First attempt at polishing my car. Is this right?
Discussion
Firstly took my black Fabia VRS to the local hand car wash as for £4 it beats doing it myself! They do take a long time over it though, which I suppose is a good thing.
The car is pretty scratched and swirled after 120000 motorway miles and dodgy automatic car washes. I tried some Autoglym paint restorer, which I think is like T Cut, on the rear hatch which is the most scratched. A few passes over with a cloth made very little difference. I gave up on the rest of the car.
I used some fairly cheap liquid polish "Boora Wax" which I bought from amazon after a few good reviews. I applied it with a little sponge and it dried very quickly and then I attacked it with a cloth to buff it off. I was knackered after doing the whole car.
It looks nice and shiny now, albeit still scratched and swirled but they are a lot less visible. Not sure how long it will last though. Its still miles from perfect but miles better than dirty.
So next time I do it what do people recommend? I'd like to keep the effort the same or less, not buy endless nicer products and to reduce the scratches before polishing, although that is twice the work
Basically I'd like better results from less effort because I find it a bit of a hateful task, but the main benefit being that it makes my ageing car feel nicer and avoids the replacement car nagging feeling (at least twice a week!)
The car is pretty scratched and swirled after 120000 motorway miles and dodgy automatic car washes. I tried some Autoglym paint restorer, which I think is like T Cut, on the rear hatch which is the most scratched. A few passes over with a cloth made very little difference. I gave up on the rest of the car.
I used some fairly cheap liquid polish "Boora Wax" which I bought from amazon after a few good reviews. I applied it with a little sponge and it dried very quickly and then I attacked it with a cloth to buff it off. I was knackered after doing the whole car.
It looks nice and shiny now, albeit still scratched and swirled but they are a lot less visible. Not sure how long it will last though. Its still miles from perfect but miles better than dirty.
So next time I do it what do people recommend? I'd like to keep the effort the same or less, not buy endless nicer products and to reduce the scratches before polishing, although that is twice the work
Basically I'd like better results from less effort because I find it a bit of a hateful task, but the main benefit being that it makes my ageing car feel nicer and avoids the replacement car nagging feeling (at least twice a week!)
The only real way to get the swirls out of the paintwork is to use a machine polishing mop and a cutting compound, followed by polish then wax. I would say it in near impossible to get the same results by hand.
Basically (I think!) it will cut into the paintwork, gradually removing the lightly scratched and swirled paintwork and exposing the more fresh paint underneath. It is not really recommended if you are not used to doing it, but there are plenty of detailers that will do a great job. It will not get rid of deeper scratches but the swirls would be no problem. Also black paintwork tends to show marks a lot more than lighter colours.
If you look on google or detailing world then there is a lot more info. I would recommend getting a detailer in to give your car a good mop, it should look 100% better afterwards.
Basically (I think!) it will cut into the paintwork, gradually removing the lightly scratched and swirled paintwork and exposing the more fresh paint underneath. It is not really recommended if you are not used to doing it, but there are plenty of detailers that will do a great job. It will not get rid of deeper scratches but the swirls would be no problem. Also black paintwork tends to show marks a lot more than lighter colours.
If you look on google or detailing world then there is a lot more info. I would recommend getting a detailer in to give your car a good mop, it should look 100% better afterwards.
It's going to need more than £100 for a pro detailer to do even just the polishing, never mind a full on detail.
You could buy your own Kestral DAS 6 and a selection of pads and polishes, and do it yourself, but you WILL undo all the effort if you persist in using anyone bar yourself to wash the car.
Doing it yourself with the right tools, and process will reduce the amount of new scratches introduced.
Mileage is irrelevant, it's the hand washes and automated washes which have done the damage - not driving up & down the motorway.
You could buy your own Kestral DAS 6 and a selection of pads and polishes, and do it yourself, but you WILL undo all the effort if you persist in using anyone bar yourself to wash the car.
Doing it yourself with the right tools, and process will reduce the amount of new scratches introduced.
Mileage is irrelevant, it's the hand washes and automated washes which have done the damage - not driving up & down the motorway.
PJ S said:
It's going to need more than £100 for a pro detailer to do even just the polishing, never mind a full on detail.
You could buy your own Kestral DAS 6 and a selection of pads and polishes, and do it yourself, but you WILL undo all the effort if you persist in using anyone bar yourself to wash the car.
Doing it yourself with the right tools, and process will reduce the amount of new scratches introduced.
Mileage is irrelevant, it's the hand washes and automated washes which have done the damage - not driving up & down the motorway.
This. I've got the DAS 6 and it is very easy to use.You could buy your own Kestral DAS 6 and a selection of pads and polishes, and do it yourself, but you WILL undo all the effort if you persist in using anyone bar yourself to wash the car.
Doing it yourself with the right tools, and process will reduce the amount of new scratches introduced.
Mileage is irrelevant, it's the hand washes and automated washes which have done the damage - not driving up & down the motorway.
I've used Autoglym Paint Restorer, and it is okay. I think you are probably using it wrong. Polishing by hand is very, very hard work but is possible to get good results. To give you an idea, you should be working on 18" square at a time, and working the polish thoroughly until it goes clear and finally dusts. Buff with a clean microfibre towel, then repeat the process until the scratches / swirls are less visible (upto five times). With heavy compound polishes, you may notice a haze when you have finished. This is normal, so you will need a lighter compound polish to refine the finish and get it shiny. Don't forget a good sealant and wax afterwards.
And FFS, don't use the Bosnians!
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