As i have just got a new car i have joined the M3cutters site, and the detailing section on there is superb.....so i have gone and got all the gear to see what its all about.

But, you dont seem to here much of it on here....just wondering who really goes to town on there cars......I know theres a few but i would of thought more would be having a go.

If i still had my 3DR i would be doing it all the time......but it wasnt such a big thing 6 years ago

 

 

I think Rs Matt is into Tiff thinks he detailed a few cars

 

I like to keep my cars clean but i couldnt be arsed to spend days cleaning a car.

Get the clay bar on the go then some good polish and a good wax.

 

Rs mat is the man. He put me right!

 

I bought a Silverline machine with various polishing pads from a lad I know who'd upgraded to a more professional set up, but discovered I don't have the bollox to drag it over the paintwork of my pride and joy?!


Cheers,
Grant

 

I find it quite therapeutic did mine the other day, there's some pics of mine in the pics section.

Bit o clay bar, bit o snow foam and some wax on wax off :

 

I did a full detail on my old white saff and it turned it around 100% better

I just cant be arsed putting a thread together for it

Unless someone makes it worth my while

 

is it expensive for the gear to get started.. id love to have a go but id be worried about cocking it up.. guess i could practice on her car first..
mine has lots of swirls in the paint i had it painted a few years ago and its only been dirty twice and needed washing so cant see that has caused it maybe dusting it off is causing it..?

 

What ya wana know mate PM on its way.

 

I,m heavily into Detailing too machine polishing , colour sanding and lots of other areas of Detailing. I can be endless and it can take lots of learning depending how far into you go. I really should be posting more of my work on here in the detail section .At the moment madly enough i,ve just started correcting a fully repainted Mk1 Escos in Frozen white i,m halfway in between as its going back as the finish on the arches wasn't a good one.
Learning all about the products is where a lot of it lies , keep pickin up info on the ones you have and see how others get on with the same product.
Ask away hth
Mike

 

Cheers guys.

At the minute i have just got a new snow foam gun and foam, clay bar ect.....so thats where i will begin.

Rinse
Snow foam
Rinse
Wash
Rinse
Clay
Polish.....

Sound about right??????????

 

nah mate, here is the order

snow foam- leave to dwell for 5 mins
wash
rinse
clay
wash
dry
optional to do yourself or a detailer would do your paint correction i.e. a paint corrector with a rotary polisher - that takes the laquer back a level to remove swirl marks etc etc
polish
glaze (wax)

Do your wheels first though

 

I thought you was ment to wet the car first?????

 

And surly you have to rinse the snow foam off otherwise you are rubbing the freed up grim back into the paintwork with the wash.......

 

your right tiff, now that im not at work il reply proper

rinse car thoroughly
snow foam- leave to dwell for 5 mins
rinse
wash
rinse
clay
light rinse
wash
dry
optional to do yourself or a detailer would do your paint correction i.e. a paint corrector with a rotary polisher - that takes the laquer back a level to remove swirl marks etc etc
polish
glaze (wax)

 

IMO most 'detailers' are just people who clean there cars and can be arsed doing a big write up about it.

I love having a clean car and i know how to use all the gear, but I'd never want to be called a detailer

 

your meant to snow foam a dry car so that the foam can work away the dirt,if you rinse first your creating a water sheet that wont work the foam as good

 

Detailing is a little hobbie of mine I've done quite a few cars off this forum..

 

I would love to do someones car off here .
Tiff - If you can supply hot water with the foam even better . Some say the snow foam can be ott but it definately has its place , if the vehicle is really dirty then it comes into its own. It will prevent some possibilties of marring n scratching the surface if you just went straight in with a wash mitt . Its elimination process , the better condition the surface the more you,ll warrant using methods of elimination ime. If your planning on machine polishing anyway some people aren,t to bothered with preventing scratching there is no right or wrong just preference. Make sure you rinse thoroughly when removing the foam residue.Me i like to use the snow its great fun if anything
You,ll also when claying have a chance in marring the surface especially if contaminated heavily.
What clay do you have ? , i have a selection from soft, meduim and hard depending on the job in hand. You can use plain water or a lubricating liquid to help the clay run as smooth as possible.
After your claying session be sure its smooth as silk , there are more stages of decontaminating . Iron deposite removal (tiny filings can embed just under the the uppermost surface , living near a railway can do this for instance. Also paint cleansers will still remove dirt within the surface even after claying its quite suprising.

