Discussion
I've been bitten
Went today, to Halfords (not the best place in the world I know, but its a 2 minute walk!) and purchased a few products. I already had a little baggie of cleaning guff given to me by the dealer (inchcape branded stuff) when I bought the car so I decided I'd just use these to get started before splashing out loads on better stuff. But I bought buckets, wash mitt, picked up some Autoglym products like the clay kit and after much inner deliberation decided I probably won't have the time to go with a proper wax and ended up with Autoglym Aqua Wax. Then set about cleaning.
So pressure washer on the wheels first, then the wheel cleaner from the inch cape pack. It'd didnt half do a decent job, but I practically used it all and as it wasn't of the acidic variety a lot of the stubborn tar/embedded brake crap was left. Next, used some Autoglym insect dissolver on front of the car (especially the Visor part on the front of the civic). This stuff is really nice..baked on wasps just melt right off!. Next, washed the car with the mitt and inch cape shampoo/wax. This is pretty awful stuff to be honest, no suds, but slick enough to glide the mitt. Wasn't much cop at cleaning either (but that might have been because I let my GF do most of it as she wanted to play with the noodle mitt). Then.... CLAY! Wow I love clay! I could still be there now if left to my own devices. I was amazed every time I inspected the clay to find it filthy! It did a great job on the windscreen and windows, removing the dried water marks. Also took some of the edge off various door dings by removing the offending party's paint.
Rinse, followed by AquaWax. Now this did what I hoped... it was pretty quick (i started washing the car at 4pm this evening so I didnt have lots of time before it got dark), but I am not sure I like the method. You apply it to a wet car sparingly, and then with a microfiber you sorta work it into the body and mop up the water as you go. Means you have to keep ringing the towel out and keep catching the leaky bits round the wing mirrors. Then once you have dried the car, you go round with another microfiber and buff to finish. It goes on clear so the first issue I had was not really being able to see where I had been and where I hadn't, secondly I think I used too much. The first microfiber became quite saturated with the stuff so I guess I didnt need to keep spraying it on the later panels. Buffing the front of the car went fine, but the rear.... I was there forever trying to buff this stuff off! Every towel I had ended up saturated with the stuff, I was just moving it about on the surface! So lesson for next time is I probably only need a handful of sprays to do most of the car. I think I would be better with a wax or sealer that is thicker and dries so you can see where you have been... but I didnt have the time to be waiting 20-30minutes for it to dry.
Eventually got it under control though and the results are lovely. Windows look like they aren' t there and the body work looks really slinky.
It's sort of a half detail as I didn't do any corrective polishing (too dark and no lamps) and I don't want to jump right in with a DA machine polisher just yet. The car does have spider webbing that I wanna get rid of eventually. Also didn't get any tyre dressing or trim dressing... I am waiting for some Gtechniq G4 (out of stock) to do the extensive unpainted plastic trim on my civic. Didn't see the point in buying a bottle of something that will wash off in a week. The G4 will last 1-2 years. (Could try Nanolex as they have an equivalent and also PERL lasts a good couple of months so maybe that is an option in the interim).
However, in short... that 2 hour cleaning spree was enjoyable and I love how the car looks now gleaming under the sodium lamps in the car park. Worth it. Bitten.
Sorry wallet! (also got bitten by the photography bug, so thats 2 rather expensive hobbies I have now!)
Went today, to Halfords (not the best place in the world I know, but its a 2 minute walk!) and purchased a few products. I already had a little baggie of cleaning guff given to me by the dealer (inchcape branded stuff) when I bought the car so I decided I'd just use these to get started before splashing out loads on better stuff. But I bought buckets, wash mitt, picked up some Autoglym products like the clay kit and after much inner deliberation decided I probably won't have the time to go with a proper wax and ended up with Autoglym Aqua Wax. Then set about cleaning.
So pressure washer on the wheels first, then the wheel cleaner from the inch cape pack. It'd didnt half do a decent job, but I practically used it all and as it wasn't of the acidic variety a lot of the stubborn tar/embedded brake crap was left. Next, used some Autoglym insect dissolver on front of the car (especially the Visor part on the front of the civic). This stuff is really nice..baked on wasps just melt right off!. Next, washed the car with the mitt and inch cape shampoo/wax. This is pretty awful stuff to be honest, no suds, but slick enough to glide the mitt. Wasn't much cop at cleaning either (but that might have been because I let my GF do most of it as she wanted to play with the noodle mitt). Then.... CLAY! Wow I love clay! I could still be there now if left to my own devices. I was amazed every time I inspected the clay to find it filthy! It did a great job on the windscreen and windows, removing the dried water marks. Also took some of the edge off various door dings by removing the offending party's paint.
Rinse, followed by AquaWax. Now this did what I hoped... it was pretty quick (i started washing the car at 4pm this evening so I didnt have lots of time before it got dark), but I am not sure I like the method. You apply it to a wet car sparingly, and then with a microfiber you sorta work it into the body and mop up the water as you go. Means you have to keep ringing the towel out and keep catching the leaky bits round the wing mirrors. Then once you have dried the car, you go round with another microfiber and buff to finish. It goes on clear so the first issue I had was not really being able to see where I had been and where I hadn't, secondly I think I used too much. The first microfiber became quite saturated with the stuff so I guess I didnt need to keep spraying it on the later panels. Buffing the front of the car went fine, but the rear.... I was there forever trying to buff this stuff off! Every towel I had ended up saturated with the stuff, I was just moving it about on the surface! So lesson for next time is I probably only need a handful of sprays to do most of the car. I think I would be better with a wax or sealer that is thicker and dries so you can see where you have been... but I didnt have the time to be waiting 20-30minutes for it to dry.
Eventually got it under control though and the results are lovely. Windows look like they aren' t there and the body work looks really slinky.
It's sort of a half detail as I didn't do any corrective polishing (too dark and no lamps) and I don't want to jump right in with a DA machine polisher just yet. The car does have spider webbing that I wanna get rid of eventually. Also didn't get any tyre dressing or trim dressing... I am waiting for some Gtechniq G4 (out of stock) to do the extensive unpainted plastic trim on my civic. Didn't see the point in buying a bottle of something that will wash off in a week. The G4 will last 1-2 years. (Could try Nanolex as they have an equivalent and also PERL lasts a good couple of months so maybe that is an option in the interim).
However, in short... that 2 hour cleaning spree was enjoyable and I love how the car looks now gleaming under the sodium lamps in the car park. Worth it. Bitten.
Sorry wallet! (also got bitten by the photography bug, so thats 2 rather expensive hobbies I have now!)
as you said - only use a small amount of the aqua wax - I find it best to half dry the car first so its only slightly wet - then just a couple of light sprays onto the bigger panels with the wax
to be honest though im not sure how much protection / benefit it offers
I would use a good quality wax (like autogylm HD wax) every 2 or 3 months then use aqua wax in between to keep the car looking good
to be honest though im not sure how much protection / benefit it offers
I would use a good quality wax (like autogylm HD wax) every 2 or 3 months then use aqua wax in between to keep the car looking good
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