Proper Wash Guide + Add Your Favourite Detailing Products

[Stutopia]

I was a drive thru car wash user until I got the Zed a couple of years ago and started to learn about washing with care. I have learnt tons from watching lots of short vids, but I think this pulls all the basics into one place and minimises the need for reading lots of guides/threads on day 1.

 

Regular readers will know I'm a fan of AMMO vids/products, I know detailing provokes lots of different opinions on different techniques and different products, but I honestly think most people would agree that if you can follow the simple steps outlined in this video and experiment with any half decent products, you'll be able to keep your paint spot on with minimal fuss. It's kind of long, but it only needs one watch really to absorb the messages. I wish this was made when I started to learn, as it basically is the regular wash I've gotten into a routine of doing.

 

This is a wash only vid, it's not correction or anything advanced, personally, I think it's worth a sticky in the detailing forum (do you?) as it's something that pops up semi-regularly.

 

 

If people could please post up a couple of their favouritst, 5 star products and the jobs they use them for, it could be a heck of a resource.

[Stutopia]

 

Well, clearly I couldn't agree with me more

 

In the spirit of sharing a few of my favourite goodies:

 

 

[ilogikal1]

 

I keep meaning to add mine to this thread, but then promptly forget when I have the timers actually do it. I might get round to it one day though.

[ZMANALEX]

Superb guide and list of detailling parts, however I am a more function over form sort of guy, so a snow foam and power wash is as good as it gets for me.

Edited August 16, 2015 by ZMANALEX

[Stutopia]

Superb guide and list of detailling parts, however I am a more function over form sort of guy, so a snow foam and power wash is as good as it gets for me.

 

If I knew how to use spanners I might be the same, but I can do way less damage with a lambswool mitt

Edited August 16, 2015 by SuperStu

[Stutopia]

CarPro Spotless

 

This was from a tip off faceballz for dealing with water spots (chemically) on gloss black vinyl where clay wouldn't be good. It's pretty mild I'm lead to believe but it got a generous rinsing after use anyway. Used after TBW and rinse, before open hose rinse and towel dry. Good product.

 

 

After rinse and towel dry, no other products used, spots gone.

 

 

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/engine-and-exterior/carpro-spotless-water-spot-remover/prod_1325.html

[Dannyclegg]

I've watched the ammo videos from back when he was doing the drive clean vids. If you ignore all the endless talking that he does about trivial things like filling up a bucket, there's lots of good tips in the vids ðŸ‘

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ilogikal1]

I'm not going to lie to you, Stu, but I forgot about this thread again before I got round to doing my list. So I'll do it now before I forget again.

 

In some vague order;

 

Pre-Wash

Snow foam; Car Chem Snow Foam or Bilt Hamber Auto Foam.

Pre-Wash; Auto Finesse Citrus Power or Car Chem Citrus Pre-Wash.

 

Wash

Wash pad; Microfibre Madness Incredipad.

Shampoo; (with added protection) Gyeon Bathe+ or (pure shampoo) Car Chem Tailor Made.

 

Decontamination

Tar Remover; Auto Smart Tardis.

Clay: CarPro Polyshave Decontamination Clay Towel.

Fallout remover; TBC, currently Car Chem Revolt.

 

Drying

Drying aid; Daque 11litre DI Vessle with MB-115 resin (plus optional sunlight).

Drying towel; Polished Bliss Luxury Drying Towel

 

Wheels

Wheel cleaner; Auto Finesse Imperial/Revolution

Wheel sealant; GTechniq C1/4/5 or Gyeon Q² Rim.

Tyre dressing; Gyeon Q² Tire (force cured).

Wheel brush; Wheel Woolies

 

Polish

Compound: Scholl Concepts S20 Blue & Scholl Concepts S30+

Polishing pads; Lake Country Hydro-Tech

Paint Cleaner; Jeffs Werkstat Prime (sadly no longer produced) or Car Chem Pre-Wax Cleaner.

 

Glass

Glass cleaner; GTechniq G6.

Glass sealant; GTechniq G1 & G5.

Glass polish; GTechniq G4.

 

Trim

Metal polish; Auto Finesse Mercury.

Metal sealant; Gyeon Q² Rim or Finish Kare 1000P.

Exteriro plastic trim; Nanolex Trim Rejuvinator* or Hubikote HubiTrim. *(NTR version 1 > HubiTrim > NTR version 3 > NTR version 2 - v.1 is no longer produced, v.3 is the currently produced clear version, v.2 is the currently produced white version. Check with your retailer which version you're getting).

Interior trim; Mad Cow Mango Sauce, HubiKote HubiDash or GTechniq C6.

Rubber trim; Einzett Gummi Pfledge.

 

Glaze

Glaze; Auto Finesse Ultra Glaze or Poorboys Black Hole/White Diamond.

All In One; Aut Finesse Tripple.

 

LSP

Wax (long durability); Car Chem Connoisseur, Poorboys Natty's Blue/Red or WaxAddict Quartz.

Wax (show durability); Obsession Wax Phaenna.

Sealant; AMMO Skin Defense Coat or Car Chem HydroCoat.

Coating; Gyeon Prime.

Other; Gyeon WetCoat.

 

General

APC; Auto Smart G101 or whatever is cheapest at the time.

Leather cleaner; Dr Leather Cleaning Wipes.

Leather deep clean; Dr Leather Liquid Cleaner.

Leather sealant; Gyeon Q² LeatherCoat

Fabric cleaner; Nanolex Interior Cleaner or HubiFabric

Fabric sealant; Gyeon Q² FabricCoat

Air Freshener; HubiKote HubiFresh or Polished Bliss PB Air Freshener

Odour eliminator; CarPro SiO²

Microfibre detergent; Nanolex Microfibre Wash or Chemical Guys Microfibre Wash.

Gloves; Black Mamba Nitrile Gloves.

Cloths; WaxAdditct Dual Pile Microfibre cloths, Gyeon MicroSuede cloths, WaxAddict Glass cloths, Microfibre Madness Summit 800 Towel, Polished Bliss PB Super Buffing Towels & Polished Bliss PB Luxury Buffing Towel.

Adequate product with the most stupid spelling on the tub; Meguiar's NXT Generation All Metal Polysh.

 

 

 

There's a risk (read probability) that I've forgotten something somewhere (Stu, what have I forgotten?), but it's a start.

Edited September 6, 2015 by ilogikal1

[Stutopia]

Hmmmm, you've not missed much Maybe a decon/stripping shampoo, or do you just go with fairy liquid? Errr, a hoover or steam cleaner? Engine degreaser?

 

As I've long suspected you're clearly a pimp for Gyeon and Gtechniq, as such I might have expected to see Gyeon Q2M Prep on there.

[ilogikal1]

Hmmmm, you've not missed much

 

 

Maybe a decon/stripping shampoo, or do you just go with fairy liquid?

 

I don't usually bother, tbh. Decon and/or polishing stages will remove far more than a shampoo anyway. Btw, Fairy Liquid as an LSP killer is a fallacy. It contains surfactants so affects the water behaviour which gives the appearance of killing an LSP but doesn't remove much (if any) of that LSP. Just FYI.

 

Errr, a hoover or steam cleaner?

 

No preference on either, tbh any hoover/steam cleaner that works and has a suitable attachment for the area you're cleaning will suffice.

 

Engine degreaser?

 

For light duties, APC or citrus pre-wash should be enough.

For heavier duties, stronger APC or citrus pre-wash should still do it.

For really heavy duties, carb cleaner.

 

As I've long suspected you're clearly a pimp for Gyeon and Gtechniq, as such I might have expected to see Gyeon Q2M Prep on there.

 

Not as many Gyeon products there as I thought there might be actually. As for Prep, I did consider including that or Eraser but IPA is IPA as far as I'm concerned. I know a number of people will swear blind that one product is considerably better than another (to the extent that I've actually seen arguments - yes, plural - made that suitably diluted IPA isn't good enough and you should use a product that is just pre-diluted-to-the-same-ratio IPA but that one works "much better"!), so on that front it depends how lazy you are; save money by buying neat and diluting it with filtered water yourself or save effort by buying it pre-diluted with/without an nice scent. So in that vein;

 

Panel wipe down

Neat IPA; Isopropyl alcohol - literally any, from anywhere, it's all the same stuff (but might come in different strengths, so dilute appropriately) - & DI/distilled water to dilute.

Pretty red stuff that smells nice; Gyeon Q² Prep

Pretty blue stuff that smells nice; CarPro Eraser

etc.

 

 

Also I intentionally omitted QD's from my list (before someone notices) because I just don't see the point of them.

[ilogikal1]

Oh, I also forgot to add;

 

Regarding CarPro Spotless just a word of warning, it's not really that mild - it'll strip virtually every wax & most sealants (or at least weaken them). It's designed for use on coatings and is acid-based as a result (coatings can cope easily with acids but struggle with alkalis), but it's not so acidic that it'll melt your hand/paint/car (just the mineral deposits ). It is a very good product with obvious benefits and uses but just be aware that it can affect/strip your LSP.

[Stutopia]

By mild I meant it's not alien blood TBH I always assumed that any topical speicalist cleaner like that or tar remover or bug remover not only shifts the deposit but also strips back anything else (which is where the unneccsary QD comes in, until you do the car again ) so you're saying there are some of these topical cleaners which are LSP safe?

 

I'm suspicious...

[ilogikal1]

Fair enough, I just wanted to make sure readers were aware - just to put it into perspective of how "not mild" it is, it's about as acidic as vinegar... which is also a very good water spot remover (that smells a lot). So really it is quite mild in the grand scheme of things, like you say Stu, but not entirely LSP safe at the same time.

 

 

QD's don't (typically) live any longer than a asthmatic dragonfly with Progeria though. And those that do, aren't QD's.

 

 

There are some topical cleaners, for various specific jobs like Tar-X which is supposedly LSP "safe" (and rubbish at tar removal for it!) and bug removers (see any citrus pre-wash), but not any water spot removers that I know of. By their design they need to acidic to break down the minerals so the chances are that anything not acid-based isn't going to work any better than plain old water anyway.

[Steel Lynx]

Erm..... Brilliant information. But what are LSP's and QD's and any of the other abbreviations. As much as I love to keep my car clean, I don't know what half of those are......

[ilogikal1]

Sorry, my life revolves around abbreviations these days.

 

LSP = last stage product - wax, sealant or coating depending on preference, but essentially the top layer of protection.

 

QD = quick detailer - a spray on product designed to lift minor dust, finger print marks and the like whilst adding a bit of gloss/shine and/or protection. Very few do more than one of these things well though.

 

APC = all purpose cleaner - as the name suggests a very versatile cleaner, usually detergent based and diluted to suit the needs of the job at hand.

 

I think that's all of them, but feel free to ask about any others.

[Steel Lynx]

Thank you

[Jp606]

For me:

 

Pre-Wash

Snow foam; Valet Pro PH Neutral

Stripping shampoo; Chemical Guys Citrus Wash

 

Wash

Wool mitt; Eurow x 2 (1 for top of car, 1 for bottom/dirty areas)

Shampoo; Chemical Guys Maxi Suds II

 

Decontamination

Tar Remover; Car Pro TRIX

Clay: Zaino Z-18

Fallout remover; Car Pro Iron X

 

Drying

Drying aid; Chemical Guys Speed Wipe

Drying towel; Chemical Guys Wooly Mammoth

 

Wheels

Wheel cleaner; Valet Pro Bilberry in a foaming spray gun

Wheel wax; FK100P

Tyre dressing; FinishKare 108AS Top Kote

Wheel brush; Wheel Woolies and EZ Brush

 

Polish

Polishing pads; Sonus SFX

Paint Cleaner; Auto Brite Direct Hellshine Eliminator

 

Glass

Glass cleaner; GTechniq G6.

Glass sealant; GTechniq G1 G5.

 

Trim

Metal polish; Autosol

Exterior plastic trim; Nanolex Trim Rejuvenator

Interior trim cleaner; Chemical Guys Inner Clean

Rubber trim; Poorboys Natural Look Dressing

 

Glaze

Glaze; Auto Brite Direct Extreme Glaze

 

LSP

Wax (long durability); Autofinesse Desire

 

General

APC; Whatever is cheapest at the time

QD; Chemical Guys Speed Wipe

Engine cleaner/degreaser; Autobrite Jaffa

Leather cleaner; Dr Leather Wipes

Leather cleaner (deep clean); Gliptone Cleaner

Leather conditioner; Gliptone Conditioner

Fabric cleaner; APC

Air Freshener; HubiKote HubiFresh, AutoFinesse air fresheners

Cloths; WaxAddict Dual Pile Microfibre cloths, WaxAddict Glass cloths, various other ones

​Brushes; Sonax leather brush, Valet Pro soft brush, upholstery brush

[kbad]

Hi Gurus pardon a newbie to car detailing question but which is a good pressure washer and what extra components would I require i.e.spray lance etc. Hope this makes sense.

[Stutopia]

Hi Gurus pardon a newbie to car detailing question but which is a good pressure washer and what extra components would I require i.e.spray lance etc. Hope this makes sense.

 

It's been posted a few times, so there's some good reading on washers here:

 

http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/71560-pressure-washers-and-associated-goodies/

http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/84389-best-pressure-washer/

http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/59045-best-snow-foam-lancepressure-washer/

 

And another good one here on lance:

 

http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/84321-what-a-difference-a-snow-foam-gun-can-make/

 

Nilfisk and Karcher always seem to get decent feedback, the Karcher I've got is coming up on three years old and gets used most weekends, still battling on though it occasionally fires up the motor for about a second for no apparent reason If it dies I might go for one of the fancy ones Dan keeps mentioning (I forget the name).

 

Whatever you go for, make sure the lance you get has fittings that marry up to the brand of pressure washer (and leave the free foam guns you get bundled with the washer for cleaning the patio )

 

[kbad]

😊😊thanks for the heads up

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Stutopia]

Not used any new products for a while now as I've found a good selection of things I like and stuck with them. I ordered this a while back and got round to trying it out today for the first time.

 

 

Fo' Show Extreme Gloss Spray Wax - http://www.waxaddict...-spray-wax.html

 

I'm not a huge fan of waxes, CBA with the amount of time and faff required for what is fairly limited endurance, but I went for this spray wax purely because it had two of the excellent Waxaddict Dual Pile Microfibres thrown in for free (which is what I was actually shopping for in the first place!) and it can be used as a drying aid/glossifier as well as a wax. The name is also slightly amusing. It gives you a few application options on the destructions:

1. apply to wet paint and towel dry (drying aid
2. apply to panel, wipe with MF, wait 5-10 until hazed, buff off (max gloss)
3. apply to cloth, wipe with MF, wait 5-10 until hazed, buff off (max performance)

I chose a mix of 2 & 3 because as far as I can tell, they're the same thing

 

It went on after my normal TBW and towel dry. You've got to shake it like mad as it's not a true solution, more of an emulsion, so the wax will settle in the bottle if left to stand. It comes out of the spray head in an incredibly fine mist, even the slightest breeze will end up with it all over the glass and neighbouring panels. Dead easy to spread around. The cure time of ten mins is just perfect to get all around the Zed and back to the first panel (9 mins). It came off as easily as it went on, in fact, due to the cool temps (10 degrees) I suspect it could have benefited from a few more minutes on the panel, but the rain was coming and I wanted it buffed.

 

Below are some fake beads after the towel dry with AMMO Hydrate and then after Fo'Show buff off.

 

 

 

All in all, I liked using the product, which means it's easy to use and smells inoffensive. The car did look noticeably glossier even in fairly overcast conditions. I don't think the beads are especially enhanced in the after shots, perhaps a smidge taller and more spherical.

 

Solid 3 out of 5 product. It might get a 4th star depending on what it looks like this time next week.

[ilogikal1]

Hi Gurus pardon a newbie to car detailing question but which is a good pressure washer and what extra components would I require i.e.spray lance etc. Hope this makes sense.

 

Kranzle if you have money to burn.

Nilfisk if you're on a budget.

Karcher if you want plastic yellow tat...

If you're considering any other brand, check the fitting before committing to anything as you may find it difficult to find a lance that fits.

 

Which brings me nicely to; a proper foam lance is pretty much the only attachment you'll need for washing the car, but a 15m hose also comes in handy over the 5m jobby you'll get with the pressure washer.

[Ricey]

Kranzle is about the only decent bit of kit I don't own yet.

 

I'm on my 3rd Nilfisk in 18 months (I broke all of them by leaving them plugged in overnight).

 

Had a Karcher and have to agree. ...pretty kack

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

 

[Gus-350z]

Just curious... But what's peoples general opinion on autoglym products? I used to use them a lot, but have noticed they don't seem to be mentioned much on here

[Stutopia]

Most of the product variety I've experienced has been from Waxybox samples, which never featured any AG stuff. I have used their two leather products, for cleaning and conditioning seats, seemed decent to me; but I've not had cause to try any others yet as the tubs are huge and I CBA to do the seats that often

 

Used the degreaser around the engine bay a bit, not sure it was any better than APC and I have other APCs that smell better!