- Dress the tyres
- Polish the glass
- Vacuum the car
- Dress the plastics


If you wash with the sponge and chamois, you will have begun the ever increasing amount of wash damage....it wont show tomorrow, or after a month, but it will eventually. The advice was to pick up the basics and add to this when you could; see post #3, #4, #5

HeadWrecked93

Foxhole Norman wrote:

2 Buckets with Grit Guards pH Neutral Wash Shampoo Non acidic wheel cleaner Microfiber Wash Mitt Plush Microfiber Drying Towel

Curran wrote:

. The advice was to pick up the basics and add to this when you could; see post #3, #4, #5

They above is all that I priced which I though we're the basics and they were coming in at over 100 so hard to pass up kit for 60 euro that has everything included

Curran

I understand that you made a saving, but you have done so by not buying what you were recommended.

Wash mitt - you bought a sponge
Microfiber drying towel - you bought a chamois
pH neutral wheel cleaner - you bought acidic

You don't mention grit guards in your purchased list, that's another 10er each, so you'd be at 80 in reality.

You could have had 2 bucket, 2 grit guards, wash mitt, drying towel and wheel cleaner for about 80....and you'd have what you need to wash the car using the lowest risk of inflicting wash damage.

To exaggerate it, would you put a litre of vegetable oil in you car because you can get it for a few Euro in the supermarket?

Gotham Knight

HeadWrecked93 wrote: »

They above is all that I priced which I though we're the basics and they were coming in at over 100 so hard to pass up kit for 60 euro that has everything included

That's what is so annoying about Halfords. They bundle a load of cheap stuff together and sell it at what looks like a crazy low price. I hate to say it but most of what is in that bundle is either unnecessary or may even be bad for your paintwork and trim. Over many years I found out that it's better to buy less stuff but to make sure it's good quality. So don't feel you have to use all the products. Curran is absolutely right to warn you about sponges and chamois leathers. I have a black car too and it can get ruined with tiny scratches and swirls. If you bought one more thing I would get a decent car mitt, preferably a microfibre one.

It's great to see you being genuinely interested in looking after your car. My suggestion would be to watch some videos on YouTube (if you have an iPad it can actually be very relaxing, oh and addictive too! ).

Sorry if this sounds a bit preachy. It's not meant to. It's just that I learned a lot of lessons over many years. The good thing for you is that you're asking questions before you start, which is exactly the thing to do. Anyhow, the main thing is to enjoy it. There's nothing better than sitting back and admiring the results of your work.

Best of luck with it

Curran

Gotham Knight wrote: »

Sorry if this sounds a bit preachy. It's not meant to.

As with my posts - Im just trying to give you the best advice possible!

DuckSlice

I'm pretty sure the kit that we are talking about is Autoglym. I saw it the last day in Halfords, comes in a nice carry bag, and was surprised to see a sponge and to some extent the chamois also. I thought a company like AG would at least have a wash mitt in there.

They always bring out these kits at Christmas and special deals etc. I wonder will detailing she'd have done good deals in the lead up to xmas

Curran

This should help visualize what we are trying to say!

Effectively, what has been recommended in the thread, is what you need to limit this type of potential damage.