Candy white cleaning recommendations

[shoaybmakda]

Hi all

I'm trying to get myself into cleaning my golf properly instead of just a half job wash and polish. Wondering if there's any products people can recommend to use for my candy White GTI (with an ED30 kit on it and pescaras - see build thread if necessary!) I don't have a humongous budget to go on but wanted to start buying bits and building my collection of products. Bodywork on the car is fairly straight no rust or anything of the sort. Will probably see some swirl marks for those with an eye for detail. Currently have a nilfisk pressure washer to use.

Things I'm kinda looking at:

Snow foam
Clay bar
Currently using autoglym super resin polish but what recommendations are there for a white car?
Any specific shampoos I should use on it?
Do I need to wax it often? If not what wax would work?
What do people use on tyres and on Windows/headlights and tail lights?
Finally any other tips or recommended products?

Thanks all in advance and sorry if I'm a bit vague with anything

[dansmith180]

Snow foam: Bilt Hamber Autofoam
Clay bar: Bilt Hamber Autoclay medium
Both of these are very good and also very well priced.

If you want a polish/ glaze step (this gives no protection just adds gloss and depth) I would look at Poorboys White Diamond

Shampoo wise anything PH neutral will be good and won't strip any protection you have on it. Dodo juice and Chemical guys shampoos are very good, also tried a couple of Meguires ones recently and they were also pretty good.

Wax wise the Collinite range lasts ages and is very well priced, also Bilt Hamber double speed wax is a good one.

Tyres: Gtechniq T1.    Its not very cheap but its my favourite, takes a couple of uses to build a layer and then it lasts ages.

Glass: Dodo Juice clearly menthol.

I would also use IronX on the paintwork before you next clay it, doesn't need to be done often but you'll be amazed how much purple comes off the car and gets rid of all the little brown spots you might notice if you look close.

Britemax easy cut for polishing the exhaust tips.

[shoaybmakda]

Thanks @dansmith180 for the tips in rout a couple of orders in so will be busy once the weather opens up!

I'll probably use the autoglym polish for now and once it's finished I'll have a go at the poor boys product

[Chris92]

Like above bilt hamber for the clay and snow. Take it you won't be corecting the paint so polsih it then if you want use a glaze to hide the defects then seal it with a wax or you can just polish it with autoglym srp which will hide minor defects then seal with a wax or extra gloss protection instead.

I personally love wolf chemicals white satin great slick shampoo and cheap. Also I'd invest in two buckets and a wash mitt.

[Nasir]

Regarding the wax, I'll second using Collinite 476 wax for the winter. It lasts very long and will protect the paintwork in the harsh weather.

[Scottymon]

x3 for Collys 476, excellent stuff :)

[Chris92]

Collys is ok but personally I'd go for finish kare 1000p. The tin is huge compared to the collys one and is only around £2 more, can be used all over from paint, wheels and exhausts, better finsh IMO will look great on the candy white and is just as durable as the colly wax.

[shoaybmakda]

Thanks for the replies @Chris92 @Nasir @Scottymon

So far I'll probably going for the bilt hamber products and see how I get on with them. I've got some autoglym shampoo so probably use that till it's finished and then try the dodo juice stuff.

Collys has three votes so I'll go for this first and see how we get on.

Thanks for the advice guys much appreciated gives me a good starting base into the world of cleaning my beloved 

[Nasir]

On that note, I put some collinite on mine and on the second wash used Megs Ultimate Quick Detailer.

Didn't feel right just washing the car and leaving it. The Megs stuff is pretty awesome for in between washes. It just keeps on beading water, even with dirt on it. And the best bit is that it's very easy to apply.

Link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cars-Meguiars-Car-Care-Products-G14422/dp/B001B0VDI6

[shoaybmakda]

@Nasir by second wash do you mean he next time you washed it?

And I guess with this you just spray it over the car and let it set? Or is there a method on how to use it?

[Chris92]

@Nasir by second wash do you mean he next time you washed it?

And I guess with this you just spray it over the car and let it set? Or is there a method on how to use it?

Spray on panel spread it around with a microfibre, flip cloth and buff it, never used megs ultimate detailer but I've got the megs quik wax detailer which is very similar and it's pretty good. For winter use I like sonax bsd the beading is awsome and water just runs off when driving

[Nasir]

@Nasir by second wash do you mean he next time you washed it?

And I guess with this you just spray it over the car and let it set? Or is there a method on how to use it?

Yep on the second wash. I just sprayed it on and that was it. Added some really nice shine to it as well. It's still beading 1 week and 300 miles on!

[Ryan_Gti06]

Another  for megs quik detailer, awesome stuff beads excellent and lasts for quite a while considering how easy it is to put on.

[Nasir]

Another  for megs quik detailer, awesome stuff beads excellent and lasts for quite a while considering how easy it is to put on.

Yep really is great stuff.

I should add that you need to spray it and wipe it on with a microfibre cloth (just a light touch to spread onto the paint, no need to swirl it in or anything).

[mrggg]

Sorry I dont mean to hijack the thread.

But I also have a candy white gti (selling soon) But I still want to try to get into detailing (been lazy in the past).

my current method is

auto finese citrus power
pressure wash
clean using meguiars shampoo and conditioner
dry using drying towel

What Im looking to do:

After this step, Im thinking I should be using a product like CarPro - TRIX Iron and Tar Remover? In regards to applying it, do I just leave it on the surface for a few minutes then rinse?
Then claying it, would autogylm clay be ok?
Next would be using autoglym srp
Sealing with collinite- what do I use to apply this product, a microfibre cloth?
And finally using meguiars rapid deatailer (which I already have)

In regards to removing tar, is the above product good as its 2 in 1, or would it be better to get capro iron x and a seperate tar remover - any recommendations?

is this a good process to start with?
My next step will be to get a polisher.

Everyone here has given good advice thus far, cheers.