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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-639.html)

Have been going through the thread and have few questions. I use a 3M car shampoo and havent professionally waxed/polished the car (5 month old car). I recently polished my car (DIY using a product that I picked up from Malaysia ). This gives a pretty good finish but is temporary. I generally do the following:

1) Rinse the car to remove the dust/dirt
2) Wash the car with shampoo
3) Wash it again to remove the shampoo
4) Apply wax (have only applied once on the Creta)

After going through the thread, I would like to use some premium products.

Which one do you guys suggest, Collinite or meguiars (dont want extra premium products :D).

This is a DIY that I did on my old car, ecosport with the product that I picked from Malaysia.

1. What's the most safest and effective way to clean microfiber towels? My Euro MF's have lost their plushness partially and hence the query. Currently I just dump them in a washing machine with Henko matic.

2. And also, is it safe to use the dryer (spin, to be precise) in the washing machine to dry them?

3. While rinseless washing, I wring them out a lot. Is it advisable?

Have used neither but Optimum Car Wax (OCW) is arguably the most VFM spray wax available in India right now. If you're looking for a VFM sealant, Ultima Paint Guard Plus (UPGP) is the one you want to spend your money on. Collinite 845 is an extremely good product but I seriously doubt if it can beat OCW when it comes to ease of application.

I usually soak my microfibres in warm (not hot !) water with some vim or other dishwashing liquid for an hour then wash by hand, squeeze (without twisting) and hang to dry.

A good beginner combo is Armor all heavy duty shampoo to get most of the stuff off the paint without leaving any wax or silicones that will cause bonding issues and then a decent wax like Collinite 845 or Megs Tech Wax 2.0. Other good products to accompany them is the Jopasu duster, Optimum No rinse, Megs Natural shine interior protectant and a few good small microfibres + one big for drying.
Get the paint polished, corrected and clayed once a year by a professional.

I see lots of members here using the Optimum Opti-Eraser, and a lot of recommendations for it (over the traditional clays).

However, which is the one that you guys use & recommend - mild (pink) or aggressive (white)?

Would there be any difference in usage process of both of these?

Guys, I have a new cleaner for my car and he insists on standing on the tyre to clean the roof. Is this good practice? I'd imagine the tyre walls are unduly stressed with the man's weight bearing down on it. Should I ask him to stop this? I've given him a stool but he refuses to use it.

Weight of a man is nothing compared to the weight of the car it is holding up. It's not a problem at all.

Someone few days back told me to use Vaseline while cleaning the car. The reason I believe that he might be saying the truth is because his car looks clean and shining all time. He tells me to use normal washing powder to wash car. And while washing, to apply a little of Vaseline onto the cloth.

Any one in agreement? Has anyone tried it?

If by normal washing powder you mean the washing powder you use to wash clothes then please dont use it and use a good car shampoo instead.

You can use both of the things and feel the difference yourself by touching your cars paint after washing. After using normal washing powder the paint will feel rough and after using a car shampoo it will feel very slick and will give a much better shine than any washing powder.

After planning for long, had my first detailing session yesterday. My car is 1 Year 4 Months old and clocked 22K with lots of trips and highway runs. I normally shampoo wash once or twice a month and clean with Jopasu duster in between. Also i have open parking and use car cover.


Steps:

• Started around 1 PM, cleaned interiors and mats by 2.
• Did 2 bucket wash with Sonax shampoo and used water hose to give a final rinse.
• Chose fine clay over extra fine as this was the first time the car is going to be clayed.
• As expected lots of grime was picked up by the clay from almost all panels. Skipped the roof as i was too lazy for that.
• Kept the collinite in hot water to liquefy it a bit and applied using megs applicator pads. It was almost 5:30 as i was halfway through waxing process and had to work in low light.
• After buffing the results were very nice as expected. ONR had a very nice smell, not so with Collinite.

