Noob... couple of questions

moby2101

Hi,

I finally have a car that I plan on taking care of! Previous cars were driven thru sh1t car washes and the finish always left a lot to be desired!

Been reading all your sound advice here on various threads.
I've bought a couple of decent products based on people's recommendations on here.
I plan on buying a power washer. I used to hire one of these twice a year to do the paths and driveway so I figure I can use it for car cleaning also with a foam lance.

I've been hand washing and rinsing off the car with the garden hose and I always thought that a power washer would be a no no because it would damage paintwork etc but I se a lot of you guys use them.
I came across this, seems like good value , what would ye recommend?
https://www.coopsuperstores.ie/Proplus-3hp-Portable-Petrol-Pressure-Washer--Pump-95-Bar-1774062
Any good online sites for buying equipment like foam cannons etc.
Have any of you any experience of using Adam's polish products?
Cheers
Mike

Curran

Wouldnt have a need for a petrol washer - the Nilfisk range is very good; Ive a C120 for the past few years and its never missed a beat and never given an issue with prolonged use when doing driveways or paths. They appear on Amazon for reasonable money very frequently if you arent in a major panic for it. Aluminium pump versus plastic that is found in the entry level Karcher machines.

Be sure that you get yourself a dedicated snowfoam lance - that'll be one with a brass fitting on top of the dilution bottle, adjustable spray head, and a knob on top to adjust the air ratio. If it doesnt have these, it wont produce great snowfoam.

No hands on experience with Adam's products, but its known to be a good range. Better available, but not a bad starting point!

moby2101

Hi Curran,
Thanks for that. What detailing products would you recommend?


Would the petrol washer be too powerful, would it damage the paint.

I'll have a look at that nilfisk
Cheers

PGE1970

+ 1 for Nilfisk. I have mine for several years and it is excellent.

Curran and others will advise better on products than I. There are lots of sites out there but Curran operates from this one and his advice & products are excellent

http://www.detailingshed.com/

It is tempting to go to Halfords for cheaper products but you get what you pay for. Good products will last, in many cases, years as well.

Get good foam (I love Bilt Hamber), a foam lance, 2 buckets, grit guards, a good shampoo, a good wash mitt, a good drying towel, polish and wax to get you started. You can add to your collection as you go along. Others will say that you need wheel brushes, alloy cleaner, fall out & tar remover etc but get your "basics" in first.

If you say what the make and colour of your car is, Curran (& others) can even recommend a polish/wax best suited to the paint!

Welcome - everyone is very helpful here.

moby2101

Thanks guys

I just bagged a nilfisk C120 on amaxon as Curran recommended for €80 👍

The car is a Mineral Grey BMW 420, brought it in from UK in January so I'm trying to keep the paint as best I can. 8 months old so she's still gleaming!
I bought a couple of buckets and the grit guard good cleaning mitts and towels.
A friend put me on to Adam's Polish range, he lived in the States for a few years and swore by them. I can't find anyone in Ireland stocking them so will go for Bilt Hamber as you've suggested

PGE1970

Great price on the nilfisk Moby.

Lovely car too and a nice colour. It is well worth investing in good products. I'm in a meditterranean blue 3 series. BMW is hard paint but that won't matter too much if you are hand polishing & waxing.

Curran has/had a 3 series himself and a few others here can advise on the best polish. I love Collinite 845 wax. I've tried others but always come back to this. I would also recommend getting wheel woolies and a goof wheel cleaner. They will keep the wheels looking great.

WW with the new car - I'm jealous!!

MetzgerMeister

Best of luck with the new car!

Did you mean you wanted to buy a petrol washer so you could also do the work around the house on top of using it for the car? I think you'd made the better decision by going for the Nilfisk and keep renting the petrol one twice a year. I don't have any experience of petrol washers but I would choose an electric washer over a petrol for washing a car.

Using a petrol one on a car to me would be akin to using a flamethrower to light a candle.

The best polish for German paintwork is the Menzerna range. They are a German company also but I've always had great results with their polishes on my current F30 and my previous E92 with a D/A. Chemical Guys V range is also very good and smells lovely compared to Menzerna. They have V32 which gives the heaviest cut up to V38 which is the finishing/jewelling polish.

If you're polishing by hand, CarPro Essence is your best bet as it's a filler polish whereas the Menzerna and Chemical Guys are for cutting/correction. ALong with Essence, you could pick up HydrO2 as your LSP. Detailing Shed sell the whole CarPro range.

EDIT: Pics when you have the job done

Curran

The Nilfisk is rated at 120 bar and the Petrol is 90 bar, so more pressure from the Nilfisk :P Also, it will easily handle any work around the house - Ive ran mine for hours on end without any stop / starting problems as a result of heat.

MetzgerMeister

Curran wrote: »

The Nilfisk is rated at 120 bar and the Petrol is 90 bar, so more pressure from the Nilfisk :P Also, it will easily handle any work around the house - Ive ran mine for hours on end without any stop / starting problems as a result of heat.

