Mr Enigma

Hi all,

I'm a real newbie when it comes to things like cleaning and waxing so I thought a thread here might help me out. I'm really after what products I should be using on the outside of my car to keep it looking good. In case it makes any difference, the paintwork is Obsidian Black (metallic black).

Since I'm in the UK, there arent many shops that sell what you guys have available in the US - well at least not over the counter and not anywhere I've looked. The only product that is all over the shelves is Meguiars.

I'm looking to claybar the car as well. So I assume the steps I follow are:

a) Wash to remove any dirt.
b) Claybar
c) Polish/Wax the car

I assume I can use the following products in the following order:

1) Gold Class Car Wash Shampoo & Conditioner
2) Smooth Surface Clay Kit
3) Step 1 - Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner
4) Step 2 - Deep Crystal Polish
5) NXT Tech Wax 2.0 (not sure whether to get the liquid wax or paste)

All of the products I'm able to buy relatively easily. This will take a good few hours to do but I hope that I can do this and maintain it easily.

A quick aside: Is there anything I can use to stop the car getting dirty so quickly? I live on a busy road and my car get's visibly dirty after a few days. I thought the NXT Tech Wax might help with this...

Thanks and apologies for the long read.

kickR

When owning a black (dark) color car, you will just have to accept for it to get dirty quicker. There is nothing you can do about it other than protecting the paint and wheels with a wax so that it is easier to clean once you wash the car.

Your approach does not sound bad. Only other question is - will you be doing everything by hand or with a machine?

Mr Enigma

Thanks for the reply.

I do accept that it will get dirty easier, but it's almost like my car is attracting the dust! Oh well, I love the car so I'm not really complaining too much.

I'll be doing it by hand (besides a pressure washer), so I'm aware I'll need a full day.

Rick SL55

better email sponsor sellers and let them make a package for what you need.

madmla21

look at http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/index.php they will let you know what is in the UK and who can help you. Just be careful it can be just as addicting as upgrades to the car. In the last month I have spent over $550 on care care products and still want more.

Azn_C300

How much money, how **** are you, and what are your expectations? That will go a long ways towards narrowing down what to recommend. I've spent easily $1-2k in gear and products lol.

Mr Enigma

@Rick SL55: Are there any sponsors here that can supply in the UK? Sorry I'm not too hot on the way the sponsor system works etc. I only really come on here for advice.

@madmla21: Thanks. I'll definately be looking into it. I had a look around last night and it seems pretty good. It would be amazing if they can offer a package that I can just purchase. I doubt I'd go too overboard though. Unfortunately I don't have THAT much time to be constanly detailing and cleaning!

@Azn C300: If I'm completely honest, I wouldn't want to spend too much. I think spending $300 odd would be my absolute max for both inside and outside. I priced up the products I listed and it came to around $100. Obviously that's excluding applicators and microfibre cloths etc. Anything more would seem unreasonable because I don't drive that often. I've had the car for 9 months and only covered slightly over 3k miles... and it's my only car.

Azn_C300

Get yourself a polisher if you want it to look good. Porter Cable 7424 XP is a pretty safe and beginner friendly machine. From what I've noticed, doesn't matter what last step you use, if the base is all swirled and scratched up, it won't look as good. You can also use it to apply even wax and sealant coating. A very very durable and fairly good looking wax is Collinite 845 which is very popular around the detailing community from what I've seen. For polishes, take a look at the Menzerna products. Menzerna is what Mercedes uses as their product of choice for their polishes.

Rick SL55

I would recommend www.detailedimage.com or www.detailersdomain.com , but again email then to find out about shipping and compare. I had order several times at www.detailedimage.com and they really have good service and price.

Azn_C300

+1 for Detailed Image and Detailer's Domain. You can try Autogeek as well as they have one of the largest selections. I'm sure there are retailers in Europe though that will save you some shipping fees.

