First time detail

[oderuyter]

Hey peeps,

 

Looking to get my car looking spanking for winter, Been doing the normal wash routine lately then finishing off simply using Greased Monkeys' Showroom Shine, but now think its time to tuck into a bit of detailing as the car has a bit of road rash and want to ensure its nicely protected for winter. This is what I have planned so far..... please make any suggestions

 

Wash - Soak with open hose, and pressure wash any stubbon skank off, then (Halfords) pressure washer bottle the car (already in the cupboard so may as well use). Lambswool mitt the car with 2 buckets. CarPlans' Wonder wheels (in cupboard) the [stock] alloys with a brush. Rinse the car with an open hose. Drip then dry with a microfibre or a shammy - yet to be decided.

 

ClayBar - Dodo Juices' Born Slippy (Ordered) and 2x55g claybar (ordered) split into 4 bits soaking in hot water, spray BS onto 2x3ft area and claybar area lightly. Fold repeatedly and repeat on next area. Do I need to rinse car or towel down??

 

Polish - Completely undecided on what product to use and how to apply effectively

 

Wax - Nothing bought yet, however have heard great thinks about Finish Kares' FK100P - Although not sure on application...

 

Wheel dressing - Is it worth it? If so, what products?

 

 

Note: All this work will be carried out on a gravel driveway so hardly ideal conditions, but the best I have. Picture below of todays 'basic' clean, you can see the surface I'm on.

 

Any advice is extremely welcome. Thank in advance!

 

[LRF4N]

After claying I give it a quick rinse and a dry before polishing

 

Iv only ever used auto glym super resin polish and have always been happy with it. Only applied by hand myself so ask the more experienced members about machine polishing

 

Tyre dressing- car won't look as clean without it so yes it's worth it. Pay for a decent one that lasts. I use meguires endurance tyre gel

 

Not sure about wonder wheels though! Think it's too aggressive on the wheels

Edited December 8, 2012 by LRF4N

[oderuyter]

Thanks for the advice. Good to hear others experience. Will look into AutoGlyms polish. Would prefer to do by hand.

 

I live in a farm so track in isn't great wonder wheels appear to eat the gunk off well. Will certainly invest in some tyre dressing though.

 

Thanks

[14N]

Apologies if this is common knowledge and a 'grandma suck eggs' comment, but it was something I hadn't considered, but thought 'great idea' when I read it :-

 

When claying, place an old sheet or similar on the floor below the panel you're working on, because if you drop the clay bar (especially on your gravel drive), it'll be virtually useless.

[ilogikal1]

Wheel dressing - Is it worth it? If so, what products?

 

Yes, use this, it'll make subsequent cleaning so much easier.

 

Wax - Nothing bought yet, however have heard great thinks about Finish Kares' FK100P - Although not sure on application...

 

For winter, personally, I prefer to use a sealant rather than a wax (which I use over the summer months) purely due to the durability. Jeffs Werkstat Acrylic works very well and will easily last a couple of months if applied correctly, but this time I've opted for Poorboys EX-P to see how that lasts. With the latter particularly, you can top up with wax too if you like.

[oderuyter]

For winter, personally, I prefer to use a sealant rather than a wax (which I use over the summer months) purely due to the durability. Jeffs Werkstat Acrylic works very well and will easily last a couple of months if applied correctly, but this time I've opted for Poorboys EX-P to see how that lasts. With the latter particularly, you can top up with wax too if you like.

 

Any tips you have for 'proper' application? So to be clear you could apply a Wax over the sealant?

[oderuyter]

Apologies if this is common knowledge and a 'grandma suck eggs' comment, but it was something I hadn't considered, but thought 'great idea' when I read it :-

 

When claying, place an old sheet or similar on the floor below the panel you're working on, because if you drop the clay bar (especially on your gravel drive), it'll be virtually useless.