Once the surface is in a condition you feel happy to continue working with you could either polish the suface to enhance the condition , you may need compounds to cut alot of defects , or just a light finishing polish to enhance the the gloss it may well be in very good condition anyway, it depends how far you want to go.
You could go straight into glazing the surface after claying to enhance the paint depth and gloss without any cutting of the paint and in the same time 'fill' the minor imperfections . These are great products and can be used after polishing to enhance that tage even more. After this you,ll be wanting to seal all your hard work with sealants or waxes the chioce is yours. Use both but only use wax over sealants .
If machine polishing its nice to have a paint guage , a good torch or halegon light, polish residue removers is handy during correction and keep cleaning the pads etc whilst you work along .
Its never ending if you want it to be.

hth
Mike

 

Superb Mike....thanks alot buddy.....

 

I have been into detailing since last year have machine polished a few cars but still a lot to learn to get them 100% where i would be happy

Mike i see your from Essex too where about's?

Brian

 

SOS mate

 

I used to be into it for about 2 months and bought all the stuff, but now I don't really bother with it, maybe every 2-3 months i'll give the car a good going over, don't mind it on small cars but having a beemer and saph and to do it all properly can take almost a full day. Definately my favourite thing is Tardis followed by a clay bar to see the best results of your efforts, I honestly can't remember the last time I polished/waxed either of the cars though.

 

I consider a saph 'smallish' nowdays as the new stuff seems massive compared to older 80,s cars for example.......Try it in stages if its a chore sometimes it can work out better like that then floggin it to death and skippin bits, easily done.

 

However thick I mix my snow foam, I can never get it to dwell or stay on the car it just seems to dry off Can never get it looking like other people have where the car looks like it has been covered in a sea of white foam. Half of it dries up after being left for like a minute! What am I doing wrong?

 

Maybe mixing it too thick? in the bottle i add about an inch and a half, give a good coat that drags away over 5-10 minutes.

i have had black cars for a couple of years now so get more into the cleaning. Would like to get more into the correction side, bought a DA but need to experiment more with pads and compounds.

Normal routine for a good clean for me is

Snow foam
rinse
wash with shampoo and mit
rinse
detar with tar spot remover to rid of clumps and excess
claybar
rinse
towel dry
dress plastics to avoid polish sticking
polish
wax

I was amazed most by using a claybar, so much shite in your paint and the easy of polishing afterwards is night and day, plus the paint feels so smooth.

 

So I'm not mixing it enough then I only put maybe about a quarter inch

It comes out quite thick but dries too quick. Thing is my crappy Nilfisk is shit for snow foam I reckon if I snow foam it thick every week it'll fuck it in double quick time as this one is a warranty replacement. I reckon the old one died because they're a budget washer that can't take snow foam on a regular basis (by regular I mean once a week if that!)

 

Nilfisks are good machines from my experience. Do you have a proper lance pani k ? Also do you flush and empty the washer after use? I,m actually guilty of forgetting to do this but had no issues so far for 2 years .
If you can fill your mix with warm to hot water this may help , alongside cool panels in shaded areas if possible already wetted down .
also dont forget , if your car is often protection detailed i reckon the foam will 'fall away' that bit quicker. Just a theory mind.

 

I have a proper lance and bottle mate and empty the washer after use every time. I've mixed with warm water before. It is the C120-3 I have. I also bought a little Karcher 2.14 that I use a 20l tank gravity fed to the Karcher to get around the preposterous and pointless hosepipe ban. In some ways I actually prefer the little Karcher as it is less powerful and more compact so I can be more accurate with the lance, get into panel gaps a lot more accurately as the spray pattern is more compact and not be scared of destroying paintwork rather than cleaning it. I think next time though I'm going to go for a more expensive washer, spend a good few quid and forget as this is the 3rd warranty replacement C120 I've had. They really don't like being worked too hard (and I don't work mine hard at all!!) It has plenty of breaks and not used constantly and it is always fed with a good water supply before pressurizing.

 

Have yet to touch my fiesta

 

This is what I do, basically:

Start off with the wheels. I've got a two post lift, so it's easy for me to take them off and allow easy access to inside the arches, but if you need to use axle stands then that's fine and do them one or two at a time.

I'd get the wheels off, give them a blast with the pressure washer inside and out, tyres too. Then spray them with Bilberry. Leave them to soak for a few minutes then give them another spraying to loosen off any dried on spray, then work it all in with a brush. For this I use an EZ-Detail brush. They are very, very good. I've got two sizes depending on the type of spokes etc. Then rinse all the residue away and dry them.

