My First Proper Detailing Attempt

[Smitty]

Well I've always liked to keep my parent's cars clean but since I now own my own car, I'm about to become a complete clean freak and enter the world of detailing - on a budget so no super expensive Zymol Wax for me :frown:

I've had a good hunt through past threads - in particular AndyP's (http://www.newminiscotland.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=14466) super interesting, yet super long thread - and I'm going to take the following steps (maybe this weekend if I'm not off mountain biking that is!):

1. Wash with Autoglym Car Shampoo (2 bucket technique of course) and a Tesco sponge :smilewinkgrin:
2. Dry down with chamiox.
3. Clay using Sonus Green Ultra Fine Detailing Clay.
4. Polish using Autoglym Super Resin Polish (masking off black trim, making sure not to get any on their).
5. Apply Black WOW to the trim.
6. Wax with ???
7. Buff up the windows with Autoglym Glass Polish.

So the advice i'm looking for is:

1. Am I missing any important steps?

2. What wax should I buy (I have all the other products here or on order). I've not got a big budget to spend on this but don't want to use average products. I was looking at the Dodo Juice stuff, but not sure what kind to buy.

3. Sealant - is this necessary if I plan on waxing my car quite often?

I expect ianking will be able to answer all my problems in a matter of minutes :thumbs up:

The car is really in need of a professional detail, particularly on the roof, and I reckon a detailer machine is needed, but I just don't have the funds for that I'm afraid :frown:

[AndyP & Lenore]

All looks good Smitty.

I would chuck the tesco sponge and use a micro fibre wash mit or a lambs wool wash mit. And I prefer a micro fiber towel for drying, I find them much easier than chamois.

If you're on a budget at the moment, I'd probably not go for the Black Wow. It is good, but it is expensive. That money is maybe better diverted to a decent wax. Instead I'd use ground nut oil which you could pick up in tesco's when you take your sponge back.:thud: Ground nut oil will do a great job of your arches, but wont last as long as Black Wow. Just remember to give a wipe over with a hot damp cloth after applying. And groundnut oil will cost about 80p!

Wax - this is a personal thing really. Ian will no doubt be along soon to recommend one, and basically I'd go with what he suggests. He suggested I use Blackfire Wet Diamond Carnuba Wax. I love it. Goes on easy, comes off even easier. The only problem with it is that I need to leave it a day between layers. So building up layers takes a wee while.

I've never "sealed" the paintwork, but plan to look into this at my next major detailing session with the red MINI.

Auto glym glass polish is the absolute muts nuts.:thumbs up:

Oh aye, and... I'd leave the wheel arches to last. Do them after the wax.

The only other thing you could do is get some Poorboys alloy wheel sealant to protect your alloys and maybe some tyre dressing. Don't even have any decent tyre dressing myself, so if you find a decent one, let me know.:thumbs up:

A.:D

[euan]

Seconded on the binning the sponge - I use a washmitt and think it's great. You'll probably want two, one for wheels and one for body, but you could start with one for the body and then use it on the rims when it's knackered.

I'm going to get Poorboys alloy stuff as my next purchase, it gets a good write up.

[Big Col]

Ahhh by "detailing" you guys mean "Washing in an analy retentive stylee" don't you? ;):moonie:

[AndyP & Lenore]

Ahhh by "detailing" you guys mean "Washing in an analy retentive stylee" don't you? ;):moonie:

:yes nod::yes nod::yes nod::yes nod::yes nod:

GIRUY.:shut up:

A.:D

[Craig]

For the Wax, I have several and it all depends when I use it...

My most expensive wax and the one I used rarely as it lasts a LONG time is Collinite 476s. Fantastic product, goes on easy and lasts for months. Car beads like crazy. when I say expensive, it's only about £15 and should last a year or so. I have just bought Collinite 915 Elegance wax for £26 for 2 x 14 oz tins from the USA. Not used it yet, but they say it is even better than the 476s. :thumbs up::thumbs up:

If I have a bit less time to wax the car, then I use a liquid wax like RaceGlaze Carnuba Wax or Zymol Cleaner Wax. Both are about £12 a Bottle and I have had them for about 2 years... :thumbs up:

As a very quick wax, and something I use most times I wash the car is Turtle Wax Speed Wax (called Nano Tech now). It is just a spray on and wipe off wax, and is very cheap. Great especially in the winter time, when you just want a quick wax on the car between rain showers. ;)

As for the rest of your steps, they seem fine to me other than what andy has already suggested. :thumbs up:

