fiestaturbo.com

[jedigav]

That's a great guide mate, nice one I cleaned my XR2i a few days ago. I use Turtle wax car wash, tyre gel, wheel cleaner, cockpit cleaner & wax 4 wheels, it's all good stuff. Especially the tyre gel, I blacked mine about 4 days ago, since then it has been red hot & peed down with rain & they still look like new

I use autoglym super resin polish too, great stuff. I also use a hydra blade. You have to watch out for grit/dirt, but if you wipe it with a leather(like somone further up suggested) it's fine. I cleaned mine with the sun out a little ( i know you shouldn't but when would it get done ) & got most of the water off with the blade. It would have dryed out before i got half way if I had only used a leather. You still need a leather (or 2) though

Another thing I use every few months is a clay bar, which is great for getting tar or tree sap/that sort of smeg off! You wet the area & sweep it across whilst keeping it wet & it lifts the tar straight off & into the clay. You can reuse it a few times as well. I bought a bout five of these when I saw them discounted at Halfords, i think they were about a quid each. I still have 4 unused! It's great for using before polishing.
Thanks for the guide again & keep em clean people

[nick.king]

Days worth

Glad you liked it!

Gareth

That FRST looks very nice in your signature, got any larger pics??

Nick.

[Bell]

i polish my car twice a week. (3 times in winter)



i use either autoglym high resin polish and hard wax. or the showroom polish from work. (barton chemicals)

[SPo0n]

i've learned way more since reading this post. anyone who's seen my car or knows me, knows i've spent way too much time cleaning it. i've got a shelf full of products and only use the ones i deem good enough

here's a few tips:

do not use a sponge - it will scratch your paintwork. notice in bright sunlight your paint looks like it has circular scratches on it? that's due to sponge use. get a high quality lambswool or microfibre wash mitt. use 2 buckets - one with clean water, one with soapy water. use the clean water to rinse off the mitt each time you pass it over the car - when you see how dirty it gets you'll be glad you didn't use one bucket.

use microfibre for everything. pretty much everything else will cause scratches.

meguiars polishes and sealants/waxes come highly recommended. i've tried pretty much all the consumer level stuff - mer, autoglym, turtle wax, and it's all crap. autoglym do a product called fast glass which is very good. i've yet to try meguiar's glass cleaner though.. it's meant to be really good.

order of doing things:
wash
clay
polish
wax

what's clay you ask? well it's what it says - clay. you use it with a "quick detailer" spray and pass the clay over the car. it will remove dirt that won't come out via polishing or washing. good for getting rid of bird crap - that stuff is nasty.

when you wash the car, only use a decent car wash soap. stuff for the kitchen (fairy liquid etc) is for the kitchen.

dry the car with a blade if you dare (can cause scratches though, even if it's clean) or use microfibre towels to dry it.

don't let polish dry on the paint. apply (using an applicator pad) and remove (using microfibre cloths) straight away. wax should be allowed to dry for about 20-30mins, then removed. while it's drying the wax is actually bonding to the paintwork to ensure more protection and a deeper gloss. Before you take the wax off you need to do a swipe test to ensure that the wax has cured properly, simply wipe your finger through the wax, and if it comes off cleanly, then you will know if it has cured properly, and you can remove the wax. if it doesn't come off cleanly then you need to leave it for a while longer. the synthetic waxes aren't so time dependant, so you can leave it on for slightly longer than you are probaly used to. Also if you wax the car once, and then leave it for 24hours (no sooner, otherwise the wax won't have had time to cure fully) and give it another coat of wax you will ensure full protection and a deeper gloss.

clean the wheels before you clean the car. it's quite time consuming and the products are usually quite harsh so you don't want them left on the paintwork. i personally use meguiars hot rims. spray on, use a brush to remove the brake dust etc, and hose off. they come up like new. then i use autoglym instant tyre dressing on the tyres. i apply it with a brush so i get a more even spread and don't use as much. not too impressed with it though - it takes forever to dry and leaves my tyre walls greasy. also attracts dirt which is annoying. i apply the tyre dressing before i wash the car and it takes most of the excess off leaving a nice 'matt' shine.

when washing applicator pads, microfibre towels etc. put them in the washing machine with normal washing powder but NO FABRIC SOFTENER. low temperature. then tumble dry at low heat.

