Never done it before but feel the need to get my wax on.

What is the process and can anyone recommend a good product to use? Also I’ve got some chrome on my car do I need something special for this?

Wax your legs, polish your car!

I used Autoglym carpolish on my Volvo, really easy to apply & brought paint up a treat and leaves a protective coating. Autosol stuff for chrome.

Drive to carwash, select the program that includes wax, job done. 🙂

But if you feel the urge to do it properly, pop to Halfords and get some Meguiars wax & Autosol chrome polish.

http://www.autoglym.com/enGB/default.asp

do it yourself – much better job and you don’t end up with a smeary windscreen when you put the wipers on afterwards.

I think I am even more anal about car cleaning than bike cleaning…

[geek car cleaning mode]
I use something called Zymol – natural based cleaner and wax (the cheaper stuff from Halfrauds) ‘cos it’s environmentally friendly and seems to give a good finish. Hose –> Clean top half –> hose –> clean bottom half –> dry with old pactowel –> Wax on/wax off.

I don’t use anything special for the chrome, just dry and buff it
[geek car cleaning mode/]

Hope that helps?

Hmmm, normally put it through the car wash but not too keen on the results.

What about T-cut? whats that do?

that’s takes the top layer of paint off – really only worth doign on non-metallic finishes that have oxidised. You still need to polish the paintwork afterwards.

Watch Karate Kid, the original version and all will be explained young grasshopper

Depends how an@l you want to get with it, strictly speaking a polish and a wax are two separate products, although a lot of companies (meguiars, autoglym, turtle) do combo products that for a car with decent quality paintwork will do a pretty good job.

If you’ve got significant swirl marks or light scratches, a good polish, then a coat of wax will be better although more time consuming.

Whichever you decide make sure your car is properly clean before starting the polishing process, little bits of grit will get picked up and dragged across your bodywork

I’ve got bits of chrome on my car, and have never done anything other than just dry and buff it with a clean cloth/microfibre towel.

Got a few scratches on the bodywork I’d like to cover up.

So…

Wash first…
T-cut…
Then wax.

Is this right?

Can I use something like THIS to do it or will I get better more longer lasting results with something else?

Wax your legs, polish your car!

Polish your legs, wax your mustache, but leave your car au naturale.

Don’t bother with wax – disappears too quickly. I am very anal about keeping my cars perfect and have found the best stuff are the Autoglym products. Not cheap but worth it. Twice a year I do:
1) Intensive Tar Remover – gets all those little black spots off
2) Super Resin Polish – gets the paintwork to a perfect smooth finish
3) Extra Gloss Protection – does the same job as wax in that it gives extra shine, but this stuff creates an extra layer by bonding to the paint, lasts longer, and even gives some extra protection against stone chips

1. Pressure wash with warm water + citrus peel
2. Foam lance and rinse the car (Megs Gold Shampoo)
3. Wheels off and wash + seal
3. 2 bucket washing method doing the horizontal panels first, then the car in 3 levels washing, rinsing and drying each in turn (again Megs Gold)
4. Clay bar + detail spray to remove surface bonded materials (well worth the time and effort)
5. Mask off
5. Polish the car using Megs #83 and a firm pad on a DAS6 Pro dual action polisher (repeat if you feel it needs it)
6. Wax the car using with Megs Nano 2.0 or Poorboys BH (colour dependent) + wipe off the rest
7. Seal using a sealer (your choice…I use dodo)
8. quick detail to remove excess with MF cloth and Megs QD
9. degrease engine bay and low pressure wash
10. polish the chrome sections and glass using autosol + pad and Autoglym glass cleaner
11. polish the leather using megs leather cleaner and Interior detailer
12. vacuum
13. new air freshener.
14. Sleep

Takes 1-2 days every 6 months.

If you really want to go to town over it though, you need to wash it, then go over the paintowork with a clay-bar to remove all the little pieces of sap etc, then polish, then wax (yes, car polish is different to wax).

My once a year clean is this

– Wash with 2 buckets (so you don’t rub gritty water back over the car!)
– Meguirs Claybar/Quick Detailer to get tree sap/embedded grime off (as I park under trees at work)
– Hand polish with Autoglym Super Resin Polish (gets rid of minor scratches/swirls)
– Wax with Autogylm HD to protect & add shiney shiney.

You can also use sealant after polishing to get a really deep shine, but for me the wax alone is good enough.

For the rest of the year you just wash & wax if you can be bothered.

BTW You can get Autoglym stuff much cheaper online than in the shops (approx 50% off)

Takes 1-2 days every 6 months

!!!!!

If the surface of your paint is a bit fubarred you might be better off claying it first 😕 [edit too slow!]

