General > Detailing

Detailing Help Req'd!, and car needs some TLC

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Tuffy:
If its just been scratched with a hose i would think they might polish out mate.
One way to see is to run your nail opposite to the way the scratch is running if you cant feel it chances are they will polish out.
If your nail catches the scratch you probably wont.
Meguires do a good starter clay kit complete with lube. your head will spin and wallet shrink with the amount of products available to keep your car lookin tip top :happy2:

stealthwolf:
Read the guide at the top for a start.

Detailing can get pretty expensive and I've already spent £600 before getting everything I wanted/needed. You can waste a lot of money on different products since everyone has a personal choice on what to buy. Halfrauds has a lot of stuff but most of it is crap - there are a few good products though. Also, detailing can vary from doing just basic stuff that takes 3-4 hours to detailing that takes 2-3 days, depending on how far advanced you want to go.

Here's what I would do, with the products I would recommend. Other forumites will have different opinions.

Washing: Hold off with a pressure washer. You don't need one, it's just nice to have. A simple hosepipe will suffice now and if you really get into detailing, you can research and buy a pressure washer later. Two buckets and a microfibre washmitt is enough here. Keith from the washshop has a deal on at the moment on two buckets and a gritguard. You definitely need two buckets, a washmitt and a shampoo. If buying from halfrauds, megs gold class shampoo is pretty good. I like to use dodo juice born to be mild - very slick and smooth to use.

Drying: Go for a nice drying towel, something large that you can use. I went for Chemical Guys Miracle Dryer towels.

Claying: Highly recommended. Will remove whatever bonded contaminants that weren't removed by washing. Halfrauds do a nice Meguiars Smooth Surface clay kit which is awesome. Search here on how to use it.

Polishing: Something I would recommend you get done by a professional the first time, until you are serious about it. If you go down the machine polishing route, look for the Meguiars G220 or Kestral DA6 polishers. Get one with a kit so it has polishes and pads too. Hand polishing is best done using something like Autoglym Super Resin Polish from halfrauds. This fills in light scratches.

Sealant: This essentially seals in the finish. JetSeal109 is recommended. I don't bother with this bit.

Glaze: This improves the appearance of the paintwork and prepares it for waxing. I use dodo juice lime prime lite. The standard lime prime version has a light polish in it and can be used instead of polishing, again for light scratches only.

Wax: You can spend anything from £10 to over £1000 depending on what you want. For durability, I'd recommend Collinite 476s. This is a hard wax and there's a bit of work involved but the wax can last for 3-4 months, longer if you apply a second coat. I use this in winter. There are other waxes that can enhance the blue colour. Autoglym HD wax from halfrauds is also very good.

Wheels: Megs hot rims is my choice of wheel cleaner from halfrauds, but bilberry wheel cleaner from online. If the latter, buy a spray bottle with a foaming head since bilberry comes in a concentrated form and you need to dilute it down to use. If you want to, you can clay the alloys wheels, polish them and apply a wheel sealant such as poorboy's wheel sealant. Once this has cured, dirt should simply just wash off and you won't need to use a cleaner for a while.

Tyres: I love megs endurance tyre gel. Use a sponge to apply this. Makes the tyres look new.

Windows: Clay the windows. Use Autoglym fast glass and a proper glass cloth. Both can be obtained from halfrauds.

Trim: Autoglym bumper car for the black plastic bits of the car.

Exhaust: Use a microfibre cloth and autosol metal polish (also halfrauds) and lots of elbow grease.

Order that I would do it in:

Rinse with hosepipe
Shampoo using two-bucket method. Rinse. Repeat if required.
Wash your wheels.
Whilst still wet, clay the bodywork and the windows.
Dry using a drying towel.
Apply your polish at this stage.
Apply your glaze/sealant.
Apply your wax. Leave to cure.
Do the windows and plastic trim next.
Don't forget your tyres and exhaust (I've always done them last).

stealthwolf:
+1 for detailingworld. It's where the amateurs and professionals alike flock to.

Janner_Sy:
cheers guys, and stealthwolf for that last post.  very informative.  And will sort m out for he beginning.  I can gt trade discount in halfrauds soi can pick up loadsa kit from there.  Ill look for the brands you mntioned aswell :happy2:

B3n:
Hmm the thing with asking what detailing products you should buy is if you ask 100 people youll get a 100 different answers as your just getting started ill keep it simple.

Here's my 2p

Shampoo

Meguiar's nxt or Megs hyper wash are my personal favourites tried Dodo Supernatural and i found it a pile of masturbation fluid.

Megs sheepskin wash mitt

2 buckets with grit guards supllied by Keith on here

Drying towel - ditch the chamois and get yourself a fluffy drying towel Keith on here is also selling these at the mo.

Clay bar - Just get yourself the Megs quick clay kit available in Halfords it comes with everything you need

Polish/cleanse - Autoglym Super Resin polish is a very good starting point

Wax/Sealant - Now this is where it gets confusing but if i was only allowed to use one for the rest of my life it would by Collinite 476 this stuff gives a really good finish and a properly applied layer should last for months plus its only about £12.

Ontop of the above get yourself a few microfibre cloths and foam applicator pads for applying and removing products.

Ive kept the list ive given quite straightforward and simple and the items above minus the Collinite and Megs hyper wash are either available on here or from halfords.

Dont get sucked into the world of detailing and end up spending lots of money on unneeded products and so called miracle waxes trust me ive got over £800 worth of cleaning stuff :ashamed:. 99% of a cars shine and reflection is created at the polish/Cleanse stage and at this stage a properly applied £5 product will give a better finish than a slapped on £50 product.

Start with the basics then when YOU can see areas for improvement add or upgrade products or stages such as glazes and foam.

Ben

P.s sorry if the above seem mumbled or didnt make any sense its because ive had a few cans tonight :drinking:

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