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-   -   A superb Car cleaning, polishing & detailing guide (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/technical-stuff/102011-superb-car-cleaning-polishing-detailing-guide-304.html)

Whoa! It is 5:20 am and I just came up after washing, light waxing and some interior detailing!

Well, It so happened that my beauty was not touched (washed/ wiped) for a week because it is raining and it was parked in the open! I am a night bird (8 years of night shifts) and I just couldnt sleep knowing I did not pay attention to the car.

Earlier today I had been to Reliance Autozone and picked up some stuff. They had an offer on armorall products (2+1 free). Problem was they didnt have the stuff i needed. picked up one Multi cleaner, and protectant (bottle and sponge both). Also picked up motomax polish, why? I dont know!I already had the Simoniz Car wash and wax bottle.

So at 2:30 AM...(that is night! :) ) I went down with two buckets of water (warm and cold). 10 Dupont wipes (image below), a sponge, mug, my old car wash liquid etc!

First wiped the car using the Jopasu mini duster (glove like). Washed the car with cold water and old liqiud then. Simple, take a mug dip sponge and squeeze out on car (just made it damp- one section at a time). Then pour the mug of water on it. wipe off with the sponge. Dip sponge in another small vessel of water (with little rin matic) clean sponge, rinse in clear water in another vessel. And continue the process till the car looks cleaned up. I do not force the dirt of. I 'pick' it with my sponge. Once this was done, the next thing was the Simoniz liquid in the warm bucket of water. This stuff is highly recommended. Cuts through grease and dirt. Followed same routine. Was done in almost an hour. With the simoniz, once I am done sponge cleaning, I use the mug and wet the entire car again.

Then back home, for two buckets of warm water. The security guard called his friends and they were kind of laughing (can hear that at night from a mile away!) at my craziness. Hell, I love my car (but I dont nourish it with Servo, lol). I have even heard people commenting, arre why you washing, I have this guy who comes in the morning should I ask him to wash your car as well, he is not too expensive! I just say, " Oh, I like to care for the car myself. Smile! Back to narration!

Then I washed the car and wiped it down with the Dupont Sontara Cloth. About this, it costs 49 bucks for a pack of 5 (Reliance Autozone). It works like a charm. Highly absorbent, cleans well, you can just wipe with it directly as well. Wash and reuse. No lint. It is nice.



After wiping, tested car for wax finish, simple water beading and reflectivity test. Touched up a couple of places. Wiped down car.

Then I used the armorall protectant. Simple Spray on a cloth and wipe down your black parts (exterior as well) I have a couple of before and after pics for my left ORVM which due to 'borewell water' had become whitish.
Before

After.


It works amazingly well. Also vaccumed the interiors with my carvac (coido). Got my rubber mats up (they must be dry by now) and washed them with the 'bum washer' - the shower handle like thing you use to wash your, ahem, bum. :) Trust me it works well to wash these things!

Now back home and posting. Product list I use is below
Washing - local car wash + Simoniz Wash and Wax.
Interior Cleaning - ArmorAll Multi cleaner
Wax - Formula1 + Turtle Zip wax.
WashWiper fluid - ArmorAll wiper fluid, very efficient highly recommended.
Interior and plastic detailing - Armorall Protectant.
Windscreen cleaning - Colin. (ArmorAll wiper fluid is in the car wash tank. Effective in clearing your screen even when it is raining).

Sorry for the long post, just felt like sharing. People think I am an idiot, but cant help it, love is blind cant see the time!

^Thank you for sharing these details. I was looking for something lint free and cheap.
I will try and lay my hands on Dupont Sontara Cloth.

Hi,
Sharing with you price list of mothers product I got in my mail. ( from Auto Mall ).

Mods : please remove if you feel its commercial in nature. I am in no way affiliated with auto mall.

I have seen a lot of posts here that suggest the use of WD-40 for removing paint, sticky gum/glue & other impurities from car paint.

