Time for me to learn and get some results

[CarlW]

Right guys, its come to the point after months and months of searching on this forum to now do something about the paint..

Now i know most of you would love to punch me for using a sponge but i've now learned from my mistakes and gone out and bought myself a couple of mitts you'll be pleased to know.

Im not home often as i'd like to be cause I'm at uni so therefor can't really wash my car every weekend or every month as i don't go home an awful lot and don't have ways of washing the car unless i go to one of them dreaded car wash machines at a petrol stations which i don't like anyway and i've heard there bad for your paintwork etc..

Now i've bought the Karcher K2 pressure washer and got myself a couple of buckets for the 2 bucket method.. but i'd like to know what else i need and how to use them or if any of you know of any good youtube tutorials on how to use products that may be recommended by some of you guys that are keen on keeping your cars clean and shiny each week / fortnight.

I could do with some advice on wax's, polishes, clay bars, tar removers, detailers spray and iron X products maybe? i think that covers what i would kind of need to do a good deep clean on my car when I'm next home..
Advice on Items such as snow foam lance's, mitts to use, polishes to use.. everything i listed above..

I've got tutorials on the 2 bucket method and using 2 wash mitts for upper and lower of the car.
I don't have a DA polishing machine to use with the polishes so i need products that i can make work well by hand and a bit of elbow grease and also maybe a tutorial on how to use these products by hand like how long to spend on areas.. everything really.. but just want to start with the basics then once it sinks in i can then ask about other things..

Thanks in advance

[CarlW]

Oo and i forgot to mention my paint / colour / current condition..

First of all the paint is Metallic black.
and the current condition isn't great, swirl marks / webbing effect is kind of all over the car and there are some light scratches too.
Need to get a couple of dings out the doors from when i returned to my car with a nice shopping trolley incident.. 

Not sure if its mandatory to have a DA polisher machine to cure these but if so i am prepared to buy one as long as its not overly expensive as being a student.. the less money i spend is better but not after buying the cheapest of everything and going half board.. like i say i can always buy a few things to start off with then progressively buy more products as i go along..

[Marc-5-GTI]

Have you had a read of this?? 

http://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,74892.0.html

[Chris92]

I'm new to this too but I can maybes help you a little. I'd suggest before you ever wash your car to rinse it to get rid of some the muck then use a snow foam and let it sit for 10mins then rinse it off and start washing the car with your 2 bucket method. Using snow foam is to get rid of as much road muck as possible before you even touch the paint to reduce the risk of causing swirls.

 

[CarlW]

My problems have been solved!

Think i'll make a brew and take some notes down and fill a basket on amazon haha

Sorry for another thread and thank you

[Marc-5-GTI]

You're welcome 

[Horatio]

Autoglym products are pretty good off-the-shelf products. If your not going to be spending much time cleaning your car, you wouldn't want to spend a small fortune on products only 3 months down the line when the interest starts to wear off. Keeping a black car clean is a nightmare and the swirls and spiding webbing shows up double-worse  Good preparation is the key. I always find myself returning to autoglym;  autoglym super resin polish, HD Wax, autoglym extra gloss protection (applied in that order) always gives a really good finish and good longevity  Another product worth mentioning is Poorboys Wheel Sealent. My first pot lasted nearly 18 months

[CarlW]

Thank you for the recommendations guys.. will spend a bit more time looking in this detailing section and find out what the good products are for my car and slowly collect them.. just spent an hour reading Jay's detailing guide and happy to say its helped a lot more than i thought..

Another thing is i've recently bought a K2 Pressure washer but do not yet have the snow foam lance.. Can anyone tell me where i can find a good one.. where to get the best prices of one and also i heard you need to service them every now and then? is there a guide for this so i can bookmark it and refer to it when i manage to get myself one..

Thanks

[Marc-5-GTI]

Autobrite HD Foam lance is awesome... Google autobrite and it's on their website. They do deals now and then too.

I use autofinnesse products mostly but some people hate then cause some of their stuff is rebranded...

[CarlW]

Spot on Also can you advise me a couple of places to get things like the grit buckets, wash mitts, snow foam, car shampoo's etc? buckets i have/had are now gone seen as my dad decided to use them for his building work Can't have nout haha a

[Marc-5-GTI]

Autobrite Magifoams
Autofinnesse Avalanche

I use autoglym shampoo/conditioner

Buckets are buckets.. Just use the two bucket method.

Anywhere you find a cheap one for the mitts

Just shop about for the best deals 

[Harz]

I'm not an expert, but started to get into the more in depth side of cleaning the car last year. Started on my last car, a black Honda civic. My gti (also black) needs a detail, but I'm waiting for better weather before I tackle it. If your going to polish by hand I'd recommend Gteqniq p1 polish applied by tri-foam applicator, will take a lot of elbow grease/time but a pretty good polish then use auto glym super resin polish to "mask" any remaining swirls. Poorboys black hole glaze is a good product for dark colour cars too.

[xjay1337]

Use a decent wash mitt... either a proper lambswool one or go to Halfords and buy the sort of dark grey sheep skin or whatever one it is they have, that is quite a good one as well, about £9.
You won't get any genuine correction by hand, well, you can but it's very hard work simply don't bother take it from me it's not worth the ache. So either pay for it to be done or buy the equipment you need yourself

If you correct the paintwork and then wash and also importantly, dry it in the correct manner you will never get bad paint over the duration of your ownership.

and never use a bloody drive through / polish / 5 quid special car wash!!!!

[CarlW]

Haha i've learnt from the sponge never mind use them horrid car wash's

think i'll look at the polish machines and maybe see if i can pick a second hand one up cheap that way i'll be able to save a bit of money for some pads etc

[xjay1337]

You can buy a Das6 pro for £100 brand new.
With pads and polishes it's under £150 to get going, not much at all really