Azn_C300

One product that I believe you guys should be able to get OTC that's just now being sold OTC for us that you should try out are the AutoGlym lines. I just bought their HD wax to try out and was a pretty solid carnuba.

HIRABI

There are so many different options and combination's...

Mr Enigma

@Azn C300 #1: It wasn't my intention to buy a polisher but if it makes the process easier (and I know it will) then I could buy one - especially if I'm going to me waxing once in a while. I'll look into it, but I had a look at the polisher you recommended and I couldn't find it from anywhere besides the US. Any other suggestions?

Thanks for the suggestion on wax. Is it any better than Meguiars NXT Tech Wax 2.0? Again thanks for the Menzerna recommendation but a specific product suggestion would be good! I really am a complete novice at this lol. I may have to have a detailed read around on that detailingworld.co.uk site to see what they recommend...

@Rick SL55: I had a look at the sites, but it says they no longer ship internationally.

@Azn C300 #2: Unfortunately AutoGeek will ship in from the states, so it's probably cheaper for me to look for UK sellers to avoid all sorts of import taxes as well.

@Azn C300 #3: I saw them in the store I saw the Meguiars products. I didn't know if they were any good though. The range available was pretty comprehensive as well, so if that is recommended I'll pick them up. I really just need an idea of what I should be buying for a complete claybar/polish/wax process.

@HIRABI: Thanks but that doesn't help me too much! Any suggestions as to what's good for the process I described in my first post?

Mr Enigma

Azn C300: You mentioned in another thread about DoDo Juice. Are they one of the more premium waxes you can buy? Recommended? I'm willing to splash out a little as long as the results justify the money spent...

Azn_C300

Dodo Juice is one of the more boutique line of products and a fantastic one as well, but you pay a price. I've used their Light Fantastic (~$70USD) which is formulated for white cars and currently have their Supernatural (~$120USD). One of the best carnauba waxes out there. For your purposes though, it sounds like it'll be overkill for what you're trying to accomplish. For waxes, my recommendation for you would be AutoGlym HD for your summer wax just due to it being a fairly good quality wax from my experience and since it's made in UK, should be easily available. For winter, get your hands on Collinite 845. It's the most durable and longest lasting wax I've come across.

If you go with machine polish, Menzerna PO85RD is a great polish made specifically for our new harder clear coat. If you're hand polishing, maybe something like Klasse All In One (AIO) would be a good solution.

Problem is, I'm not sure what's easily available for you in the UK (besides AutoGlym and maybe Menzerna). Just check your UK detailing forums as I'm sure there are sponsors there who carry full line of boutique products if you want to move up from OTC.

Mr Enigma

Thanks Azn, I found a good UK suppluer site that does mail order (which I'm happy to do) so it doesn't strictly need to be OTC, I just need to be able to get my hands on in from a supplier in the UK. I'll have a look at the products you mentioned.

Is it OK to run a few things by you before I order the necessary products? I don't want to be a pain but it really would be useful to me.

Thanks again.

PS: Dodo Juice is quite a bit cheaper for us in the UK because it's a UK product. So it's not too much of a markup from the regular AutoGlym stuff. The small premium for a better product isn't a big issue for me. I've just done a few quick calculations and it's marked up in price by about 20-30% for you - based on the figures you've given.

Azn_C300

Sure, but might as well post it on a public forum instead of PM cause there are so many varying opinions that it would be beneficial to yourself to hear all sides.

Mr Enigma

Thanks. I intended to put it up in this thread. Thanks!

kickR

If you cannot find a porter cable in England, buy the G220 from Meguiars:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Meguiars-G22...2076647&sr=8-2

It is a bit more expensive, but has more power which brings results closer to those of a flex.

As for the wax - since you have a black car, you might rather want to consider a sealant instead of a wax. Blackfire Wet Diamond should get you some great results.

As for polishing, Menzerna PO106FA probably is best for you if your paint only has slight swirls. It has a good cut to it, yet not too strong, and a great gloss rated 4.5/5.

Any fine grade claybar should do the work really.