Shur didn't I say I've no experience with petrol washers? :P

Curran

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

Shur didn't I say I've loads of experience

Fixed for you! :P :pac:

moby2101

Right

Now that I know that 2 bucket method has nothing to do with agriculture or calves and a swirl is a bad thing.

I'm completely in the dark !!!

I've been hand washing the car with a good wool mitt, crap cheapie shampoo and then spraying on a waxy type (liquid shine😁) crap.

Now that I've seen the light and redemption is at hand what should I do to prepare the car going forward. The paint is in great nick (imho)
all suggestions greatly appreciated

JohnBoy26

PGE1970 wrote: »

+ 1 for Nilfisk. I have mine for several years and it is excellent.

Curran and others will advise better on products than I. There are lots of sites out there but Curran operates from this one and his advice & products are excellent

http://www.detailingshed.com/

It is tempting to go to Halfords for cheaper products but you get what you pay for. Good products will last, in many cases, years as well.

Get good foam (I love Bilt Hamber), a foam lance, 2 buckets, grit guards, a good shampoo, a good wash mitt, a good drying towel, polish and wax to get you started. You can add to your collection as you go along. Others will say that you need wheel brushes, alloy cleaner, fall out & tar remover etc but get your "basics" in first.

If you say what the make and colour of your car is, Curran (& others) can even recommend a polish/wax best suited to the paint!

Welcome - everyone is very helpful here.

Well to be fair some of their stuff is decent like the ag shampoo and hd wax.

PGE1970

AG hd wax is supposed to be good mate? Was €60 or €70?

I've used AG shampoo and, in fairness, it was fine.

Halfords is fine for some Maguiar's products and some AG stuff too.

However, I much prefer to follow the reviews of posters here and elsewhere (such as BMW or VAG forums etc) to hear their experience of dealing with different products.

I've used various products from Chemical Guys to Collinite to 50Cal to Bilt Hamber to CarPro over several years. The point is that you'll find what you like.

My experience is that you will spend less in the long run getting better quality products from a dedicated detailing site than you will from Halfords. You won't find these brands in Halfords. In addition, the people here are incredibly helpful and honest in their comments and advices/appraisals re products good and bad.

However, each to their own and if Halfords works for you, the very best of luck! This forum is not & should not be about where you shop and what brand you buy etc.

SomeGuyCalledMi

If the car is black take extra care while drying. I believe that a lot of swirl marks are introduced at this point. Pat dry with 3 or 4 microfiber towels. Never use a squeegee.

Curran

Swirls are introduced at every step of the process when dealing with paintwork, and is the reason that every step should include the right technique and products

Wash - you can inflict swirls by using a sponge trapping dirt between it and the paintwork - choose a plush mitt and use the Two Bucket Method
Drying - dust blown onto the car and tough chamois cloths / water blade trapping a bit of grit between it and the paintwork - choose a plush microfiber drying towel to allow any dust into the pile.
Applying wax or sealant - a coarse foam applicator or even a bad microfiber can induce swirs - soft foam applicator and plush microfibers

Every step should be considered and use the safest, least likely process to inflict swirls - its not totally avoidable but you can limit it vastly. Its the compounding damage that detracts from the overall appearance - you can ruin it in a matter of weeks or prolong it over a several years

moby2101

Right!
Bought BH snow foam, car shampoo, wheel cleaner and double speed wax.
I have to say I’m really impressed with the results, I snow foamed the car left it really soak in and then shampoo... car looks better than I’ve ever seen it, I didn’t bother using the wax, time was against me . The car is spotless and and shining. Will definitely try the wax next weekend.
Quick question about the Nilfisk power washer, there appears to be some water pis$ing out at the top of the lance where you attach the fittings, is this normal?
What would ye recommend for the interior, I bought Meguiars interior spray before I came across this thread and it’s rubbish.

Thanks again lads 👍

Poorboys world is what I was recommended here for interior plastics and I think it's savage.

Badger2009

I use Carpro Perl and find it pretty good. Diluted down correctly it lasts for a long while too so works out good value.

Lekrub

This seems like a decent place to ask this question that the OP will also need to know.

How do you wash micofibre cloths? Do they mess up a regular machine? Easier to just buy new ones?

yannakis

Lekrub wrote: »

How do you wash micofibre cloths? Do they mess up a regular machine? Easier to just buy new ones?

My 5c:

Always wash them separately from other clothes/towels.

Wash likes with likes (high pile with high pile, and low pile with low pile) as they might mess up each other (i.e. end up with lint on your glass microfibre cloths).

Never use softener and preferably use non-bio detergent. There are some microfibre specific ones out there but haven't tried any.

Avoid drying on high temperatures as that can damage the material.

MetzgerMeister

No microfibre has lint. When I get new cloths I wash them before first use. The last time I did this I washed and tumble-dried 20 of them and there wasn't 1 piece of lint on the dryer filter.