Practice

[darryl.k]

Hi all,

I've often thought over the last few months how do peoples pride and joy appear exceptionally shiney. My cars are clean as I've often been anal about keeping them clean. But how do you get that deep, sharp shine. I know how to polish metal, as I've done a lot of that in the past polishing to microns and very tight tolerances by hand with different grades of diamond paste. But a car is very differnet. So I found the detailing site in one of these threads, which I found really helpful mentioning different products and what order to use them in. Unfortunatly I was brought up from an old generation shown to clean a car with a bucket of water, some fairy liquid and a sponge that touched every surface. So before I let my self lose on my Subaru, I had a go on my Alfa 156. The pictures don't show the whole car just some panels I had a go at. I haven't spent out on a DA polisher.... yet! I was amazed by what the clay bar pulled out, even though I thought the car was clean. The finish you see is elbow greese on a silver 9 year old car with original paint after buying the following and using in the below order:


1. Rinse with hose.
2. Meguiars Gold Shampoo in bucket and new sponge, wash.
3. Rinse with hose.
4. Meguiars clay bar and detailer.
5. Rinse with hose after each panel.
6. Dry with clean micro fibre towel.
7. Apply Turtle wax polish paste with Microfibre applicator.
8. Polish off with Micro fibre towel.
9. (The Turtle wax was polish not wax, so still researching what wax to use?)

Cheers for looking, comments welcome.

Darryl.k

[AndyWRX]

Originally Posted by darryl.k

Hi all,

I've often thought over the last few months how do peoples pride and joy appear exceptionally shiney. My cars are clean as I've often been anal about keeping them clean. But how do you get that deep, sharp shine. I know how to polish metal, as I've done a lot of that in the past polishing to microns and very tight tolerances by hand with different grades of diamond paste. But a car is very differnet. So I found the detailing site in one of these threads, which I found really helpful mentioning different products and what order to use them in. Unfortunatly I was brought up from an old generation shown to clean a car with a bucket of water, some fairy liquid and a sponge that touched every surface. So before I let my self lose on my Subaru, I had a go on my Alfa 156. The pictures don't show the whole car just some panels I had a go at. I haven't spent out on a DA polisher.... yet! I was amazed by what the clay bar pulled out, even though I thought the car was clean. The finish you see is elbow greese on a silver 9 year old car with original paint after buying the following and using in the below order:


1. Rinse with hose.
2. Meguiars Gold Shampoo in bucket and new sponge, wash.
3. Rinse with hose.
4. Meguiars clay bar and detailer.
5. Rinse with hose after each panel.
6. Dry with clean micro fibre towel.
7. Apply Turtle wax polish paste with Microfibre applicator.
8. Polish off with Micro fibre towel.
9. (The Turtle wax was polish not wax, so still researching what wax to use?)

Cheers for looking, comments welcome.

Darryl.k

Depends how far your willing to go mate, you really need some sort of machnine polisher either a DA or rotary, you cant really go wrong with a DA but you can really damage the paint with a rotary, clay barring is a good start but youll still be left with marring, swirl marks and rds, then the polish depend on what type it is will just fill them in so youll get a nice finish but once the polish has worn away theyll be back,

Have a look at this detail i did mate should give you an idea

http://www.southeastscoobies.co.uk/v...ead.php?t=4250

Best example i can give is chunks bonnet, it was totally faded and really badly oxidised in places and looked like it needed a respray but i had a go with my DA and it brought it back to life and made it look like new

[Lucky]

I find it just comes with time. Prep is key. Avoid sponges and leathers. Claybars work well, and I have found that choice of product makes a massive difference. I am about to go the DA polisher route as being black it is impossible to get all of the swirls out.

My monthly routine is this:

Snowfoam the entire car, leaving it 5 mins before rinsing

Wash using 2 BM, lambswool mitt and megs gold class shampoo

rinse again

Dry using a luxury drying towel/microfibre towel

Polish with Blackfire gloss enhancing polish

Seal it with Blackfire all finish paint protection


I wash it using the above methods weekly, but miss out the polishing/seaing and tend to go around the car when its dry with a speed detailer. Although in the middle of the month may top up the wax with the all finish paint protection again.

I clay it twice a year to strip off all the old protection and start again.

Anyone looking at this lot may think its a pain, but I enjoy it and it does seem to build a deeper glossy shine over time.

Hope that helps!!!!!

You hit the nail on the head when you say you enjoy doing it.

And at the end of the day, it's why when mine and yours are parked side by side, mine looks like a proper sack of ****.

Mine gets something close to a "loving" once a year. Apart from that, I take it to the local Poles who "GIVE JUST TO WASH OUTSIDE SIR?" and thats lazy old me in a nutshell really

I'm sure theres someone out there that'll agree with me when I say this though.....

.... if it ain't dirty, you aint driving it hard enough

[Chunk]

Looking back to years gone by, I can't believe I used to wash my cars with a sponge & dry with a leather

Thinking of how good my old cars would have looked if i had cleaned them properly

[Lucky]

lol, mate, I would never say yours ever looks like a sack of ****

Mine on the other hand, being black, looks like a sack within 2 days of being cleaned, so I have to stay on top of it.

[Steve_PPP]

Originally Posted by worzel

.... if it ain't dirty, you aint driving it hard enough

Definately



Took fookin hours to clean that lot off

[Steve_PPP]

Originally Posted by Chunk

Looking back to years gone by, I can't believe I used to wash my cars with a sponge & dry with a leather

I still do.....

[mikey2]

Originally Posted by Lucky

I find it just comes with time. Prep is key. Avoid sponges and leathers. Claybars work well, and I have found that choice of product makes a massive difference. I am about to go the DA polisher route as being black it is impossible to get all of the swirls out.

My monthly routine is this:

Snowfoam the entire car, leaving it 5 mins before rinsing

Wash using 2 BM, lambswool mitt and megs gold class shampoo

Out of interest, why do you wash it twice??

Originally Posted by Lucky

I find it just comes with time. Prep is key. Avoid sponges and leathers. Claybars work well, and I have found that choice of product makes a massive difference. I am about to go the DA polisher route as being black it is impossible to get all of the swirls out.

My monthly routine is this:

Snowfoam the entire car, leaving it 5 mins before rinsing

Wash using 2 BM, lambswool mitt and megs gold class shampoo

rinse again

Dry using a luxury drying towel/microfibre towel

Polish with Blackfire gloss enhancing polish

Seal it with Blackfire all finish paint protection


I wash it using the above methods weekly, but miss out the polishing/seaing and tend to go around the car when its dry with a speed detailer. Although in the middle of the month may top up the wax with the all finish paint protection again.

I clay it twice a year to strip off all the old protection and start again.

Anyone looking at this lot may think its a pain, but I enjoy it and it does seem to build a deeper glossy shine over time.

Hope that helps!!!!!

Being Black I would highly recommend using a Glaze after your polish stage

Originally Posted by mikey2

Out of interest, why do you wash it twice??

Normal to wash twice for various reasons.

Snow foam soak and rinse removes larger dirt particles which could cause scratches if straight to wash stage. You leave to dwell so that the water snow foam has time to lift the dirt.

Most go straight to wash stage here, but would suggest going for a pre wash here. Something not too soapy and certainly nothing with a wax or polish in!!! as this will do nothing more but seal in dirt.

Then wash, because you have removed most of the particles by soaking or pre wahing, you can afford to go a bit more aggressive with a harder cloth or sponge.


Basically you wash more than once to remove particles that could scratch the paint whilst you clean with wash mit or other