So cliff notes: any fine grade claybar, 16 oz Menzerna PO106FA, 16 oz Blackfire Wet Diamond and the G220 if it's within your budget.

kickR

FYI - the Menzerna PO85RD (recommended by AZN) is just one step below the PO106FA in cutting power. You will be okay with either, but if you decide to polish say a friends car with more swirls, the PO85RD might not be enough.

Also, when going with a machine, you have to consider what pad to use. People have been getting great results with a Lake Country white pad and the PO106FA.

As AZN said, you can get very caught up in the variety out there and easily spend $1000+.

kickR

You said you read through some of the forums already, so you might already have seen this.

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/foru...apolishing.pdf

Mr Enigma

@kickR:

I was looking around at other forums for advice and found myself on the Dodo Juice forum because I was researching their products. The detailers on there recommend the following two products for use if the G220 wasn't worth the infrequent use.

#1: http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polishing/polishing-machine/kestrel-sim180-rotary-polisher/prod_523.html

#2: http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polishing/polishing-machine/silverline-39-silverstorm-39-rotary-polisher/prod_513.html

They are about a third of the price of the G220. I could see if a friend has a polisher and use that if I need to.

What's the advantages over a sealant over wax? I was eyeing up Dodo Juice Blue Velvet (for dark paints) or Supernatural which is rated very highly.

For the polish itself, I inspected my car earlier today and it has very little swirling. In fact I would say it needs the least abrasive cut to get rid of them - that's comparing it with pictures off the internet of what is deemed to be 'minor swirls'. Bear in mind it's only 9 months old and it isn't washed every week so it hasn't had a chance to build them up. What would you recommend in this situation for polish? Pads I'll look at a little closer to when I purchase because I would only need something that is very soft/mild (sorry I don't know the correct terminology).

For the claybar, I'm eyeing up (again) Dodo Juice with their clay lube, which works out to be roughly the same as any of the kits that are available to me, and I get at least twice as much clay, so it's probably worth it in the long run...

Thanks for that article. I read it from cover to cover and it explained a LOT. Very insightful and made me understand what I was doing when I will be polishing.

Azn_C300

I smell the beginning of a very expensive addiction lol. welcome to the club

Synthetic polymer sealants will last longer than carnauba waxes, but the look of carnauba waxes look amazing. What most do is layer the wax on top of the sealant.

kickR

I think you would be very well advised to stay away from rotary polishers as these require quite a bit of experience. The last thing you want is to burn through your clear coat and damage the paint because you did not have the needed feel to operate a rotary. A G220 or a PC are orbitals and much safer in that regard.

As for the polish to get rid of light swirls: Either the PO85RD or the slightly stronger cutting PO106FA (both from Menzerna). Personally, I'd go with the PO106FA just because you have the state of mind that you can get rid of swirls a bit easier. You can always ease up on the machines pressure or the rotation level to take some of that cutting power away when you believe that a lighter polish (such as the PO85RD) would have done the job.

As for everything else, you should be fine with Dodo Juice products, if you can get them for a decent price. IMO, lubes, clay etc are not all that different from all the manufacturers as long as you stick with the stream line manufacturers. For waxes and sealants it can be a bit different, but in the end they all protect your car and make it nicer to look at.

Mr Enigma

Sorry I thought the two polishers were orbitals but just re-read. I'll look into the G220 but that's going to be a big outlay @ about £150...

The polishishes, how much of the clear coat is only likely to remove over the other? I was eyeing up a Lime Prime from Dodo Juice (might as well just order it from one provider) which has a mild cutting agent but with some other oils that give it a deep gloss. The results appear good, and since it is mild it will ideal for the very very slight swirls I have. I may look into the other polishers before I make a definate decision.

The clay just works out roughly the same price from Dodo Juice compared to Meguiars clay kid (maybe a few ££ more expensive) but you get twice as much clay so it's almost a no brainer!

Thanks for all the advice. Once I make a decision on what to get I'll post up something here. =)