can't think of much more. ask me anything

[cossiemen]

then i use autoglym instant tyre dressing on the tyres. i apply it with a brush so i get a more even spread and don't use as much.

should try this like I always do; apply tyre dressing with a sponge...


cheeRS

[Gaz7]

nick.king, yeah there's plenty more pics on FT.com...

http://www.fiestaturbo.com/phpBB/viewto ... highlight=

Then some on an old FITP post

http://www.fiestaturbo.com/phpBB/viewto ... highlight=

then some random ones from my photobucket account:















Gareth

[SPo0n]

does your car get really dusty sitting in the garage gaz? what do you use to dust it off?

bet it never sees water anymore does it? just polish etc...

[MikeyXR2i]

Top posting Gaz, have to pull my finger out and do my babies!!! Aint polished for nearly 2 years cos of a skin complaint caused by polish!!

[Max M4X WW]

No excuse!! Gloves!! Or do you have an allergy to latex?

[nick050]

My car needs a good t-cut was just wondering if i put it all over the car first not panel by panel then hose it off does that work? or should i just put it all over the car and then buff it off and whats the difference between wax and polish

[mk3phill]

lol nick youve got to rub t-cut in you cant just wash it off,..has to be buffed to a haze then when u start rubbing again it will come off

[RS1800pec]

I’m sorry but I see a few faults in this guide.

Why would you clean and shammy the whole car THEN start washing wheels & arches. Shorly you would splash water over your nice shammied car lol

I personally don’t shammy s**t till the whole car is clean. Otherwise you'd be forever walking round the car with the shammy.

Just a thought

[Fezzy Turbo]

I didnt notice anyone mention the wonders of kitchen roll :

Tip for cleaning your glass inside .....

Use Mr Muscle glass cleaner and kitchen roll to apply and dry. It shouldnt streak at all

[Gaz7]

I’m sorry but I see a few faults in this guide.

Why would you clean and shammy the whole car THEN start washing wheels & arches. Shorly you would splash water over your nice shammied car lol

I personally don’t shammy poo till the whole car is clean. Otherwise you'd be forever walking round the car with the shammy.

Just a thought

You do the wheels and arches last, after the car, to avoid dirtying your washing equipment with brake dust. It's extremely easy to wash wheels without splashing the bodywork; in fact, i'm not even even sure what you'd be doing to splash water on the bodywork whilst washing the wheels with a sponge...

Gareth

[SPo0n]

I’m sorry but I see a few faults in this guide.

Why would you clean and shammy the whole car THEN start washing wheels & arches. Shorly you would splash water over your nice shammied car lol

I personally don’t shammy poo till the whole car is clean. Otherwise you'd be forever walking round the car with the shammy.

Just a thought

You do the wheels and arches last, after the car, to avoid dirtying your washing equipment with brake dust. It's extremely easy to wash wheels without splashing the bodywork; in fact, i'm not even even sure what you'd be doing to splash water on the bodywork whilst washing the wheels with a sponge...

Gareth

I do them first to avoid dirtying the car. My hose doesn't exactly spray in one direction, leaks a bit, so the bodywork nearly always gets wet when i use it on the wheels.

And if you use the same stuff to clean your bodywork as your wheels, it's your own fault when things go wrong! I have seperate stuff for wheels and the lower half of my car.

changed a lot of things since i wrote that last post but can't be arsed to write another guide out

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk and http://www.autopia.org should have enough info for anyone interested in the correct way to do things

[madsekci]

Old topic I know but here's my contribution.

Steps involved in a detail:
- pressure wash first
- spray on some shampoo (with the press. wash)
- rinse of the shampoo
- check for any dirt / grime that's still left. If I'm unable to get it off, I sometimes use rim cleaner (diluted!) spray it on and immediately rinse it off
- go over the car with a normal hose
- wash one panel at a time and rinse the panel (two bucket method!*)
- after the wash, rinse the whole car one more time (take a bucket full of water and "throw" it over the car, it will take water off and makes the drying easier)

- Inspect the finish for above surface contaminents (deposits on top of the paint; feel with your hand and try to catch any small "bumbs")
- Clay if necessary (see previous point). While most of the time only horizontal panels should be clayed, I do all the other panels too (including glass) every six months.
- Then I check the finish for "flaws" in the paint (swirls, small scratches, etchings, etc) and make a selection on the products to use. If it's local I use Meguiars Scratch X, if it's basically the whole car I use #80 or #83 (#83 is a more agressive polish / paint cleaner)
- Finish it with a layer of wax (Meguiars NXT for dark cars and Gold Class for light coloured cars)

I also use a specialized rim cleaner and tyre protection gel. I don't think the gel does any protecting though only show!

