Cleaning and Polishing

[Soundwarp]

OK i did a search but couldn't find anything.

I'm wondering what you guys think is the best stuff to clean your cars with?
Outside
Wheels
Rims
Glass

To what i'm looking to do now, what polish is best for cars that aren't very old?
My car has never been polished and i'm starting to see swirls and i'd like to give it good shine up again.
So any help is much appreciated!

Thanks!

[Melz]

I use Meguire's 'Show Glaze' on my ute and it came up an absolute treat (until it rained 2 days later :() Normally I run a paint cleaner over areas that seem to hold grime, such as my front bumper and side skirts, just to get all the bugs and road grime off them.
For Glass (which I hate cleaning with a passion...) I used to have Eagle One glass cleaner which seemed to be alright, but at the moment I have some Meguire's Glass Cleaner, which if your car's windows aren't 'warm', it tends to haze. So I think I must be doing something wrong there!
I've used Kitten Tyre Foam on all my car's tyres. I prefer it because I don't like that real glossy rubber look.

Go to the THEMBOYS Auto section of this forum, there is some useful info in there, and DOC will be able to answer any questions for you

[b2tf]

Ok for me its something like this....

Exterior:

First up hose down with water
Then wash using NXT Gen car wash and a Bowden's Own wash mitt - I find the Meguiars wash mitts to be absolute crap, the Bowden's ones are brilliant.
Dry it off all over, keep the panels wet so you dont get watermarks while youre drying.
Then use paint cleaner on the entire car (i do anyway), you can also use a claybar here, I do that every 3 months or so, but for your average wash paint cleaner will do the job fine.
Buff off the paint cleaner as per the instructions, then once the surface is right, youre ready for a polish. Ive been using the Meguiars ones lately but might try a A Bowden's Own one soon.
After polish again buff off the excess and hit it with some wax, Quik Wax is good but if you dont want to have to do it again for a while go for a nice coat of Gold Class or NXT Gen wax. It is time consuming and you will need to give the entire car a good once over to get it right, but if you do it right, it'll protect the paint and give it a nice shine as well. FWIW, I've found the NXT Gen wax takes longer to work with than the Gold Class one.

Wheels I do with car wash and water using another Bowden's mitt, be careful if youre using dedicated wheel cleaner sprays as some can damage the finish of factory wheels. Tyre Shine I use Megs Hot Shine Tyre Spray, 3 coats and they look better than brand new. Lasts about 2 weeks too.

Glass - nothing special here, I use windex.


Now I have no doubt there will be a million responses to this one with different products and methods all claiming they are the best, look the answer is thats all crap IMHO, find what works for you, what youre happy to pay for (Meguiars stuff isnt exactly cheap but I find it is worth it), and what youre happy to work with. What I wrote above takes me about 6 hours or so from start to finish, longer if i use the claybar or get picky.

[fordAU]

Lots of good information there, thanks for that.

Like Soundwarp my vehicle is also Blueprint and swirl marks in the paint is very noticeable with that colour, dependant on the lighting.

[howesy]

I use car lack, cheaper and better product than meguires.

[Soundwarp]

Gee thank guys.
Paint cleaner you all mention?

[MRJUCY]

Asking what's the best polish,wax or whatever is like asking what is the best car, there is good & bad ones but there is no real answer as everyone needs & wants different things.

Most companies make a paint cleaner it's like a polish with no cut so it removes contaminants without removing paint & you use it after washing (& claying) to get the surface nice before you wax or seal it to protect it.

Do you want an all in one product for the paint or are you happy to use a separate cleaner, polish & wax?

[Soundwarp]

I'm happy to use seperate stuuf and put in the hours.......
Thanks.

[OldManGhia]

I don't use polish at all. Just wash with a wash n wax like Kitten Wash N Wax or Polyglaze, (they usually have an anti rust formula in it as well) then wipe the car down afterwards with a chamois. For the glass I use a few mls of metho in a spray bottle of water for the exterior and for the interior just a damp glass cleaning cloth. On the tyres I use an el cheapo pressure pack can of Export tyre shine. My old EB used to get a good polish every six months or so and the paint especially on the bonnet turned powdery and faded to white. Apparently caused by the polish affecting the surface when it became hot.

[The Monty]

Meguiars quick wax:

[chief]

Get in contact with Doc and have a look here:

http://fordforums.com.au/forumdisplay.php?f=116

[Oo_xrsx_oO]

Outside: Meguiars NXT Gen wash. Follow with NXT Gen Tech Wax. Claybar maybe every 6 months, I find a regular polish with the Tech Wax keeps the paint in good nick and keeps the car easy to wash. If you have swirls hit it with paint cleaner or scratch x to get it back to square one, then just make sure you regularly polish/wax to keep it looking good. Gets easier every time. Use the meguiars mit to wash, their foam applicators for polishes and their terry towels for buffing.

Wheels: I use whatever car wash I have left over after the wash, no wheel cleaners for me. I don't let my rims get that dirty that they require a special cleaner, have used this on all my wheels and they look as new.

Tyres: Turtle Wet and Black Tyre Shine, my favourite as it is cheap and I find that I use less and results are as good if not better than other products I have tried. Two quick coats and shine is good for at least a fortnight, sometimes longer.

Glass: Meguiars Glass Cleaner, I used to think Windex was good but there is no way you can do anything wrong with this stuff. I use it with a glass microfibre cloth and windows look great, no streaking whatsoever. Tint safe and smells great in the car.