Mistakes made:

• I made few mistakes. One of them was to rush the detailing process in one day. It was tiring and given i dont have closed setup, working in low lights was a issue during waxing process.
• I thought 300ml of clay lube will be enough, but as i had to clay the whole car, it turned out to be a little insufficient.
• I dropped the clay once on floor and didn't want to throw it away as it was expensive. I cleaned it and used another smooth section. However i think it caused some minor scratches in some sections of the panels i worked after that :Frustrati I split the 100gm bar into two while using and should have used the other half. I will be using the dropped clay for rims now.
• I buffed off the collinite before letting it to haze, kept in on for 1 min max as i was short on time. I guess results would have been better if i had waited.

Well that's about it. Next time i will definitely do this in a better way. Meanwhile let me share the results:

I was looking to pick the 1 Gallon Meguiar's All Purpose Cleaner, as it is a good product and works out economical compared to small quantity purchase.

However, 3.78 Litres is too much for my requirement (even for the next 2-3 years :p).
Is there anyone here from Bangalore who would like to split a can?





The results look really good.
And thank you for being open about sharing the things that you did incorrectly. We can also learn from it.

What brand of microfibre towels, and what gloves are those above?

I'm just building my car detailing kit, and some items are due later this month.
Planning to do my first self-detailing during February. :)

Slightly positive with Laundry washing powder Halfoctave, but not so with Vaseline.

Washing powders have come a long way and many of them have become gentle due to thin materials used in cloths and many of them are also pH neutral since colors on clothes are also no expected to last more than a year. But they will strip the wax coating much faster than car shampoo. Use only if you have no other option.

Vaseline is just no brainer. If you want your car to attract dust and not let go, then this is the best way to destroy your car's paint.

I am planning to work on my 5 year old Bossa Nova White Punto. The car has seen detailers just a coouple of times for complete polishing and waxing. But now the color has paled and on testing with polythene wrapped on hand test i can also sense significant contaminants(if thats the word) on it. After going through the thread and other sources here is the procedure i plan to start with:

1)Washing and wiping with MF cloth. (Bought 3m car wash and some MF cloth)
2)Claying (Planning to order Bilt Hamber AutoClay Medium)
3)Compounding (Planning to order Meguiar's Ultimate Compound)
4)Polishing ( Planning to order Meguiar's Ultimate Polish)
5)Wax ( Planning to order Meguiar's White Wax)

Now what i am confused with is are these the right products for my cars color? Can i skip the 4th step? What pads should i be using for applying these? And lastly how much should be the intervals between these?
Please suggest if some alternative products can/should be used in place of above mentioned products.

PS I am not promoting Meguiar's products here its just that based on comments on the thread and deals on some ecom website i am more inclined towards meguiars.

Any suggestion will be helpful.

I'm not sure of how effective compounding will be, if you're doing by hand. Too much pressure and/or high abrasive content will ruin a paint job quickly without the desired finish.

The white wax is good, but it's a cleaner wax - a hybrid that's trying to be a polish and a wax. If you are anyway going to use more specialised products for paint correction anyway, you can skip this and use a more long lasting wax. Longevity of the white wax isn't great, a month or so. If you want longevity, use a more mainstream protecting sealant or wax like M26 or Gold class.

Thanks and hope you have a great detailing session ! Here are the items in the picture below:



01: Wash mitts bought locally

02: Meguiar's Microfiber Water Magnet Drying Towel

03: Meguiar's Supreme Shine Microfiber Towel

04: CarPro Clay Bar Set

05: Sonax Car Wash Shampoo

06: COLLINITE LIQUID INSULATOR WAX 845

07: Formula 1 Citrus Fragranced Protectant

08: OPTIMUM NO RINSE WASH & SHINE

09: Meguiar's Foam Applicator Pad

10: GREENZ BLUE CLEANING MICROFIBER TOWEL (Free with #6)

11: Spray bottles bought locally

12: Ultimate Detailerz Premium 360 GSM Microfiber

13: BLACK NITRILE GLOVES


Hope this helps :)

Any tips on how to clean and maintain chrome (on plastic) on the car?
I see some greyish deposits on chromed areas such as the front grille, door handles and the manufacturer's logos.

Plain water did not help, and I was apprehensive about trying cleaning with car shampoo or mild detergent. Thought would check here first.



Also, redrawing attention to these. Can any of you please help: