corsastokey
USER UNDER INVESTIGATION - DO NOT TRADE
Registered: 19th Jan 12
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hi again.
another question. i have a star silver corsa b and i dont think its had a good wash n polish for a long time i am just wondering if anyone knows of any good cleaning equipment i could use to bring a decent clean shell back up ?? i know auto glym aint bad but i think it needs a bit more than that lol
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Ben G
Member
Registered: 12th Jan 07
Location: Essex
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I use meguairs polish and collinite 476s.
Unfortunately, silver is pretty crap with regards to getting great reflections and depth, whereas darker colours are easier, if thats what you are getting at.
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corsastokey
USER UNDER INVESTIGATION - DO NOT TRADE
Registered: 19th Jan 12
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yeah i want it proper shiny its going have full paint job next year but want it clean for mean time lol any idea where get them polish's from ?
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evilrob
Premium Member
Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
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I get most of my stuff from Ultimate Finish (link below in signature) as they have a loyalty scheme and you can get cashback via Quidco.
Here's my favourite stuff:
Essentials:
A pile of microfibre cloths
Shampoo: Dodo Juice Born to be Mild
(Optional) Clay: Bilt-Hamber Soft
Polish: Car-Lack 68 Nano Systematic Care
Sealant: Car-Lack 68 Long Life Sealant
^ if you get the Car-Lack stuff, get a couple of Microfibre bricks as they work well for applying these particular products
(Optional) Wax: Autoglym HD Wax or Collinite 476s
Quick detailing spray: Clearkote Quikshine
Nice to have:
Glaze: For a silver car, check out Poorboys White Diamond - Glaze goes after polish and before sealant and/or wax.
Trim restorer for your scuttle pan, window rubbers etc: GTechniq C4
Glass cleaner: Auto Finesse Crystal Glass
Fancy Microfibre: Microfiber Madness Crazy Pile
Metal polish (for exhausts etc): Auto Finesse Mercury Metal Polish
Wheel cleaner: Valet Pro Bilberry Wheel Cleaner for light dirt, Autoglym Clean Wheels for really baked in nasty stuff (ideally with a wheel brush)
Wheel sealant: Poorboys Wheel Sealant
Foam applicator pads for applying wheel products and metal polish
Interior surfaces dressing (dash, door cards etc): Poorboys Natural Look Dressing
When you've got the detailing bug:
Pressure Washer with Snow Foam Lance: Karcher are generally a good bet
DA machine polisher: Meguiar's Microfiber DA Kit is easy to use, not stupid expensive and yields good results
Technique:
Ideally you want two buckets with grit guards, a lambswool mitt (NOT a sponge), a proper car shampoo, clay, polish and then either a sealant or a wax, or a sealant THEN a wax (never the other way around).
Two buckets is to prevent you from making new scratches while washing - cos you're dragging something across the surface of the paint you want to use one bucket for soapy water, and one bucket for clean water. Before you reload your mitt with suds each time, give it a rinse in the second bucket to get any bits of crap off (at least once per panel). Grit guards are optional but do help prevent bits of grit floating about and getting back on your mitt.
A mitt is essential - as they also help pull dirt away from the paint so you're not rubbing it all over the car while you wash. Some people use two - one for the top half of the car, and one for the lower half of the car. A sponge is a big no-no.
Start from the top and work your way down - load up your mitt with suds and squeeze a bit out over the panel you want to wash to lubricate the surface before cleaning that panel. Use light pressure, work in straight lines rather than circular motions. The key here is to wipe off the dirt while doing your best to avoid inflicting any new scratches that will rob you of shine.
After shampooing give the car a rinse and you're ready to clay. Clay is used to pull off any stuff from the paint that washing hasn't done - like water marks, tree sap and other nasty stuff, really helps get the best shine. I recommend Bilt-Hamber as you can just use water for lubrication - many of the others require you to buy a matching 'detailing spray'. Break off a piece of clay, warm it up in your hands by folding it and flattening it out until it's supple, then liberally mist the panel you want to clay with water (I'm assuming you have some kind of spray bottle knocking about). Run the clay over the surface with fingertip pressure, remembering to fold the clay regularly to expose a clean surface. Keep going until every panel feels glassy smooth, breaking off a new chunk of clay as necessary if it starts getting particularly grubby. You'll be amazed how much crap comes off apparently clean paint I'd recommend having a look on YouTube for the best way to do this - it's easy when you see someone else do it.
When the car is washed and clayed, you're ready to polish - generally it's best to do one panel at a time as the longer you leave the polish on the harder it is to buff off. Normally you have to buff off the polish before you do your final sealant or wax stage - but with the Car-Lack Polish and Sealant combo I recommended above, you can just go straight over the polish without buffing it off, to save a step. With that particular combination I tend to polish the whole car, the go over with the sealant - all in one go rather than a panel at a time as it comes off easily. If you get any stubborn bits you can use the quick detailer spray to moisten it up a bit. These particular products are best applied with a damp micro fibre brick, and buffed off with a good quality microfibre cloth.
If you like, you can finish off with a good wax. Wax is generally best applied with a moist foam applicator pad, left to cure for half an hour and then buffed off with a clean, good quality microfibre cloth.
For the next 2-3 months you should be able to just shampoo, rinse, dry and finish off with a quick detailing spray and buff to restore the shine.
Tips:
Remove rings, watches, belts, anything that could scratch your car while you're leaning over it.
Remove labels from microfibre cloths.
Fold microfibre cloths in half, then in half again, and turn frequently using all 8 'sides' created by the multiple folding.
Use light pressure at all times.
Go in straight lines when washing rather than circles to avoid inflicting swirl marks. Buffing in circles is OK.
If you drop the clay, bin it - it will have picked up crap from the floor and is useless.
If you drop a microfibre cloth, stop using it and get a fresh one.
Microfibres can be washed in the washing machine, just don't use fabric softener as this will ruin them.
Take your time - no need to go all Speedy Gonzales.
All the improvement in appearance will occur during the shampoo, clay and polish stages - the sealant and wax simply lock in your hard work and protect the paintwork.
[Edited on 21-12-2012 by evilrob]
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evilrob
Premium Member
Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
User status: Offline
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This is a good starter kit for polish and wax, with applicators and microfibres:
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/complete-detailing-kits/collinite-476s-carlack-kit/prod_408.html
You should also invest in a wash mitt and proper car shampoo, though.
And some clay and quick detailing spray if you really want to go all out.
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corsastokey
USER UNDER INVESTIGATION - DO NOT TRADE
Registered: 19th Jan 12
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thank u buddy will have a look now 
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evilrob
Premium Member
Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
User status: Offline
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Jamie-C
Member
Registered: 3rd Jun 08
Location: Ballycastle
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I done mine with Autoglym SRP followed by Dodo juice wax. Came up alright.
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corsastokey
USER UNDER INVESTIGATION - DO NOT TRADE
Registered: 19th Jan 12
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same wheels  and yeh will give it a go cheers fella
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Balling
Premium Member
Registered: 7th Apr 04
Location: Denmark
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Rob, I hope the above was a copy-paste job... 
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Rich H
Member
Registered: 26th Oct 05
Location: West Sussex Drives: E46 M3
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 a thread I don't need to help out in! Cheers Rob
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Balling
Premium Member
Registered: 7th Apr 04
Location: Denmark
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Actually Rob, you should post that in the tutorials and faq section. Could be pretty good for future use.
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evilrob
Premium Member
Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by Balling
Rob, I hope the above was a copy-paste job...
Sadly not - I only meant to jot down a few pointers and it became a "Clean your Car Basics" article.
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evilrob
Premium Member
Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by Rich H
a thread I don't need to help out in! Cheers Rob
Bonus! I consider it a compliment that you didn't feel there was anything glaringly wrong or missing that needed attention.
Any alternative product suggestions? I tried to cover a selection of the best 'reasonably priced and easy to use' products from the main manufacturers - Dodo Juice, Poorboys, Meguiar's, Autoglym, Auto Finesse etc
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evilrob
Premium Member
Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by Balling
Actually Rob, you should post that in the tutorials and faq section. Could be pretty good for future use.
I'll tidy it up and add some youtube video links.
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jrdn7
Member
Registered: 14th Feb 11
Location: Ireland
User status: Offline
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Here's my star silver Corsa. Only thing I've done paint-wise is gave it a good wash with Turtle Wax wash & wax (£3 job from halfords), then Meguiars Clay bar + quick wax all over. Came up a treat, just need to machine polish to get rid of swirl marks, of which there are many. 
^^^My garage of many tools
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Rich H
Member
Registered: 26th Oct 05
Location: West Sussex Drives: E46 M3
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by evilrob
quote:
Originally posted by Rich H
a thread I don't need to help out in! Cheers Rob
Any alternative product suggestions? I tried to cover a selection of the best 'reasonably priced and easy to use' products from the main manufacturers - Dodo Juice, Poorboys, Meguiar's, Autoglym, Auto Finesse etc
Not really tbh, those will be more than adequate for 99% of people really - I still really rate Auto Finesse myself too. Products are still one of those things at the end of the day you can offer guidance, but it's all still down to personal preference at the end of the day anyway.
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