Hi new to detailing few questions..

[mrggg]

 

So ive got some products and I currently clean the car like this:

Demonshine rapid dirt shifter, leave to dwell
Pressure wash
Repeat demonshine rapid shifter if needs be
Clean alloys with meguirs gold class shampoo and conditioner
Do the same to the car Using microfibre wash mit, making sure to go in one direction and not circles
Dry the car using meguiars drying towel
Finally apply rapid detailer to the car
Finished

Obviously the car has a lot of swirl marks as Im not a pro yet and cant buy every product at once. Can anyone recommend where I can improve on in terms of my cleaning procedure, what steps should I add? What do I do wrong? Do I really need a clay bar? When I buy polish, can I do it by hand?

Thank you 

[AndyBrown]

I'd pressure wash first then use the demo shine stuff.

I presume your using the 2BM to clean the car?
Use a different mit for wheels and body if you're not already. Switch the microfibres mitt on the body to a lambs wool one.

You should clay it before you polish/was the car, you'll be amazed the amount of dirt that will come off if you haven't done it before. And it will prevent inflicting further swirl damage by removing dirt particles.

I recommend iron x before claying to remove any iron fall out, purple streaks run off which looks pretty cool aswell.

Have a look at the stickys at the top of the detailing section there's a couple of really good guides 

[dansmith180]

I dont know what the Demon shine stuff is like but I'm assuming its not too aggressive, does it say somewhere if its PH neutral? Because that's what your after otherwise it might eat through any protection you have.

I usually use a dedicated wheel cleaner but shampoo is fine.

Do you degrease and rinse the arches? I do that every week to keep the sh*t from building up on then. Use Bilt Hamber Surfex or Meguires APC (my recommendations)

Do you use 1 bucket or 2? Do you have grit guards? I use 2 buckets 1 wash 1 rinse and grit guards in the bottom of both to stop you from putting bits back onto the paint and reduce chances of scratching.

If your cars never been clayed then you should do it but it only needs to be done maybe 1-3 times a year depending on how many miles you do and how well protected the car is.

Drying towel is good.

Rapid detailer is OK but there are much better products out there such as Bouncers done and dusted (personal favourite) Chemical guys V7, Zaino Z6 or Z8, Dodo Red Mist and more.

You can polish the car by hand but it would be a waste of time as VAG paint is to hard to remove anything but the lightest of marks by hand, your better of waiting and using a machine or just using a glaze product with fillers to make it look better. I would also recommend getting some protection on like a wax or sealnt of some kind, which one depends on your preference and what results your after.