Getting into detailing - is this a good regimen?

[maurauth]

I've always been lazy and had my car washed for me on the cheap but have decided to invest in some detailing kit and have done a bit of research, this is what I'm planning on doing tomorrow if the weather holds up as I've got some holiday from work and want to try and get rid/cover up the horrendous swirl marks on my new SLK.

This is my plan, any feedback on order etc would be great!

1. Rinse carefully.
2. AG shampoo, 2 bucket method with quality mit.
3. Dry with quality megs towel.
4. Use AG HD cleaner to get rid of old wax etc
5. AG clay bar kit
6. Rinse and wash again.
7. AG SRP 2 or 3 coats, up to 4 or 5 on major swirl marked areas.
8. AG EGP.
9. AG HD Wax, maybe 2 coats?

Of course I'd do wheels first and then top to bottom of car with a different wash mit for everything below knee height.

Does that sound good for a nice starter clean that can just be maintained for a few months before repeating?

Have I missed anything? Is this the best way to get swirls out of a black car? Should I just keep building up the SRP to fill the swirls? Is EGP followed by HD wax overkill or worth it for a good deep clean every 3-6 months?

[swisstoni]

Re swirls - going forward you would be better off dealing with them rather than constantly trying to keep them filled with stuff.

[maurauth]

Yeah I thought I'd give it a go before shelling out £300-600 on a pro machine polish. I've just done 3 coats of SRP and waiting on the EGP to cure then I'll grab some photos.

[Jbliss]

Dont wash the wheels first using the same bucket as youll wash the body with!!!!!

Either do it last, or use a different bucket and mitt

[maurauth]

Jbliss said:

Dont wash the wheels first using the same bucket as youll wash the body with!!!!!

Either do it last, or use a different bucket and mitt

I was told to do the wheels first as they're most likely one of the most dirty parts- if you do them last you might end up splashing the dirt off of them back onto the body of the car and have to re-clean the body.

I used the "dirty" bucket out of my two buckets and just used the AG wheel cleaner spray with one of those wheel brushes that look like a christmas tree, and then sealed it with the AG wheel seal.

[Ken Figenus]

I'm new to this OCD as well! You could try snow foam after your first power rinse - I think its the rinsing that is key to minimising swirls as you take the dirt off BEFORE you touch it.

[ch427]

Seems overkill at the end to me, 1 application, maybe 2 of srp and a coat of either egp or hd wax would suffice.

[paddy328]

and get rid of the megs towel in favour of a couple of these:

http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/pb-luxury-...

[dub_weiser]

Before you clay you could decontaminate the car with a tar remover like tardis and an iron remover like iron x.

[dub_weiser]

Before you clay you could decontaminate the car with a tar remover like tardis and an iron remover like iron x.

[Ken Figenus]

maurauth - best book the week off mate!