I'd like to give some advice too. I'd definately start with the parts that need most attention (washing stage) and that would be your rims and wheel arches. I usually give them a pre-clean because if you rinse your car first and then spray your product on, it's diluted and loses some of its effectiveness. So I first do my rims and wheel arches en then te rest of the car. While doing so, they get a "second washing" from water and shampoo coming of the car.

* two bucket method: use two buckets one with shampoo and one with water. After washing a panel, clean your sponge (washmitt is best though) in the clean water bucket to avoid sand etc. contaminating your shampoo water. Also use different sponges for the wheel arches & tires, under side of the body and the top of your car.

Polish / wax issue. Most polishes today are no pure polishes. They do in effect have some polish and some wax but I don't think it's good to mix such two products into one. Therefor I use a pure polish to polish the car (it takes away small amounts of paint so scratch surroundings are leveled to the scratch itself and therefor "removing" the scratch) and afterwards use a carnauba wax to protect the paint. Usually carnauba wax lasts about 2 - 3 months (depending on weather conditions) and synthetic waxes should last 6 months.

I wouldn't use a chamois and use Microfiber towels instead because chamois tends to move dirt around which can potentially swirl your finish as microfiber towels have long fibers that keep dirt inside the towel and not onto your finish.

Doing all this indeed requires a lot of time, especially if you're doing it all by hand. I've bought myself a sander recently that can take velco polishing pads too to cut on detailing time but still I needed about 8-9 hours clean a Volvo V70. On the Fiesta I only need about 5 hours.

Ofcourse, like someone mentioned. Once you've done the whole package; your finish is in top condition again and you only need to repeat the whole process if you have to (so feel the finish after washing).

I usually wash my car every week (and use a quick detailer whenever needed; remove tree sap / bird poo). Every month I usually go through the whole process (as I still have a scratched finish).

Oh one last tip! If you're about to wax your car, apply some wax to your rims too (unless they're chrome ). Next time the brake dust won't be so sticky and you can get a lot off by just using shampoo and a sponge.

Some examples (my fiesta mk3):



I'm not a professional detailer but it started out just trying to get my fiesta looking the best (as it was in really bad condition) by cleaning it and I got positive comments from people I know. All of the sudden they're asking me to do their cars too - but even if I'm not a pro, if you have any questions feel free to ask and I'll help where I can.

[fiestaflame1234]

If you wash a car with the "one bucket method", a sponge and a chammy leather, when you stand back to admire it, the paintwork will be a mess of scrachtes and swirl marks, i always use a washmitt, two bucket method decent shampoo - meguiars nxt and proper drying towels - microfibre ones, all chammy leathers are terrible, also its best to use proper wheel brushes on the wheels as a sponge will ruin these also - its never best to do the wheels/arches last, as you will have to wash more dirt off the bodywork again

[fiestaflame1234]

[quote="Jon_mk4"]Good guide up there ^^^^^^^ :D

[quote="Gaz7"]
I've tried a hydra blade .... but i don't use them on my own cars because of one flaw - get one bit of grit under the blade and don't notice and you'll sweep it over you car and ruin the paint....
[/quote]

Wipe the blade clean with a chamois after every pass over your car and there's no more danger of scratching the surface than there is by drying the whole car with a regular chamois leather. Doesn't half help speed things up.

Another tip after polishing - especially if you're using a high-wax content polish - is to spray a fine mist of cool water over the car and to dry it again, this time with a chamois leather. The cold water sets the wax which protects the newly waxed surface and brings out the shine, even on a first coat.

Last but not least, a quick link. I use Zymol products and am always impressed with them, despite the cost. This, however, might just be the most expensive polish in the world?! [url]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2474329116&category=28641[/url][/quote]

dry your off with a hydra blade thingy, then look at your car in direct sunlight...

[SammiWhiskers]

Wow!

Fancy doing mine??

I just pay the illegal immigrants car wash a tenner down town.

They do everything for that :)

[fisher09]

Great guide