Past master wrote:

wizking wrote:

I use butt water

Butt water fine with a 'silver' colour, adds a bit of colour interest to the car

Hi
I see my name has been mentioned by ad123456789011112131415 for car cleaning advice, well I’m sorry but I’m no expert in this field, it’s just that I drive a Black FL2 and Mr ad likes to take the P, as he thinks I’m always cleaning it.

So with that out of the way I would advise three options

1. Go to your local Auto/ Hand car wash facility, reasonably cheap so I’m informed and your car will be clean, but possible full of scratches and swirl marks, which will become more apparent, the more you use said facility.

2. Don’t wash your car ( Silver coloured cars are better for this) simply just leave it, but over time you may get people leaving you little messages in all the muck that settles on it like” Wash Me”

3. Wash your car at home, now everyone has their own method and listed below is mine, it’s not the right way or the wrong way, just mine!. Try and wash the car in the shade

• Snow/Magi Foam the car for at least twenty minutes (this is a product that is applied with a foam lance and pressure washer) this loosens all the dirt and road grime. Power wash off after twenty minutes and you should in theory have a clean car. Now you can stop here and simply dry off using a quick detailer and a good quality microfiber cloth. I tend to do this in-between washes as the less you touch the paint work, the less chance of swirls and scratches.

• I would wash the car at this stage with a good quality car shampoo, I use a lamb’s wool mitt to do this, but there are microfiber mitts available and some people still use the simple sponge. I use two buckets (2BM) one with clean warm water and the other with the soapy water. I simply start at the top and work down, rinsing my mitt in the clean water every ¼ panel or so. Just rinse it out and then into the soapy water and repeat

If it’s really hot and there is no shade, I would rinse the water off then dry the panel, using a good quality drying towel, and just repeat round the car, it’s a bit of a chore but should stop any water marks

You should end up with the soapy bucket full of clean water to wash with, and the other bucket for rinsing in will be discoloured with the dirt.

• If the car hasn’t been washed for a long time and is really dirty, after washing I would clay the car, Halfords now sells a number of different clay kits, but I would suggest either the Autoglym or Meguiars ones, simple to use and the kits come everything you need . This process is supposed to remove all types of contamination from the paint leaving a good clean smooth surface for wax to cling to.

• Some people will now wash the car again, removing any trace of the clay, it’s just a repeat of the 2BM

• Now you can simply chose to apply your wax to the car at this stage, but and this is a big but, there’s a shed load of other liquids and potions that you can add to your cars paintwork at this stage, again everyone has their own method and preferred products to use

I would now apply a Pre Wax Cleaner to the paint, using a machine polisher; this is supposed to ensure that the paint work is clean of everything, following the claying. This is then followed by a glaze product to enhance the paintwork and make the metallic flake in the paintwork “pop out in the sunlight” again applied by machine, this is followed by a sealant, which projects the paintwork, there’s all sorts out there from your general traditional wax’s to new Nano tech wax’s and even completely new synthetic paint sealant systems (Npinks might be able to advise)


You don’t need to use a machine polisher , to apply all the above, you can simply use some foam pads, which again are available at Halfords

Sorry for going on, the more compact version of the above is

Foam
Power wash off
Shampoo
Powerwash off
Clay, Optional
Polish/Glaze
Wax/ Sealant 9two coats to ensure a good layer)

Over the last few months I have just simply used the Magifoam, then power washed off and applied a quick detailer .

I would advise that you wax your car once or twice a year and this should keep the water beading off your paint work all year round

I’m sure if I have missed anything out someone will come along and advise

this a good site, very helpful and lots of different opinions to guide you on your way

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/index.php


Cheers
toeknee

The alternative is

1) One bucket of soapy water
2) Wash it
3) Rinse it

Go in and put your feet up in front the TV and think ' what a day'

If you are really masochistic then

4) Dry it

Then bypass the TV and go straight to bed

toeknee... many thanks for the detailed guidance! ...

Be true to yourself. That way happiness lies...

EYorkshire wrote:

The alternative is

1) One bucket of soapy water
2) Wash it
3) Rinse it

Go in and put your feet up in front the TV and think ' what a day'

If you are really masochistic then

4) Dry it

Then bypass the TV and go straight to bed

Totally agree Dave especially after spending the last 6 hours or so doing all of the above. won't get chance for the meet, too busy at work that week so trying to make it look good now

Excellent write up Tony, I just ain't got it in me but that's why your 'finish' is better than mine.

That's strange, mrs toeknee was just saying how good my finish was

Silver never looks dirty, yeah right

Click image to enlarge

Taz you been playing with photoshop to prove me wrong

No...that's real muck, roads round the lake district pretty filthy, playing over Hardknot pass, easy peasy in the Freely.
Wash it tomorrow, cant be arsed now and a bottle of Talisker awaits

Will see if I can get the showfoam right, think the karcher bottle is causing it to have too much water?

toeknee wrote:

Hi
I see my name has been mentioned for car cleaning advice, well I’m sorry but I’m no expert in this field, it’s just that I drive a Black FL2 and I am always cleaning it, you either wash it every day or park it in the garage. I really made a mistake and should have bought a Freely that was Stornoway or Lago, anything but b K

ad210358 wrote:

toeknee wrote:

Hi
I see my name has been mentioned for car cleaning advice, well I’m sorry but I’m no expert in this field, it’s just that I drive a Black FL2 and I am always cleaning it, you either wash it every day or park it in the garage. I really made a mistake and should have bought a Freely that was Stornoway or Lago, anything but b K