Newbie to detailing

[BAC5.2]

I'm a complete car cleaning newbie.

 

I barely wash my car, which is terrible I know. In the 3 years I owned my 98 Forester, I didn't wash it once (though I did do an auto wash a few times). The same for my OBXT, I've washed it by hand twice but JUST wash. I've never waxed a car in my life, nor have I ever used a clay-bar.

 

So how do I get started?

 

What supplies do I need?

 

E-Tank said the process is something like: Wash, Claybar, Dry, Polish, Wax.

 

What materials should I get? Can I just use your average Mothers car wash concentrate?

 

I DID buy a Mothers Power Cone and wheel polish to clean the wheels on both of our cars (especially on my wifes Impreza, there are TONS of nooks and crannies on the OEM wheels).

 

What else?

 

I still have some residue from the white plastic "protection" that ships on new cars that won't come off. I've also got some white wax or something on the roof rails that I'd like gone. Plus, if I debadge, I will need to do something about the residue there.

 

What wash should I get?

Rags/towels/cloths (I did get a 12-pack of microfiber towels from Advance not long ago)?

What clay bar?

What polish?

What wax?

 

I'm also at a loss on the interior. My car has a few marks on the leather and on some of the cloth on the back of the rear seats. The headliner has a few marks from hamfisted dealer technicians trying to fix my rattle.

 

I don't want to neglect our cars anymore!

[malvic]

http://www.ocdetails.info/OCD_University.html

[ttnio]

I'm a complete car cleaning newbie.

 

I barely wash my car, which is terrible I know. In the 3 years I owned my 98 Forester, I didn't wash it once (though I did do an auto wash a few times). The same for my OBXT, I've washed it by hand twice but JUST wash. I've never waxed a car in my life, nor have I ever used a clay-bar.

 

So how do I get started?

 

What supplies do I need?

 

E-Tank said the process is something like: Wash, Claybar, Dry, Polish, Wax.

 

What materials should I get? Can I just use your average Mothers car wash concentrate?

 

I DID buy a Mothers Power Cone and wheel polish to clean the wheels on both of our cars (especially on my wifes Impreza, there are TONS of nooks and crannies on the OEM wheels).

 

What else?

 

I still have some residue from the white plastic "protection" that ships on new cars that won't come off. I've also got some white wax or something on the roof rails that I'd like gone. Plus, if I debadge, I will need to do something about the residue there.

 

What wash should I get?

Rags/towels/cloths (I did get a 12-pack of microfiber towels from Advance not long ago)?

What clay bar?

What polish?

What wax?

 

I'm also at a loss on the interior. My car has a few marks on the leather and on some of the cloth on the back of the rear seats. The headliner has a few marks from hamfisted dealer technicians trying to fix my rattle.

 

I don't want to neglect our cars anymore!

 

 

All of the above is a start....Don't forget your MOTIVATION in order to do a good job ...

[BAC5.2]

Do you HAVE to polish, or can I just:

 

Wash

Clay/clean

Wax

[underground000]

Polish is to remove scratches in the paint. You dont want to polish often as waxing

You dont have to polish but I think itll be a waste of time if you waxed w/out polishing if the paint needs it

[Brady]

Let me correct one thing right now ... waxing is NEVER a waste of time. It will always help protect your paint from further damage.

 

Think of it like armor for your paint.

 

Or it's like sports equipment. A player is injured in football. He might not be fully recovered, but just because he's still technically injured doesn't mean he isn't going to wear his helmet and pads on the field.

 

 

At some point it's great to be able to polish, but don't ever discount waxing just because you haven't been able to polish.

[Brady]

Do you HAVE to polish, or can I just:

 

Wash

Clay/clean

Wax

 

That is still an excellent step in protecting your paint.

 

Really, you probably only need to clay twice a year under normal driving conditions.

[underground000]

I was saying (to me) its a waste of time if you wash>clay>wax w/out polish on a 98 Fozzy. The clay would remove any embedded stuff on the paint, but also the paint will have some fine scratches and possible light oxidation the clay would not remove, and in some cases clay creates scratches. Waxing it would not cover up the scratches. I just think if you are going through the trouble of claying & waxing, spend the extra time to make it look better and polish it

 

BTW some instructions say to rewash the car after claying to remove any residue. So if you follow that it will be wash>clay>wash>wax or wash>clay>wash>polish>wax

 

GL take pics of before and after for us!!

[BAC5.2]

I'm washing my 09 OBXT (25k miles) and my wifes 09 Impreza (14k miles). I sold my 98 Forester a long time ago.

 

I like the re-wash-after-clay idea.

 

So I'm going to modify the OCDetails tutorial a bit.

