Team-BHP - A superb Car cleaning, polishing & detailing guide

Quote:

Originally Posted by Garipagol (Post 1910721)

I have used Autogeek on numerous occcasons. Wolfgang & Pinnacle are owned by Palm Beach Motoring Accesories which also owns Autogeek. So if you want these brands Autogeek may be your answer. For a few other produsts like Klasse, 1Z Einszett, Merzerna etc (German brands) Autogeek is the best site. But for products from Meguire, Mothers, and a few others check out Amazon. Amazon will give you super saver free delivery to a US address (5-9 days) on these products. Amazon stocks many of the items from these brands. You will have to pay shipping only if you buy from one of their merchants. Minimum purchase is USD 25 to qualify for free shipping. Before buying Meguire products from anywhere else check Amazon, you may get a better deal. If you are set to buy, check out the detailing sites - they have memorial day specials on this weekend.:D

Rgds

@garipagol: how would you compare wolfgang to megs products? Its easier for me to source from germany than US. My list is quite similar to nirmaljusdoit with a few deletions.

Anyone else in a position to compare based on experience?

With the Arrival of the hawk,my Reliable workhorse was being neglected,and it was under a Cover of dust,owing to recent storms.
Spent 3 hours in detailing today.
Equipment used.

3 buckets of water.
Formula 1 Wax
F1 Tyre Foam
Waxpol Vinyl Polish
1L of my sweat

Quote:

Originally Posted by akshay4587 (Post 1912096)

Great results paaji , but dont use Formula 1 Wax too frequently because it contains polishes , use turtle wax insted. And BTW , you have used too much of wax !!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by benzinblut (Post 1910463)

I think someone on this forum tried www.autogeek.net. Looks resonable to me. Comments and suggestions pls

Do they ship to india ????

Quote:

Originally Posted by thelord (Post 1910729)

@NOTORIOUS
I've used JB Tool Sales. Good team and decent prices as well.
The only downside is they USPS for shipping which although being cheaper, is not reliable. Ask them to use UPS or Fedex, should not be much of a difference if you are getting quite a lot of things together.

what have you ordered and what is amount of shipping ??? do they also ship to india ???

Quote:

Originally Posted by NOTORIOUS (Post 1912310)

Great results paaji , but dont use Formula 1 Wax too frequently because it contains polishes , use turtle wax insted. And BTW , you have used too much of wax

I dont use it often(Like once in 2-3 months),and i have been using it since years on various vehicles,never had any complaints.
Wax looks too much due to the Color.
Only grudge i have is that it remains visible in nooks and corners of dark vehicles after wiping off

Post deleted by the Team-BHP Support : Please do NOT post one-liners that add little or no informational value to the thread. We need your co-operation to maintain the overall quality of this forum.

Please read our rules before proceeding any further.

Quote:

Originally Posted by thorpe (Post 1912237)

guys, I live in a small town, and all I'm getting here is fake F1 carnauba wax. Can anybody suggest the best wax for DIY use? Turtle is an option from Xenos website. What say?

Turtle is a great option, Xenos is the best solution for you considering your location.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sohail99 (Post 1912623)

Really nice results Akshay!

do get a sealant and then layer the sealant layer with formula1 wax that you have! You'll be surprised! ;)

btw I like the alloys!! :D

What exactly is a sealent?
any particular brand?

Hello Rudra... thanks for putting together such a nice article :thumbs up. Having just recently bought a Jetta in May, I am really keen to ensure that aesthetics of the car (both inside and outside) are maintained well. What really troubles me is how easily swirls (those concentric circles) are seen on the paint. For me this really is an eye sore and it dampens my spirits. I believe the main culprit for this is the dust that settles down on the car, and the person cleaning the car (which is normally outsourced) doesnt really bother to dust first.

I have an Ikon which bears the signs of this symptom quite a lot. Are there really polishes available that can remove or reduce the swirls on the paint? Does SONAX or WAXPOL have these? Would appreciate it much if you could share your views on this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by akshay4587 (Post 1913023)

What exactly is a sealent?
any particular brand?

Sealant is totally a man made product consisting of hydrophobic polymers which when applied to a properly prepped surface, make a tight polymer bond leading to water sheeting and more effective and durable protection!

Actually most of the stuff available here don't have sealant written on them!

here you can get blended waxes(mixture of sealant and carnauba waxes)

'Wax' always contains some naturally occurring substances such as carnauba, beeswax etc.

as far as I've learnt, carnauba waxes are meant only for show cars or cars with dedicated garages!

If you wax your car with a carnauba wax, in Indian conditions(car standing in the sun all day long) it'll evaporate due to the heat!

and since metallic paints heat up more(due to the metal flakes in the paint) its kinda a short lived gloss(unless you wax in the shade and the car remains in the shade most of the time)

Quote:

Originally Posted by sohail99 (Post 1915277)

Ahh ok,didnt knew about this.
thankfully my car remains in shade almost all the time,and comes out in sun only while driving.

Quote:

Originally Posted by benzinblut (Post 1910897)

I have used Megs occasionally. With my earlier cars I had used Turtle wax and Sonax mainly. I started using the German brands after reading about them in the Merc forums. These brands do not have a wide product mix as Megs. On an average if you buy these your initial outlay will be have to be significantly more. But the quantities you will use will be much less than the "DYI" items. Also, application of the products will require some discipline - not necessarily difficult though.

So my recommendation would be, if you want to use them - you should cherry pick the best items in their lineup to try. For Wolfgang - IMHO the best products are paintwork polish enhancer, the Deep Gloss Paint Sealant and the Spitz (for the price you pay). You can try Klasse AIO and the sealant as well. Stay with the same brand for the polish and sealant because of bonding issues.

Rgds

Quote:

Originally Posted by Garipagol (Post 1915606)

Thanks mate. will have a look and post for queries

Quote:

Originally Posted by akshay4587 (Post 1912096)

Good work. But tons of polish buddy!!! Actually after rubbing in the polish you should be able to see only a light haze. Most of the waxes (unless specifically mentioned as "Pure") have abrasive cleaning agents. As you rub...rub...rub (few more liters of sweat!!) the polish gets broken down and the abrasives clean your paint - that's when the shine comes through. If the polish is smeared and then allowed to haze before you buff it away you are not doing justice to your sweetheart.

Next time start in the morning - use less polish and work it to a almost invisible haze, buff it off - have a shower and lunch - come back and apply an even thinner coat of of the wax and wipe it down lightly before it dries.

Don't forget to send me a thank you note in the evening !!!