While I do not debate the use of WD-40 as I have not used nor experienced it myself for the above use, I did buy a 3M Adhesive Remover. It smells strongly like Orange Juice.:D It works wonderfully for removal of any gum/glue/sticker without leaving any trace behind. I also bought a 3M 5-WAY Penetrant and a 3M Stainless Steel Cleaner & Polish. I am mighty pleased with these amazing products as they work like a charm as intended. Posting pictures of these products.

Mods: Please delete my post if you feel its commercial in nature. I am in no way affiliated with 3M.:)

Looks impressive. What is the 5-Way Penetrant for? and did you buy it from a local store or online? just curious as I am from hyderabad and wondering where to look for these beauties

Thanks for sharing!! :thumbs up

@sohail , mkh , nirmal: any comments on mothers Synwax ? which is the best wax paste\liquid as per your experience.

Thanks saikatmandal04,:)

The 5-WAY Penetrant works just like WD-40/Zorrick 88, its just that its a 3M product so works wonders.

Lubricates
Displaces Moisture
Cleans
Frees Rusted Bolts
Loosens Stuck Mechanical Parts
Rs.230/- for 325gms.

I bought it from a dealer of 3M products in Mumbai along with some amazing non-abrasive scrubs.

A friend of mine got over enthusiastic with his 4 year old Alto and washed with very high pressure water jet. As a result clear coat got chipped off in many places. The Base colour is intact.
Can the clear coat be applied without full repainting?

Mothers is a decent brand in the DIY range, but i feel meguiars in a different league totally. Nothing can beat meguiars, but then its not easily available too. Collinite is a great bet too. Instead of experimenting too much, i have found that sticking to one good make and REGULAR application is far far more important

Mohsin between meg nxt and collinite what would you choose ?

Thanks for Sharing the information on the product. Can you also share the 3M Dealers address ?

I bought these products a while ago from a company called Novapack. I think its against this forum's rules to furnish any details pertaining to commercial business. But google - Novapack Mumbai Karim House - and you should get the desired results. They were authorised dealers for 3M products in Mumbai. Hope this helps :)

I am glad to inform that WD-40 was able to remove the chewing gum effectively, without causing any visible damage to the paint.

Now, there is another challenge that I am facing. My car is parked under a tree and also surrounded by bushes. Unfortunately I do not have any other parking option. The following are major issues:
(1) I have noticed tree sap - primarily seeing some yellow and some black spots on the car
(2) Lot of black ants all over the boot (since it touches the leaves behind)
(3) Some light scratches on the boot most likely due to rubbing of branches or leaves

For (1) regular water and cloth is effective, but it takes a lot of rubbing on those spots to get rid of. I am sure there would be something which is easy on the paint, but more effective than plain water. Please suggest.


For (2), it is easy to wash off the ants, but they come back in more numbers after a few hours. Is there some anti-ant solution?

For (3), I have tried tying some branches and cut some of them to increase the distance somewhat. I believe a detailing job in future will be able to take care of these things. The car was waxed and polish (3M detailing package) recently.

Since you are from Pune, did you get your 3M detailing done from the 3M Car Care Center at Viman Nagar?

I will be going to Pune next weekend to try it out. This is what I stumbled upon:

3M has now opened state of the art “3M Car Care Centers” in India where you can actually leave your car with experts trained by 3M. Of course, you could also stay back at these centers and work in our Wi-Fi enabled customer lounges. And while you sit, your car is worked upon and transformed into a beauty that you can drool over.

Mods: Please delete my post if you feel its commercial in nature. I am in no way affiliated with 3M. :)

Personally i will choose NXT, i think in my experience i have seen it last better and also since its a proper sealant, it bonds to the paint better. To be honest, there is no 100% sure measurement for this, i don't think anyone in the world can do that except put on 2 cars the same time and put in the same conditions to see which lasts more. Only issue, the NXT Paste is tougher to remove and one has to be very careful it does not run onto plastics.