 

Meguiars NXT wash -> Clay Magic -> NXT Wash -> Medallion Paint Cleaner -> Meguiars #20 synthetic sealer -> Meguiars #26 Carnuba wax.

 

Might take all day, but it should protect the car for a while.

[dmanaenk]

^ don't forget to throw away that 'power cone' thingy before doing cleaning/sealing.

[BAC5.2]

That does bring up wheel cleaning. That power cone thing didn't work worth a darn. What a waste. On the impreza I just took to cleaning them by hand with a microfiber towel. This worked, but the backs of the wheels are CAKED in brake dust and junk. I'm sure mine will be the same.

 

Tips and tricks?

[Wang Lung]

http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/autogeek_2117_33253287

[Brady]

I was saying (to me) its a waste of time if you wash>clay>wax w/out polish on a 98 Fozzy. The clay would remove any embedded stuff on the paint, but also the paint will have some fine scratches and possible light oxidation the clay would not remove, and in some cases clay creates scratches. Waxing it would not cover up the scratches. I just think if you are going through the trouble of claying & waxing, spend the extra time to make it look better and polish it

 

I still disagree. Polishing a car is a far more significant investment than washing, claying, and waxing. For those, including decent mitts, micro fiber towels/cloths, clay, and wash/soap, can spend less than $40 and have a decent set-up to last you a good number of washes. But a good polishing set-up including polisher, pads & product is going to be at least $150 ... more realistically $200 minimum. There's a difference between "making your car look GOOD" and "protecting the paint" which is really what any beginner detailer should be focusing on. And to that end, using a clay bar is still better than 99% of average home driveway detailers ever do for their cars.

[underground000]

I still disagree. Polishing a car is a far more significant investment than washing, claying, and waxing. For those, including decent mitts, micro fiber towels/cloths, clay, and wash/soap, can spend less than $40 and have a decent set-up to last you a good number of washes. But a good polishing set-up including polisher, pads & product is going to be at least $150 ... more realistically $200 minimum. There's a difference between "making your car look GOOD" and "protecting the paint" which is really what any beginner detailer should be focusing on. And to that end, using a clay bar is still better than 99% of average home driveway detailers ever do for their cars.

 

I guess it depends how bad the paint is. Yea learning how to protect the paint a great 1st step. And getting into the habit/motivation to keep it protected

Yea protecting the paint vs 'show car finish' is different...

 

Not to argue but you dont need to buy a polisher and pads. It helps a lot if you have one and does do a much better job

 

I spent about $40 on 3 polishing compounds and accessories (foam applicators, microfibers) If I was to redo it I would spend less then $15 for the compound, foam applicator and microfiber towels (if you factor the microfiber towels I used, I bought a huge stack of them)

 

When I first got my car the paint was horrible after claying the paint was still rough - hood/roof/trunk was covered with etched acid rain. This is when I started to get into the whole process. Took me about 6 months and 4 tries to get the paint looking 90% better. First 3x I bought off the shelf polishing compound and IMO (now) most polishing compounds are weak at cutting by hand use and more ment for a electric polisher. The last thing I bought was a rubbing compound thats ment to be used by hand only, and its much better at cutting into the paint. Now you can still see some faint acid rain marks at certain angles but the paint is much cleaner and smoother now. The last time I did everything took me from 1pm to about 7pm including long breaks and

[BAC5.2]

One more question. Liquid or paste wax? I got the meguiars NXT Tech wax in both flavors, but ill return the one I don't use.

 

Also, anyone recommend more than one coat of wax? I got #26 in hopes that the next store would have #20, but they didn't. Can I put #26 over the NXT wax?

 

I also couldn't find any cleaner. If I do a good wash -> clay -> wash, is a cleaner a necessity?

[DeltaSniper]

No, as long as you clayed it well you dont need a "paint cleaner" an Isopropyl wipedown would do great for prepping the paint though.

 

Layering wax is a must to ensure full coverage and slightly added durability.

 

No difference in paste vs wax but I prefer the paste since its easier for me oddly enough...

[BAC5.2]

So no advantage to one over the other? I don't think I have waxed a car in my entire life. Any tips?

[exsterminator]

So no advantage to one over the other? I don't think I have waxed a car in my entire life. Any tips?

 

I use NXT Tech Wax 2.0, the liquid version over paste - easy to apply and has been great in the 12 months I have been using it. Best wax tips: use it sparingly as a little goes a long way and applying too much means you give yourself more work buffing it than necessary without any added protection (I use a nickel sized blob on a manual applicator and a little more on the Porter Cable pads), take your time doing panel by panel, and try and keep it off the roof rails!