As bt2f said everyone is different when it comes to cleaning, trial and error will help find what you like as far as cost, effort and results go.

[Robe]

Wash?

Wha' chu talking 'bout Willis? :

Actually I did rinse the wagon with my left-over bath water a month or so ago. You gotta love white paint.

[DOC]

Originally Posted by Robe

Wash?
Wha' chu talking 'bout Willis? :
Actually I did rinse the wagon with my left-over bath water a month or so ago. You gotta love white paint.

That would be like washing your Y fronts in the bath water, they going to get stained and turn brown eventually.

Wheels > scroll down to bottom

[Soundwarp]

:( At the momnet i have to wash it at Car Lovers due to the damm water restrictions, so i'll do that then hit it with the paint cleaner and then Meguires or Bowdens own polish.......
Thanks heaps!

[DOC]

Originally Posted by Soundwarp

:( At the momnet i have to wash it at Car Lovers due to the damm water restrictions, so i'll do that then hit it with the paint cleaner and then Meguires or Bowdens own polish.......
Thanks heaps!

Do a search in e sries ( waterless wash ) you can do it home easily with Quick wash TM.

[Soundwarp]

Damm i'm there............

[walker]

Originally Posted by The Monty

Meguiars quick wax:

your not wrong when you say sparkling burgundy
thats unreal

[walker]

for poishing chrome, and polished things, a mate of mine got me onto this awsome stuff called PURPLE I had never heard of it before but ***** it works you get it from most truck spare parts places. It's around $25 for 500mls quiet pricey but I'd say it's worth it

[Soundwarp]

http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthr...waterless+wash

Doc that's awesome, i'm gonna give it a go.
All i need is the paint cleaner stuff.

[ex cab]

i polish my front and rear windscreen with turtle wax every couple of months, sooner if there is alot of rain causing a build up of grime.

works well in the rain, the water just beads off when your driving.

there is no streaking caused by the whippers, vision is excellent, especially at night.

been doing it for years, can't remember how i started doing this but it works for me.

Anyone else tried this ?

[Soundwarp]

Does it impare your vision driving into the sun?

[ex cab]

no. never had a problem.

[DJM83]

Originally Posted by ex cab

i polish my front and rear windscreen with turtle wax every couple of months, sooner if there is alot of rain causing a build up of grime.

works well in the rain, the water just beads off when your driving.

there is no streaking caused by the whippers, vision is excellent, especially at night.

been doing it for years, can't remember how i started doing this but it works for me.

Anyone else tried this ?

Isnt that wat Rainx is for?

[Soundwarp]

Well i picked up Meguires paint cleaner and polish today, washed the car this arvo and i'll keep it in the garage over the weekend until i've used both products!

[SVR73]

spot on howesy. carlack is excellent.
best advice I can give for those who want to put in the time for maximum results

buy a 2 x 500w halogen work light set (50 ish dollars), clay the paint and buy yourselves an orbital.
It has been a year since I polished my car but in that time it's been washed maybe ten times.

both left side doors, rear quarter, side skirts, rear bumper/bodykit are done and I'll be doing the right rear door in a few months

process - lake country pads, rotary, 600 to 1350 rpm and back down to 900 to finish
Scratchinator abolish ( white), Blackfire/Menzerna PO106FF (black) and PO106FF, Driven to perfection glaze and ultra gloss superpolish(blue). finished with fireglaze double strength pro polish gently by hand to bring out the flake.

Carlack Prime Acrylic by hand to prep the surface for sealant
three x fireglaze DS
three x Driven to perfection teflon sealant.

That will keep it ahead of the rest.

If your busy - wash and wax shampoo every few weeks or month
Waterless wash

got a couple hours each weekend or two
clay, polish, wax. wash for six months then repeat

got more time
all of above but two step polish, two coats of protection.
wash every week.

even more time
welcome to autopia.

[Soundwarp]

I went to get the clay and or swirl remover from supercheap but they were sold out.

[ThoR_]

I use PolyGlaze products there top notch without burning your pocket like Meguires.

There Sprakling Wash is mint and it doesnt dry out your paint.

Ive used

Turtle Wax
Kitten Wax
Polyglaze Diamond Finish
Meguires Carnuba

I actually found PolyGlaze Diamond Finish to work the best! Its about 8 bucks a bottle and its like cream its amazing and leaves you paint slick as and very smooth.

My cars cream so you cant see the swirls so i dont bother with them. I use Repo Cut And Polish Repo products are great! I use Export Tyre Shine its like 4bucks a can and its lasted 3 weeks so far!

Wheels are just steel so i just use Kitten Wheel Cleaner. Its like Acid it sez safe for all finishes of wheel but i would not trust it. Mine are just steel so doesnt matter for me.

For the glass which is very suprising alot of guys have gone from meguires to PolyGlaze Invisible Glass and have not looked back. Its crazy stuff.

Thats how i clean my VC. Its in top nick so i look after it. But when i get my new car im going to have to be real carful with the paint.

[Soundwarp]

OK Meguires paint cleaner was awesome on the areas that needed it and the polish i think is great. Next time a have a weekend to blow i'll use the wax aswell!
Thanks heaps for all of your replies!

[DOC]

Brilliant car SW, had one exactly the same. great job on the clean.