You could go further, but their is a fine line between keeping your car looking nice and turning into a freak show. :moonie::yes nod:

[Craig]

Ahhh by "detailing" you guys mean "Washing in an analy retentive stylee" don't you? ;):moonie:

says the blooming hair dresser boy.... :eyes up::thud::moonie:

[N12 JLK]

I nearly flat lined when you said you washed it with a sponge, Lesley had to phone the Royal Infirmary:rolleyes:. Meguiars 16 wax is very good on a budget(£16, can only buy online). I use Meguiars hot tyre shine on my tyres, put a small amount in an old tin and apply with a 2" paint brush, don't spray it on as it will end up all over your nice paint work.

[Craig]

meant to say, I use Coconut Sheen for my Tyres from Barton Chemicals (located in West Lothian) and I am very happy with it. Lasts well and can be put on wet or dry. :thumbs up:

[Big Col]

says the blooming hair dresser boy.... :eyes up::thud::moonie:

Race ya! :D

[Craig]

Race ya! :D

nae bother, in the wet and on a twisty road..... see ya. ! :thumbs up:

[illegalhunter]

Where are the pics of the car then.

[Smitty]

Thanks for all the replies guys.

After a bit more looking I'm going to go for the Blackfire Wet Diamond Carnauba Wax as it seems to be the best balance between price and quality. Andy - where about did you get yours from, just make sure i'm not getting conned by some websites!

Tyre dressing - I just use Armour All spray on foam which my dad has a few tins of in the garage, but I'm not sure how this rates in the grand scale of things. Any feedback on this?

Sheepskin wash mit ordered ;) And I had already ordered my Black WOW - the trim not being shinny and black is one thing that "really" annoys me so I wanted to splash out on the the best product.

Currently working on painting my calipers and giving my wheels a good scrub in behind with Autoglym Wheel Cleaner (which is the absolute mutt nuts, removes even the most stubborn brake dust and grime!). Once that's all done, and my cleaning goodies arrive I'll get cracking!

[ianking]

order your blackfire wax from polishedbliss.co.uk and at the moment they are giving free the blackfire tyre dressing. I use this stuff and I would safely say its the best tyre dressing I have ever used and I have tried plenty makes.

[Smitty]

order your blackfire wax from polishedbliss.co.uk and at the moment they are giving free the blackfire tyre dressing. I use this stuff and I would safely say its the best tyre dressing I have ever used and I have tried plenty makes.

Is it this stuff Ian - Blackfie Wet Diamond (http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/blackfire-wet-diamond-all-finish-paint-protection-protect.html)

[AndyP & Lenore]

Is it this stuff Ian - Blackfie Wet Diamond (http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/blackfire-wet-diamond-all-finish-paint-protection-protect.html)

That's blackfire paint sealant.

I've done a wee bit of surfing and the wax I bought doesn't seem to exist anymore. I suspect it's been replace with this wax (http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/blackfire-midnight-sun-ivory-carnauba-paste-wax-protect.html)from Blackfire.

However, I was also looking at this thread (http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=51329) on Detailing World and it doesn't recommend the Blackfire wax for light coloured cars. It is recommended for warm colours and dark colours, but not light colours (silver). So, I'm not sure Blackfire is gonna be best for you Smitty.:blush:

I wish I had more knowledge to help you with your choice. Ian certainly has more experience with different waxes than I have.

Have to admit though, I love the look of that Blackfire sealant and the Midnight Sun carnauba wax.

A.:D

[Smitty]

Thanks for doing some digging mate, that Detailing world thread is quite helpful - I did not realise that the colour of the car varies the waxes that can be used! Every day is a school day..... :eek:

Luckily it seems that Pure Silver and Electric Blue will come under the same paint category - so what ever I used for mine I can use on my mum's car too. The only problem is my roof is black....but I'm sure the light colored wax wouldn't kill it, would it??

I'll do a bit of investigation tomorrow when I'm less tired on the suggested waxes and hopefully make an order after that! :thumbs up:

[AndyP & Lenore]

Thanks for doing some digging mate, that Detailing world thread is quite helpful - I did not realise that the colour of the car varies the waxes that can be used! Every day is a school day..... :eek:

Luckily it seems that Pure Silver and Electric Blue will come under the same paint category - so what ever I used for mine I can use on my mum's car too. The only problem is my roof is black....but I'm sure the light colored wax wouldn't kill it, would it??

