How Do You Detail?

[fuzion]

Out of curiosity, they're lots of us on here but one thing we never post about is how we detail, what we use and how we use it?

Curious.. so, what do you do? What do you like, and what do you use and whats it look like after all that?

[mikinoz]

I've recently taken to using linseed oil on the mk1 black plastics on exterior and it is pulling them up better than any plastic enhancer.

Before;




to this;

[team_v]

Rinse the car with a hose.
Wash the car with Duragloss Car Wash Concentrate (smells like cherry) using the 2 bucket method and a micrfibre wash mit.
Wash the wheels with a chux rag (i know, hoping to get a vikan wheel brush for christmas)
Then rinse again.
Dry with a shamwow (lol - i know i need to get a microfibre towel, maybe for christmas)
Apply nanolex spray on sealant to the body pannels and wheels every 4 washes, leave for 5-10 minutes, then buff with a microfibre buffing cloth.


I probably should be a bit more proactive about it but I don't have the time or patience to do a professional detail every 4-6 weeks.




@Mick
I have heard that black shoe polish works wonders on the textured plastics as it is water repelling and last for ages.

[fuzion]

jees nanolex, you gangster! lol

[Tim]

Kitten wash and wax once a month if its lucky

[Big Yellow]

ive never seen that kittens car wash in action lol.

[Buller_Scott]

ive never seen that kittens car wash in action lol.

well you should see turtles- they're not too shabby when it comes to washing cars!

mothers are even better!

having recently (within the last 8 months) got into detailing, and understanding how it all works, and the fact that despite rain, your car CAN look good for a couple of weeks with the right treatment etc, this is what i do/ use (keep in mind, i prefer to buy my products off the shelf. as much as i like the carcareproducts range, and as much as i know the purists will boo me for using off-the-shelf stuff, the following have served me really well in the last 8 months):

done at a carwash, with the sprayer nozzle on ''rinse'' only.
-rinse car thoroughly.
-wash car with water + microfibre mitt, rinsing mitt every few seconds (to mimick the two bucket method).
-use seperate mitt for wheels, rinsing every few seconds as above.
-dry off with a micrfibre waffle weave.
-hand polish with AutoGlym super resin polish, using a AutoGlym microfibre polishing cloth.
-spray on wax using Mothers' FX spray wax + microfibre cloth (this wax is awesome- it provides a nice gloss effect, it's SUPER EASY-spray on, wipe into one section at a time, you're done- there's no need to buff off, as once you've waxed, it dries to a high gloss with no residue. oh... and for an easy spray on wax, it will bead water for 3-4 weeks, on a car that it always parked outside).
-plastics: same microfibre, using Mothers' FX spray on wax... it brings the plastics to a nice, shiny, deep black, and keeps them that way for weeks. no milky haze whatsoever, just good, deep black.
-tyres: armour all tyre gel... i know it'll never see the light of day on carcareproducts, but for someone who buys off-the-shelf only, it's longer lasting than anything else i've tried- from el cheapo spray cans that last 4 washes and spray crap everywhere, to Meguiars hot tyres, and every mediocre product in the $0-$40 price range. ArmourAll tyre gel provides a nice, modest black, and one $12 bottle has lasted me 7-8 washes, and it's still half full.
-wheels: they're scarred from snow chains, so i just wash em down, i dont seal them.

whole process takes around 4-5 hours (hand polishing takes the longest).

p.s. pierre, i tried to reply to your pm, but your inbox is full. i totally hear what you're saying, though, regarding tools etc, haha.

[Wolfgang]

Current process is:
Rinse with hose (Gerni soon)
Fill up two buckets. One water other one wash solution.
Rinse again.
Wash using Duragloss Car Wash Concentrate (mmmm Cherry) and MF mitt.
Wheels done last using leftover Wash Concentrate with different MF mitt
Rinse (of course)
One pass with waffle weave MF
Spray on Duragloss Aquawax (mmmmm Coconut) and continue to dry. (Bloody good stuff.)
AutoGlym Tyre Dressing applied with Foam Applicator

Interior gets:
AG Vinyl & Rubber Care (buffed off to matt finish) monthlyish
AG leather cleaner and AG Leather Care Balm when needed.

Soon:
Cleaning engine bay, inside doors boot bonnet etc with Mint APC.
Paint will be recieving Dodo Juice Born to Be Slippy and DJ Clay followed by Menzerna 203S then 106FF on RO then Wolfgang Deep Gloss Sealant.*
Windscreen will recieve an application of Nanolex Glass Sealant. (Have not tried this stuff yet)


*When motivation is at a high enough level.

[Buller_Scott]

mikinoz, those bumpers turned out awesome. where do you get the linseed oil? from bunnings?

or am i thinking of fish oil, that's used to cleanse surfaces before priming?

or am i in a ballpark in the wrong hemisphere on both? lol

[Ben J]

Family/friends think im crazy but every week I whip out the vacuum cleaner and get the interior spotless, go over everything in there with 303, occasionally go over glass if for some reason people have been touching it.

Then it gets a wash with autoglym bodywork shampoo and conditioner or something (used dodo juice sour power a couple of times and really liked that, except it seems to be the only thing in the world im allergic too) using the 2 bucket method, its then dried completely with a waffle weave cloth. Normally just go over the wheels with another little cloth to get them looking respectable.

Then atleast once a month i hit it with the autoglym super resin polish to try and mask the swirl marks it has all over, which annoy me a great deal. Wanting to get a good polisher and get them out properly, then maybe start using some fancy carnauba wax, and some decent sealer on the wheels.

Did all the trims with about a million coats of forever black a few months ago and light still struggles to get away from them now, i do occasionally go over them all with a little bit of 303 as well to give it a nice sort of sheen.

Not using anything on the tyres yet, might look into it though. Dont want the super shiny look though.

[Ozram]

Not using anything on the tyres yet, might look into it though. Dont want the super shiny look though.

Use the 303 if you want your tyres to have a low sheen and not fling off onto your clean paintwork.

[Ben J]

I think I heard somewhere it does nothing for tyres, but I'll give it a go. Good idea, thanks.

[DMS_Dan]

It works great on the tyres. I use it on customers cars when I want the factory look rather than the super bling OMG look. Eg on a 430 super glossy tyres look wrong but on an SSV or GTI they look really good.

[ryana89]

Can I make a note/opinion towards NOT using a pressure washer.
When you use pressure washers you are moving/blowing water at a very high speed/rate, this allows the water to get into places that it usually is not capable of (potentially damaging seals and electrics).

Now say you use a pressure washer on a door/panel of your car that has a scratch, dint, stone chip or damaged area of of paint/clear coat.
A pressure washer will simply force water underneath the damaged paint/clearcoat and lift that area of paint/clear coat off the panel in time, causing damage.

I understand alot of people use pressure washers and are probably under the opinion that they are great, an opinion I respect.
But please bear in mind what I mentioned above when using pressure washers.

Edit: I stand corrected, fuzion is right, as long as you are aware how to use one.

[fuzion]

Ryan,

I would firstly say you have obviously had bad experiences with a pressure washer/gurnie.

Any old paint with stone chips or damaged paint will be affected by the pressure of the water if you are up close. If you are safe distance you can do no harm at all to your cars paint etc.

I have been using one forever on all the cars i had and have never had an issue and everyone i know also uses them. I can not stand using a hose to be honest, gets absolutely nothing off your car.

It comes down to everything, be smart. Dont go over paint that has damage over it and dont sit 5mm from the paint with something that can easily rip it off! (der!?) lol.

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