 

Nope its not that kind of comment - thanks for the tip :smile:

[ioneabee]

Use a hard wax instead of the Autoglym SRP (its good, but not as durable) - I use dodo juice on the whole and get the majority of my supplies from www.envy.co.uk (trader on here - always good to support those that support us here )

Edited December 9, 2012 by ioneabee

[Sarah 350z]

+1 for the autogylm super resin polish I done my car yesterday and it looks great. Just a wee silly tip make sure the wax is room temp before application as it doesn't like this cold weather it will be very hard to apply. I used Valentino wax or race glaze. Happy cleaning

[KC350Z]

I find if its cold as sarah 350z said room temp or if thats not an option my tip do one panel at a time when its cold makes life easyer other wise its a pain to get off

[oderuyter]

Use a hard wax instead of the Autoglym SRP (its good, but not as durable) - I use dodo juice on the whole and get the majority of my supplies from www.envy.co.uk (trader on here - always good to support those that support us here )

 

Would love to support - but the URL is dead ....

 

I find if its cold as sarah 350z said room temp or if thats not an option my tip do one panel at a time when its cold makes life easyer other wise its a pain to get off

 

How about getting a hot bucket of water and just dipping the polish bottle in ever so often to keep the temp up?

[ioneabee]

oops

 

http://www.envyvaleting.co.uk/

[ilogikal1]

For winter, personally, I prefer to use a sealant rather than a wax (which I use over the summer months) purely due to the durability. Jeffs Werkstat Acrylic works very well and will easily last a couple of months if applied correctly, but this time I've opted for Poorboys EX-P to see how that lasts. With the latter particularly, you can top up with wax too if you like.

 

Any tips you have for 'proper' application? So to be clear you could apply a Wax over the sealant?

 

Preparation is everything. Make sure the car is as clean as you can get it with the clay bar.

There's then two/three steps to the Acrylic kit (paraphrased from here);

 

Step 1 – Werkstat Prime Acrylic

Deep cleans the paintwork after claying.

Werkstat Prime Acrylic should be applied to freshly clayed paint. Only 3-4 pea-sized drops of product are required per panel, and these should be wiped in as firmly and evenly as possible to produce a film that should then be allowed to dry for up to 10 minutes. Once hazed over, this film should then be buffed off.

 

Step 2- Werkstat Acrylic Jett Trigger

The actual sealant part of the process.

Lightly mist Werkstat Acrylic Jett Trigger over a single panel at a time and immediately wipe the panel down to spread a thin, even film of product. Then refold your microfibre and buff the panel down carefully to fully remove the film. I'd recommend between two and five coats of Trigger, the more you apply the better the durability and the deeper the shine.

 

Step 3 – Werkstat Acrylic Glos

Effectively a QD with a little bit of added LSP, so not an essential step but I'd recommend it anyway as it gives a great finish. Lightly mist a microfibre, wipe over a single panel at a time to spread a thin, even film of product. Refold the microfibre and buff.

 

Prime allows cleans the paintwork fully to allow the Trigger to bond fully, so if you get this bit right your protection should last a couple of months. It's best to use the Glos after washes to top up the protection - I'd use this instead of a wax if you opt for the Acrylic kit, a wax just won't bond to this so you'll end up literally washing it away.

 

It depends which sealant you opt for regarding the use of a wax as well. Poorboys EX-P, for example, can be used with a wax on top to give both the finish of a wax and the beading - EX-P tends to sheet water rather than bead, a wax on top of it will give you both the beading and the finish that the wax offers as well as the protection of the sealant underneath.

 

Just for clarification, yes it's wax over (certain) sealant and a similar preparation routine is required to get similar durability out of EX-P as the Acrylic kit - i.e. wash, clay, prime (I've trialled Dodo Juice Prime Lime for the EX-P), sealant, optional wax.

[LRF4N]

Use a hard wax instead of the Autoglym SRP (its good, but not as durable) - I use dodo juice on the whole and get the majority of my supplies from www.envy.co.uk (trader on here - always good to support those that support us here )

 

I wouldnt replace a polish with a wax. They do different jobs in different stages of a detail

[jjt]

OP, you have a sunset coloured zed like me right? I really rated all the stuff I used in this thread:

http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/62827-sunset-detail-after-pics/

Okay the wax is pretty soft, but it seems to have protected pretty well so far