After that have a good look and see if there are any blemishes that washing them didn't remove and you don't think a good clay will either. If there is then use a little Autosmart Tardis on there. Rinse them again then give the wheels a thorough claying. I always use an old clay bar on the wheels that I've just retired from bodywork duties. If there are still any blemishes, particularly on polished metals then use some Autosol metal polish. Once you're happy with the finish then it's time to protect them. Use whatever sealants and wax you fancy, same as bodywork (on normal finishes). Most of the time some Chemical Guys wheel wax will suffice, but you can use a high quality paintwork wax on top. Then on top of that use a suitable QD. More time spent on building up layers on proection now means less time spend getting the dirt and baked on brake dust on later.

Then after that move on to inside the wheelarches. Remove any plastic arch liners and clean those separately with something like Meguiar's APC and a good scrub and rinse. Then finish them off with 303 Aerospace Protectant. Then spray all round inside the arch with something like Meguiar's Degreaser. Leave that to bake on a bit, then spray again to loosen. Work it all round with a brush. In the heavily soiled areas like this I use a cheap paintbrush rather than one of my detailing brushes. Then give it a good rinse with the pressure washer, just make sure that if you're using axle stands that you don't spray them and it's always best to have two on the go or a jack in situ just in case.

Then there's under the bonnet. Obviously using a pressure washer under here requires a little common sense, but you don't need to go to extremes. Mask off any exposed electics, but as long as you don't concentrate pressure in one area for too long you won't have any issues. Obviously vehicle electrics must be designed to take water splashes, just go easy. Give it all a bit of a rinse down, especially the bonnet shuts etc. Then use degreaser, leave it, use a bit more, agitate with a brush and rinse off. Then use Aerospace 303 on all the plastics and polish up any metalwork with Autosol.

Again, before I do the main body and panel work I'll go round all the other areas where dirt gets trapped, such as grilles, door shuts, vents, cracks etc and use APC or Degreaser to suit, and give them a good brushing and rinse.

Then start thinking about the bodywork. I use a Nilfisk Pressure Washer. I used to use a Karcher, but apart from the top end industrial ones they're nothing like they used to be when they were a more specialist product and find Nilfisk far better now. Give it a good soaking all over then it's time to introduce the foam. The Lance I have for my Nilfisk was from cleanyourcar.co.uk and the shampoo I use for foaming is Meguiar's Hyper Wash. You only need a small amount in the bottle to make a load of nice, clingy foam. Now I run the water through at 60deg, which makes the foam thicker and more effective, but this isn't essential. I always use about half the foam or a touch more to give it a good soaking, leave it about 15 minutes, then spray on the rest of the foam on before rinsing off. This is when I personally look for any dried on tar spots etc and use Autosmart Tardis before washing.

Then for washing I have two Zaino Buckets with grit guards. I fill one half way with water, then add some Duragloss, then mix it together and top the bucket up to full. I then fill the other bucket two thirds of the way up with nothing but water. Then using a lambswool wash mitt I give the bodywork a through cleaning (glass too, treat this a pre wash for glass) using the two bucket method. Follow this up with a thourough rinse then dry the car. The less touching the better when it comes to drying the car. I have a Black Baron Vehicle Dryer which is an awesome piece of kit, but not cheap. A cheaper option would be to use a leaf blower to blow away the bulk of the water and also blow all water out of the nooks and crannies. Then follow this up with a gentle drying with a good quality, waffle weave towel.

The car is now clean and dry and you're ready to really get down to business. I will add the next stages later when I get more time...

 

I think mine is the c110 its been great for little cost it has enough pressure for my needs. It sounds strange your having no joy with that setup mate maybe try a different snow. I have just purchased Valet pro PH neutral snowfoam its brilliant , the megs is also very good .

 

I had Megs Hyper Wash before mate now on Simoniz only cos it was very cheap. Will go back to Megs though but it was more or less the same story with that too. Will persevere though!

 

Are you applying the snowfoam in direct sunshine? Just re read your 1st post and find it odd thats its drying so quickly, maybe the protective coatings you applied previously are actually doing a very good job of sheeting the water?

 

You can come here anytime mate.

 

So let me get this right, 1.5 - 2" of snow foam with warm water into the bottle... then you just apply the snow foam straight the car without rinsing it before hand?

And what do you guys use for drying? Microfibre towels or chamois?

 

I apply Meguiars Mirror Glaze about twice a year on it after some Poorboys SSR2 Swirl Remover. I very much doubt that the wax is good enough to last 6 months lol. Next time I'll take some pics and PM you

 

Just out of interest is the mirror glaze purely a glaze or does it seal aswell ?

 

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/wax/me...x/prod_98.html

No idea mate