tips on washing/waxing

[VAG1]

this might sound daft, but i am relatively inexperienced in this department. i want to bring out the shine of the car myself as it could be fun. what product do i use to wash the car? what product to wax it? (ive heard good stuff about carnauba). is there a pre-wax also? whats the two bucket method? there are obviously swirl marks on the car. its pearl effect paint so it should be gleaming afterwards if i do it right. the car colour is black if that helps.

[jimmyb]

Well no expert here but...

My method is to firstly simply hose the car down all over to remove as much grime and stuff as possible. Then i have a hozelock pressure sprayer thing looks like a weed killer i fill that up with warm water and car soap (i use auto glym) .
Spray car all over leave to soak for 10-15 mins hose car down.

Then its two buckets of clean warm water and a sponge or 1 bucket and hozelock sprayer full of clean water. Put carwash soap in bucket and wash car all over panel by panel. Sponge wash panel then spray all suds etc off using clean water before moving to the next one. If you have a water blade use it on each panel as you go as well to get all water off.

Where you go from here is down to you and the condition of bodywork.

[PDV]

Two bucket method means you have one with shampoo mixture in it and one with just clean warm water. Every time you would return to the bucket for more suds go to the clean bucket first to rinse out your sponge and remove any grit. If you can, get a wash mitt rather than a sponge as grit gets stuck in the cavaties of a sponge and makes swirls.

A common mistake is not understanding the difference between a wax and a polish. Polish is a mild abrasive to remove dead paint, contaminants etc. Wax is a protection to polished paintwork to prevent surface contaminants sticking and enhance gloss and shine.

Also look into getting a clay kit, you use this after you've washed and dried the car but before polishing. You will be amazed at how much it cleans up the paintwork and the difference it makes to feel, shine and gloss.

[VAG1]

ok i think im getting the picure. so id wash the car with a spray and leave it for a few minutes, wash the spray off, hand wash the car with a wash mit, dry the car, polish the car and then wax. is that right? so could someone recomend the brand names of all the products i'd need. there are a lot of swirl marks and light scratches around the car which, with some considerable effort could be removed. i definitely want to use carnauba as the wax though. thanks for the replies so far.

[jimmyb]

most would recommend meguiars swissvax or auto glym i think. I use auto glym but have just today bought a some new wax and polish applicators made by meguiars.
Was hoping to try em today but looks like rain all day.

[PDV]

I've tried everything on the market (just about) to remove the scratches and swirls on my A3, most of the products you would get from Halfords aren't really up to the job. I'm reconciled to the fact that it needs machine polishing to remove these and I'm going to invest in a Meguairs G220 polisher and a kit from www.cleanyourcar.com.

If you didn't want to spend the money on a polisher then you could have a detailer do it for you.

[VAG1]

not looking to get a machine really, hoping to do the work myself and see the results. do you have to pre-wax before you wax?

[JohnP68]

I've tried Autoglym, Zymol and others in the past, but my current favourite is Meguiars. Results not quite as impressive as Zymol but much cheaper and much easier to apply. For what it's worth, this is all the "kit" that I bought:

http://www.meguiars.co.uk/cgi-bin/specwd.pl?pc=G12...

http://www.meguiars.co.uk/cgi-bin/specwd.pl?pc=G40...

http://www.meguiars.co.uk/cgi-bin/specwd.pl?pc=G11...

http://www.meguiars.co.uk/cgi-bin/specwd.pl?pc=G12...

http://www.meguiars.co.uk/cgi-bin/specwd.pl?pc=G13...

http://www.meguiars.co.uk/cgi-bin/specwd.pl?pc=A73...

http://www.meguiars.co.uk/cgi-bin/specwd.pl?pc=X20...

http://www.meguiars.co.uk/cgi-bin/specwd.pl?pc=X20...

http://www.meguiars.co.uk/cgi-bin/specwd.pl?pc=X30...

The quick clay does a fantastic job and is easy to use

[kds keltec]

Post the thread under the detailing section and you will get loads of help from the pros with advice to products and how too!!
Hope this helps!!!;)

There is a big section on my website called "guides" showing a lot of what your asking too , which i hope too be adding more content to soon !!

[old school v-dub]

well if i may ill give you a tip on how i do it ,,,
first get the hoze out give the car a good blast to get it wet all over then get a bucket with a microfiber cloth add your car shampoo wash it all over
blast again with the hoze
get out a leather shammy dry the car all over
then get you turtle wax ICE out its a new product apply all over even on the plasics where it wont leave a white mark let it settel for 20 mins in direct sun light if you can
them power buff off
my car comes up a1 after that i try do this 1 a month but wash it regular to keep the build up of road grime down

[VAG1]

ok i see. time to buy the products now.

[vw-aj]

Have a look on here more than enough help.
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/index.php

[istoo]

i am sold on meguairs products as well, if you spend the time cleaning and waxing it is worth it.
Every other week: meguairs gold shampoo. 2 bucket with wool mitts (got a pack of ten from costco for £10 two years ago!
Every month (ish)wash with meguairs gold shampoo, wheel cleaner, trim detailler, then NXT glass cleaner.

very 4-6 months, this is the one that makes a differnece, clean with shampoo, then go over with clay bar, sounds mad rubbing your car with a lump of mud but it really does lift all the grime and leave it mirror finish for next bits. then scratch remover (NOT T CUT), a layer or two of wax makes the body well clean. But it does fade after a while, until i started using collinite 476.. highly recommended this is a detergent proof wax which goes over the top of the exiting wax, meaning it is not washed off on washes after. so do this which does take the best part of a day will leave you with a car which after a quick wash will look polished all over again. best car cleaning product!

Donts... sponge, pick up dirt them spread it back across the paintwork!
Power washer, be very very careful, i take the lance of mine so it just delivers a standard pressure spray.

I am by no means an expert but i did use T cut turtle wax for years then bought Meguairs and yes it is much better! There are other products out there on that level, i am just used to Meguairs, autoglym do a parallel range as do many others

[VAG1]

so washed the car today with a mit (more difficult than sponge) using triplewax car shampoo like i usually do. dried it and everything. then i waxed the car with 'meguiars gold class liquid car wax'. and yes i can see the difference, the car is shining like never before. hasnt got rid of the swirl marks as im crap at waxing but its a start. hope it doesnt rain for a couple of days now, my car doesnt fair well cosmetically.