1. Pressure wash with warm water + citrus peel
2. Foam lance and rinse the car (Megs Gold Shampoo)
3. Wheels off and wash + seal
3. 2 bucket washing method doing the horizontal panels first, then the car in 3 levels washing, rinsing and drying each in turn (again Megs Gold)
4. Clay bar + detail spray to remove surface bonded materials (well worth the time and effort)
5. Mask off
5. Polish the car using Megs #83 and a firm pad on a DAS6 Pro dual action polisher (repeat if you feel it needs it)
6. Wax the car using with Megs Nano 2.0 or Poorboys BH (colour dependent) + wipe off the rest
7. Seal using a sealer (your choice…I use dodo)
8. quick detail to remove excess with MF cloth and Megs QD
9. degrease engine bay and low pressure wash
10. polish the chrome sections and glass using autosol + pad and Autoglym glass cleaner
11. polish the leather using megs leather cleaner and Interior detailer
12. vacuum
13. new air freshener.
14. Sleep

Takes 1-2 days every 6 months.

Now that’s dedication. My car goes through the carwash about every 18 months whether it needs it or not (but then I suspect my car isn’t as nice as yours).

What is ‘claying’?

CharlieMungus – Member

What is ‘claying’?

+ 1 for watching The Karate Kid.

oooh! Ok, but the car has to clean as a clean whistle first, right?

So do I need to t-cut or not to get rid of the small scratches?

Yup, or you scratch the bits all over the body.

CharlieMungus – Member

oooh! Ok, but the car has to clean as a clean whistle first, right?

It doesn’t, but you’ll go through the clay quite quickly and could mark the paint.

So do I need to t-cut or not to get rid of the small scratches?

Polish will get rid of small scratches like swirls, bigger scratches may need something like rubbing compound or more but bear in mind that if you have a clear-coat on top of your paint (most modern paints do) you could rub through it and then you’re in a cycle of eternal buffing as the paint below keeps oxidising. So it all depends how big they are.

It doesn’t, but you’ll go through the clay quite quickly and could mark the paint.

My experience says you WILL mark the paint if it’s not freshly washed first, you might get lucky!

jon1973 – Member

1. Pressure wash with warm water + citrus peel
2. Foam lance and rinse the car (Megs Gold Shampoo)
3. Wheels off and wash + seal
3. 2 bucket washing method doing the horizontal panels first, then the car in 3 levels washing, rinsing and drying each in turn (again Megs Gold)
4. Clay bar + detail spray to remove surface bonded materials (well worth the time and effort)
5. Mask off
5. Polish the car using Megs #83 and a firm pad on a DAS6 Pro dual action polisher (repeat if you feel it needs it)
6. Wax the car using with Megs Nano 2.0 or Poorboys BH (colour dependent) + wipe off the rest
7. Seal using a sealer (your choice…I use dodo)
8. quick detail to remove excess with MF cloth and Megs QD
9. degrease engine bay and low pressure wash
10. polish the chrome sections and glass using autosol + pad and Autoglym glass cleaner
11. polish the leather using megs leather cleaner and Interior detailer
12. vacuum
13. new air freshener.
14. Sleep

Takes 1-2 days every 6 months.

Now that’s dedication. My car goes through the carwash about every 18 months whether it needs it or not (but then I suspect my car isn’t as nice as yours).
NO. Thats OCD.

Takes 1-2 days every 6 months

After 45 years of that, you’ll have spent 6 months of your life washing a car…………..!!!

This might disturb a few of the posters on this thread but it’s for your own good.

My car is red. Red cars wash themselves in the rain. But I park it under a yew tree in the drive. And the woman next door keeps pigeons. And this time of year the yew berries come out. And the pigeons like nothing more than sitting in the tree, munching the berries and crapping them out again. So for the last 3 weeks I’ve been driving around with increasing big piles of purple pigeon poo on the bonnet. There must be getting on for a kilo now. When a big one hits the windscreen, I’ll think about cleaning it all off and starting again.

When a big one hits the windscreen, I’ll think about cleaning it all off and starting again.

don’t worry, by the time that happens the poo on the bonnet will have eaten through the paint and be halfway through the metal…

When a big one hits the windscreen, I’ll think about cleaning it all off and starting again.

don’t worry, by the time that happens the poo on the bonnet will have eaten through the paint and be halfway through the metal…

Yep, if you don’t remove it smartish it’ll permanently mark your paint.

Interesting concept – cleaning a car.

Must do it some time.

Get some Turkish lads round to do it for you; sit back and relax with a beer, enjoy the view 🙂

we have this stuff that falls from the sky called rain, makes the grass grow and cleans the car at the same time magic..

RJ – you enjoy the view of Turkish lads washing your car?!

Yep, if you don’t remove it smartish it’ll permanently mark your paint

In all the years I’ve been neglecting my cars parked under that tree I’ve never found permanent markings to the paint. I think it’s an avian myth.

I’ve had a newish BMW with metallic paint, a Ford with non-metallic, and Ford with metallic and the only damage is if I get impatient and brush too hard before the barbeque cleaner or disc brake cleaner has had time to soften the crap.

try this :

http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/car-care-advice.html

BigJohn – Member
In all the years I’ve been neglecting my cars parked under that tree I’ve never found permanent markings to the paint. I think it’s an avian myth.

Not a myth, this is the damage the feathery ba 😳 rds did to SWMBO’s car

Bushwacked – Member

RJ – you enjoy the view of Turkish lads washing your car?!

Yup they’re really fit, too young for me though