I'll do a bit of investigation tomorrow when I'm less tired on the suggested waxes and hopefully make an order after that! :thumbs up:

I feel for you mate. Back in January I was were you are now. I had a full list of products on my shopping list, posted it up for suggestions/questions and ended up changing every product.:eyes up: Got there in the end though and love the stuff I've got.

I can't see how going for a wax that is "more suitable" for a light coloured car is going to do any harm to the wee bit of black roof. Have you got a sun roof?

A.

[Smitty]

I can't see how going for a wax that is "more suitable" for a light coloured car is going to do any harm to the wee bit of black roof. Have you got a sun roof?


No sunroof, just a full black roof. The roof is actually is in quite bad nick - looks like there has been some overspray on it and there is certainly some swirls going on, but until I can afford a buffer machine I'll just have to put up with this.

It seems that the Dodo Juice Wax (which was the stuff I originally looked at) caters for all types of paint colours! Perhaps that could be the winner :popcorn:

[Smitty]

Well it took me a while from buying the car, to delivery, to planning the detailing to actually carrying it out but finally, after 3 and half days of VERY hard graft my cars finally up to a standard that I'm happy with.

Went up North to my Mum and Dad's house in Aviemore, away from all distractions and just got down and dirty (literally) with my MINI.

Washed, Clayed, Polished, Waxed, Calipers Painted, Scrubbed Under the Bonnet, Full Clean Inside. Nothing left untouched, and my god, was I glad when it was done. The sun even came out for me to go drive it!!

So here's so work in progress pictures:

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y293/smitty_350z/P1020307.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y293/smitty_350z/P1020308.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y293/smitty_350z/P1020313.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y293/smitty_350z/P1020320.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y293/smitty_350z/P1020321.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y293/smitty_350z/P1020322.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y293/smitty_350z/P1020328.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y293/smitty_350z/P1020331.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y293/smitty_350z/P1020317.jpg

And the finish article after he was allowed to creep out of the garage for the first time in 3 days.....

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y293/smitty_350z/P1020341.jpg

And here was a wee friend I made on the final day after scrubbing brake dust from the driveway :p....

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y293/smitty_350z/P1020334.jpg

So what have I learned during my first detailing session:



It's hard work.
Cleaning brake dust and general grime from the inside of 4 year old alloys that have probably never been touched is a nightmare, even with Autoglym Wheel Cleaner.
Sonus Fine Green Clay - great stuff but must remember a detailing Lubricant next time. Just improvised with a light spraying of water.
Black WOW - Incredible.
Dodo Juice Rainforest Rub - Can't praise this product enough. So easy to apply, so easy to buff up. Beads wonderfully - I encountered a heavy down pour coming down the A9 so I stopped to have a look at the effect of the wax and I was amazed! The water just ran straight off the when I was driving.
Don't forget to purchase Autoglym First Glass and finish off everything by cleaning up your windows.....what a difference it makes!! :thumbs up:

Well report over (probably of great interest to the clean freaks and incredibly boring to you manky thrashers!!). Now I'm planning on enjoying the car, once I have given it a quick clean tomorrow as 120 miles down the A9 takes it toll I'm afraid!

So can I now enter the shiny club?? :p PLEASE!!! :smilewinkgrin:

[Crombers]

So can I now enter the shiny club?? :p PLEASE!!! :smilewinkgrin:

Aye fire away, mind shut the door on yer way in :yawn::rolleyes::hand:

[AndyP & Lenore]

So can I now enter the shiny club?? :p PLEASE!!! :smilewinkgrin:

Excellent job Smitty. The Shiny club welcomes you with open arms.:D

A.:thumbs up:

[Smitty]

Aye fire away, mind shut the door on yer way in :yawn::rolleyes::hand:

Your just jelous as if my car and yours were parked next to each other.....you would want to step into the clean shiny one!! :p;);bigwave:

[Smitty]

Excellent job Smitty. The Shiny club welcomes you with open arms.:D

A.:thumbs up:

Cheers Andy, and thanks for the advice throughout the prep.....the next time will be a whole load easier!! And hopefully I can offer advice from now on to "newbies" :smilewinkgrin:

[MiniSnaps]

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y293/smitty_350z/P1020334.jpg

Is that one of those TOAD alarm thingies? :eyes up:

Car looks great btw, that's pretty much my ideal colour/spec :smilewinkgrin:

[Smitty]

Is that one of those TOAD alarm thingies? :eyes up:

Ha, brilliant!! :yes nod::laugh: