The detailing and washing thread

[doozle]

I washed my car! Hasn't been washed in ages:

Didn't wash it properly, just went over with a bucket of water and mer. Then shammied it off.

 

[homeforsummer]

You have a lot of trash you need to get rid of...

That's all the cleaning stuff It isn't normally there, I promise!

Looking good! Did you use the all purpose cleaner method? It usually works really really well.

Yup, I got some of that Tesco Daisy you mentioned, seems to work really well 👍 Looking forward to seeing what the seat and doorcard look like tomorrow when they're dry.

 

[Moglet]

Because I'm very bored and very sad I've decided to list and price up my entire detailing collection so far;

Wet & Dry vacuum -----------------------------------£35
Autoglym Car Care Kit -------------------------------£50
Autoglym Hi Foam Interior Shampoo ---------------£6
Autoglym Metal Polish -------------------------------£6
Autoglym Instant Tyre Dressing ---------------------£6
Autoglym Wheel Sealant -----------------------------£5
Autoglym Super Resin Polish ------------------------£10
Meguairs Water Magnet ------------------------------£7
CarPlan Eco Glass Cleaner ---------------------------£1
Interior scrubbing brush -----------------------------£2
Gliptone Liquid Leather ------------------------------£5
G Techniq c3 Copolymer Carnauba Quick Detailer -£20
Sheepskin Washmitt ---------------------------------£10
2 x buckets -------------------------------------------£5
Dodo Juice Sour Power Shampoo -------------------£8
2 x detail brushes ------------------------------------£5
Tyre brush --------------------------------------------£4
Valet Pro Bilberry Safe Wheel Cleaner --------------£10
2 x Homebase spray bottles -------------------------£5
Mr Muscle All Purpose Cleaner ----------------------£4
Meguairs Quik Clay kit -------------------------------£20
Serious Performance Microfibre towels -------------£8
Halfords Cotton Cloths x 12 -------------------------£20
Halfords Wheel Brush --------------------------------£5
Turtlewax Black in a Flash ---------------------------£4
Turtlewax Interior Wipes -----------------------------£5
2 x Microfibre Applicators ----------------------------£3
Finish Kare 1000P Hi Temp Sealant -----------------£18
Dodo Juice Light Fantastic Wax Panel Pot -----------£3
Dodo Juice Diamond White Wax Panel Pot ----------£3
Dodo Juice Rainforest Rub Wax Panel Pot -----------£3
Dodo Juice Purple Haze Wax Panel Pot --------------£3
Dodo Juice Big Blue Microfibre buffing cloth --------£5
Zaino Z8 Grand Finale Spray Seal -------------------£20
3M blue tape ------------------------------------------£3
Wonder Wafers Sample Pack ------------------------£12

Total ---------------------------------------------------£336

I don't think that's too bad after all, it doesn't include a machine polisher or polishes though, that'll be my next big spend. That and a pressure washer. 👍

 

[Sniffs]

I got a challenge for you guys...Tobacco tar. not only my own, but the guys I'm hauling.

Home: wha'd you use to clean the seats? I've had crap interiors for so long (how would you like to have to clean crayon, long set, out of a former family car) I stopped bothering.

 

[Moglet]

I got a challenge for you guys...Tobacco tar. not only my own, but the guys I'm hauling.

Home: wha'd you use to clean the seats? I've had crap interiors for so long (how would you like to have to clean crayon, long set, out of a former family car) I stopped bothering.

Is the tar on the interior or the exterior?

To clean the seats I recommended he use an All Purpose Cleaner (Tesco Daisy) diluted 1:10 with hot water, and then just gently scrubbing the seats using a brush dipped into the water mixture. Then left to dry naturally.

I washed my car again today and since the weather was nice I decided to wax it too. I used Dodo Juice Light Fantastic wax this time, and applied it using my fingertips before buffing off after 30 minutes. I think I've found a nice combination with it being layered over the existing sealant from 2 months ago.

It was dark once I'd finished but it was worth the effort!

I also made a walkaround video to show off the 'wet' look;

 

[///M-Spec]

Well done. It's tough to get white to really shine like that.


M

 

[Beerz]

You should've set an extra light source to lighten the back of the car, but still it's easy to see how good the paint is looking.
"wet look" is the proper expression. 👍

 

[Slicks]

Looks good, Mog

I washed mine last night and vacuumed the interior - Just a quick job.
The foam gun makes things go noticeably quicker, and I think I use a bit less shampoo as well. I just pre-rinse the car, put a few gallons of rinse water in a bucket for the mitt, and start going panel to panel with the foam gun, rinsing the mitt periodically. Rinse the car, and dry it off. I did two cars (My Talon and my roommate/landlord's SLK 320) in about an hour.

Mine needs a glaze and wax... One of my idiot friends thought it would be funny to write on the hood, despite me yelling at him.
I've yet to try the Petes '53 Black, but in the next couple weeks I'd like to get some sealant on followed by the wax.

I could make a list of my detailing supplies, but it would be depressing to know exactly how much I've spent on everything. I'd estimate something above $700, possibly as high as a grand.

 

[Moglet]

Typical England, it absolutely tipped it down with rain here today and so all the roads are back to being soaking wet and muddy. My car is now plastered with road grime, it's even worse than it was before I washed it yesterday

 

[Pupik]

I got a challenge for you guys...Tobacco tar. not only my own, but the guys I'm hauling.

The Corolla I inherited in very-late-2002 was a smoker's car. The first step I took was vacuuming out all the ashes, and cleaning every surface with a couple of damp, soapy rags. Scrubbing the carpets, throwing out the floor mats (they were nasty, misshapen, and slid everywhere anyhow), and headliner was a good start.

Then I fastidiously cleaned every darn surface of the interior and cleaned under the seats (move them fully forward and back), getting all the dust out. Hand clean anything and everything. Luckily, the Toyota low-rent interior was very easy to clean, and it withstood all my elbow grease without damage. The hardest part was the seats, washing them over and over again, but I couldn't drive the car for a day on a few occassions, so that your butt wouldn't get wet.

It took a week of spare time, but the car never smelled of smoke again. My wife said she never noticed the smoke odors again. A few months later, I finally got the job at Lexus, I spent two hours at the detail shop cleaning my car when I got off the clock with a compressed air hose nozzle and a vacuum that could spontaneously cause another black hole to form, if used improperly.

 

[Joey D]

I hate and I do mean hate wash, waxing or doing any form of detailing to my car what-so-ever. Good news is I hardly ever drive down a dirt road and for the most part my car just gets road grim on it so a quick trip through the local $5 touchless auto wash gets the car pretty clean. The only problem I was having was the "spot free rise" was leaving spots. So I invested in some things today.

It's a microfibre towel (it's huge too), a California water blade, a bottle of ICE detailer spray to wipe the car down with. The water blade works better then I suspected, I actually heard about it from a co-worker who bought one to dry his Trailblazer. I thought I would give it a go when I saw it at the auto parts store and I'm glad I invested in it. It dries the car very quickly and only has a difficult time getting into tight spaces, but that is why I have the microfibre towel. All in all it looks like my water spot conundrum has been solved.

I do have another issue though, what's the best way to get rid of brake dust off of rims? I see to have an issue with that.

 

[buickgnx88]

Usually while at school, I don't wash my Jeep. Before I head home for the summer, I hit it up with a power washer and large foaming brush to clean it up a bit (especially the windows). At home: I rinse it down with the hose, wash it with sponge and scrub brush (mainly for top, wheels, and dead bugs), scrub the wheels with a Brillo pad, and then rinse the thing down. Then twice a summer, I wax it (once at beginning, once at end). The interior gets a vacuum, the dash and door panels get washed, and the windows get washed with Windex.

 

[Perfect Balance]

I do have another issue though, what's the best way to get rid of brake dust off of rims? I see to have an issue with that.

As long as they're wet you should be able to get it off using a sponge or something and then rinsing.


Brake dust is weird like that, most of the pressure washers here in car washes don't get that stuff off, but run a sponge over it once and it all loosens up and comes off with some hose water.

 

[Casio]

I've actually started using paper towel on my brake dust. Even if it doesn't get it all off, it loosens it up enough for it to just get pressured off.

I'm actually thinking about taking the wheels off my car to wash them really well. When my girlfriend was selling her rims I could give them an amazing clean in not too much time when they're not on the car.

 

[Keef]

Moglet, what does a cleaner + buffing wheel do to touch-up paint?

 

[Sniffs]

Pupik: cheers. it's gonna take a bit to get everything out of all the cracks and vents. I don't HAVE carpeting. I got a "rolling Radio" used; the entire interior was completely stripped out, with all the pannels put back with ONE screw. no carpeting, no NOTHING...just the floor pans (now scraped to the bare metal, my crews kick floor mats out of their way).

and NOTHING is gonna take the brake dust offa MY front rims. one of my Rotors exploded, and one wheel is completely coated in Iron.

 

[Moglet]

Joey, PLEASE don't continue to use that blade on your paintwork. They're OK to be used on windows but they should never go anywhere near the paintwork. This video shows the damage they can do;


(The guy who cleans them at the start visits the same forums as me )
No matter how clean the car looks once it's been washed there will still be dirt about that can get trapped in the blade and will do massive amounts of damage to your paint.

As for the brake dust, Valet Pro Bilberry is a very good cleaner that is safe for use on alloys as it doesn't contain acidic cleaners. You need to be aware of using acidic wheel cleaners as they can damage the finish on your wheels.

 

[Joey D]

That's pretty interesting, the instructions of the blade did say to be absolutely certain that your car was clean before using it because one grain of whatever could scratch the paint. I think I'll probably use it on the windows from now on and possibly the roof since it's a pain to dry with a towel. For the body work though I'll stick with the microfibre towel, I have to imagine that's safe enough.

And I'm probably going to head to the auto parts store right now to see about that wheel cleaner, although it's probably a UK product since I've never seen or heard about it here. Oh well, I'm sure there is something similar, if not I'll use a brush.

 

[Moglet]

That's pretty interesting, the instructions of the blade did say to be absolutely certain that your car was clean before using it because one grain of whatever could scratch the paint. I think I'll probably use it on the windows from now on and possibly the roof since it's a pain to dry with a towel. For the body work though I'll stick with the microfibre towel, I have to imagine that's safe enough.

And I'm probably going to head to the auto parts store right now to see about that wheel cleaner, although it's probably a UK product since I've never seen or heard about it here. Oh well, I'm sure there is something similar, if not I'll use a brush.

A deep, plush towel is the best thing to dry the car with since the dirt particles will be caught up in the deep pile and will be kept away from the paint, although a microfibre will also do the job well. 👍

I think the Bilberry cleaner is a UK only product, but as long as the wheel cleaner isn't highly acidic you should be fine. Most heavy wheel cleaners use a lot of acid that can erode your wheels after some time, but the milder ones can still remove a lot of grime without doing any damage. If you can't get the really heavily stuck on dirt off with a wheel cleaner then you could always try spraying on some wheel cleaner and then claying the wheels with a good clay. That got rid of most of the dirt on my friend's car wheels.

BTW if anyone is interested, here's a good guide for washing your car without doing as much damage as the average person ;
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=4637

You also might like this thread Joey!
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=90075

Fully detailed Mini from the thread;

 

[Pupik]

I don't understand the whole "wheel wax" phenomenon; maybe there's some surfaces that it helps. I've personally never found brake dust to be too difficult on alloys, but it's much harder to take off from plastic wheel covers, I've noticed. But if brake dust accumulates for many years, it tarnishes a wheel forever.

I can understand on some high-performance brake pads that blacken a wheel in a week...maybe it's better for applications like that.

 

[Slicks]

This was my latest haul of detailing goodies a month back...

And a short writeup of a detail I did on a private clients' BMW Z3.

It had obviously been well taken care of at one point, but had suffered a bit of neglect recently made worse by outside storage.

Some brake dust accumulation:

Pine needles, the bane of my existance:

Removal throughout the car took a solid forty minutes.

The car had some moisture issues inside resulting in a bit of mildew:

The rest of the interior was dirty, but not anything excessive:

I started with a thorough wash - Doorjambs, wheelwells, trunkjamb - There was an excess of pine needles and organic matter all over the car that required more time than I anticipated to remove. I wasn't asked to do an underhood detail, but I'm sure there were many more hiding below.

I dried the car, and examined the paint for damage-
-Scuffing on the rear arch:

-Many random deep scratches and a few linear marks where something was dragged across the trunklid:

The owner hadn't requested that the whole car get a polish, but I did a few areas - The rear quarters, bumper, and trunklid, around both doorhandles, and part of the hood above both the headlights. I used Meg's Fine Cut with a 6.5" foam pad.

I finished the paintwork with a single coat of P21S Concours.
A 50/50 shot of the trunklid, before and after wax:

And some good gloss on the hood:

I continued on with the interior - A thorough vacuum to start. I used some Poorboy's APC on the speaker grilles and top to remove the mildew. I dusted and wiped down all interior plastics and leather, followed by a combination of 303 Aerospace and Chemical Guys' Silk Shine on the plastics (Depending on texture and location). All leather surfaces were treated with a Meguiars leather cleaner/conditioner. Lastly, I cleaned all glass with Stoners Invisible Glass.

I moved back outside to finish up. I dressed the tires with Silk Shine, and wheel wells with Chemical Guys Bare Bones.

Finished Pics:

The famous Z3 vents, AKA horrible trapper of pine needles. Note the wheels - They came out like new.

No more mildew, here.

The speaker grille didn't come out perfectly, but any better results would have required disassembly of the door card.

Even the footbox gets attention:

I did an Inifiniti M35x two days later for the same client, and there is an LR3 waiting for an appointment. Before it, I've got paintwork scheduled on a Cobalt SS this weekend, and a Cooper S mid-May.

I may do a writeup on the Cooper, as there are currently decals on the side of the car that I will be removing - Some more serious paint correction will be needed to bring the rest of the finish back to the condition of the hidden paint. This car is actively autocrossed as well, so there will likely be a couple bits of cone scuff to be found.

Mog, have you any experience with decal removal? Any advice other than a heat gun and a soft plastic blade? I've got some 3M Citrus Base Cleaner that should tidy up the residue nicely.

 

[Bram Turismo]

Give me a car, and all I need to make it shine is a bucket of warm water, soap, a swamp, a hose, and a special towel that absorbs water.

Gimme 30 minutes and your car is clean. I use massive amounts of water, it's so important to keep the car wet in all areas during the wash as soap can dry in the sun and it leaves nasty spots on the paintwork. But polishing your car into the biggest detail, with tyre wax and whatnot takes it to the extreme. I mean, which everyday guy takes his UV light to check out his car? I've got better things to do than using a whole day just to make my car beyond clean

 

[Slicks]

I don't go that far into detail on my own car - I was paid to do this.

It's somewhat of a bargain for the client, being much cheaper than any detailing shop will charge in this area, but nets me a handsome profit for the day.

 

[Keef]

I actually took a look at my paint's condition under the light. Thoughts? Clay? Polish? Cleaner? Have somebody else do it?

 

[EA11R]

I just bought a car for $500.

How do you remove oil stains from carpet? :Icky:

 

[Keef]

 

[Slicks]

I actually took a look at my paint's condition under the light. Thoughts? Clay? Polish? Cleaner? Have somebody else do it?

Claybar it, even it it doesn't particularly need it (The paint will feel rough, rather than smooth if it's in need).
Then polish it - It probably won't remove the scratches if you're doing it by hand, but it will round over the edges and thus reduce the appearance of said scratches.
Then wax it, or apply sealant. Good sealants will last 4-6 months, wax lasts 4-6 weeks generally.

 

[bergauk]

Keef, that doesn't fit in a car.

 

[Keef]

That's why it has a hand-held extension

One of the first things I did to my car the spring after I got it was take all the seats and consoles out and shampoo the carpet and mats. It made everything look, smell, and feel so much better.

 

[EA11R]

lol, We've all already disassembled the car, we just forgot the cleaning bit. That does actually seem like a good idea, we were just hoping to clean the hard vinyl bits. Shampooing it like a house carpet seems a wonderful idea. I'll get right on it.

And, that probably does fit in my car. Apparently, Altimas are absolutely amazing.

Yes, alliteration!