US 'Detailing' vs UK 'washing the car'

If anyone is interested in learning more about detailing then I can highly recommend the following YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/AMMONYCdotcom

and this blog by the same guy:
http://www.ammonyc.com/category/blog-detailing/

Entick said:

If anyone is interested in learning more about detailing then I can highly recommend the following YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/AMMONYCdotcom

and this blog by the same guy:
http://www.ammonyc.com/category/blog-detailing/

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Thanks for the link. This guy has a great job / business.

I'm resurrecting this thread as their is some car wash talk on the mod's thread (my fault I think lol), anyway the "washing the car in the rain" comment is interesting, I have often suggested it as a good idea to mates & they simply laughed at me, never done it myself but the rainwater would be better than any hose/pressure washer for rinsing as you go - just for a basic wash. Would get some funny looks though

Don't want your pride an joy going through a car wash? Too late if you live in Asia!!

[ame]

I'm hoping our cars get the Euro coveralls before leaving the plant, not after coming off the train and going through a car wash!

I'm sure I'd read somewhere that a pressure washer with certain attachments was essential to cleaning/detailing your car. B&Q are doing Karcher K2s for £46 at the moment so I bought one yesterdY, but now I can't find what I thought I'd read. Should I take it back?

jord79 said:

I'm sure I'd read somewhere that a pressure washer with certain attachments was essential to cleaning/detailing your car. B&Q are doing Karcher K2s for £46 at the moment so I bought one yesterdY, but now I can't find what I thought I'd read. Should I take it back?

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Get yourself one of these:


http://www.theultimatefinish.co.uk/pressure-washers/accessories.aspx

Also have a look at the snow foams and tutorial videos on their site ;)

jord79 said:

I'm sure I'd read somewhere that a pressure washer with certain attachments was essential to cleaning/detailing your car. B&Q are doing Karcher K2s for £46 at the moment so I bought one yesterdY, but now I can't find what I thought I'd read. Should I take it back?

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Pressure washers seem to be the only way to really get your 'snow foam' apparently. Unless anyone knows another way?

I'll stick my neck out and say I'd rather not use a presssure washer. They are more hassle - something extra to store, tidy away, trip over etc. If there's the slightest bubble or break in your paint, there's nothing like a pressure washer to get right under it and whip more paint off! I'm sure I've read that they can also 'force the dirt onto your car (& scratch)' although not sure if this is true. I think a lot of the problems arrise when people use them too close though (which I've probably done in the past).

I get rather obsessive about everything I really like. I've washed mine at least twice a week since purchase and most have been three times a week because of rain. I always pop the hood (bonnet?) and clean the engine bay. Same for door jams and all the trunk bits. Inside and outside of exhaust tips, etc. I was whenever the sponge doesnt glide across the paint effortlessly. I'm a car guy and it's my baby.

Monty said:

Pressure washers seem to be the only way to really get your 'snow foam' apparently. Unless anyone knows another way?

I'll stick my neck out and say I'd rather not use a presssure washer. They are more hassle - something extra to store, tidy away, trip over etc. If there's the slightest bubble or break in your paint, there's nothing like a pressure washer to get right under it and whip more paint off! I'm sure I've read that they can also 'force the dirt onto your car (& scratch)' although not sure if this is true. I think a lot of the problems arrise when people use them too close though (which I've probably done in the past).

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I think you are right about the foam. Also if you want to use rainwater (no hose or a hard water area) a pressure washer is great. People do make the mistake of blasting too close. Stand back a bit and they are brilliant for a fine mist/drench which is really effective. I (intentionally) stripped an entire front panel on my old Chrysler 300c with a pressure washer.

guys I know that some of us In the US are indeed fanatical about our cars appearance,
it is what it is we love driving it and showing it. It is sort of ingrained. Sort of like the UK and Europeans Footie matches. Sure we watch American football the same way it is just a culture difference.

Here is something I think we can all agree will make most of us Happier and our cars finish healthier.

Glasscoat Invincible Primer and Glasscoat Cosmic.

Try it on your wifes beater, then do it on your car after claying and your wife will owe me for saving you hours washing and waxing etc. It is amazing and it help protect your paint way more than standard waxing and looks beyond way better.

http://www.polishangel.us/collections/glasscoat-cosmic-9h-system

this is some of the best protectant and wax I have seen tbh. There is also a European website I just didnt look it up sorry.

Raising my game

OK guys, this is what I have learnt in the past few weeks after a lot of reading! I am upping my game & this is how I will be changing my routine. A bit excessive for some & no doubt way below the standards for hard core detailers! But this is what I have decided…hoping it will be useful to some it’s my interpretation of detailing so take from it what you will!

So the stuff I have is either old or running out so I am starting fresh, this is my list of things to buy covering my normal wash & a few extra bits for when I detail (pressure washer not on the list but I do have one);

External
2 x buckets with grit guard
foam cannon/lance
snow foam
cars shampoo/conditioner
wash mit
clay bar with detailing spray & microbe towel
polish & polishing cloths
carnauba wax & applicator/cloth
microfibre drying towel
glass cleaner & cloths
bug spray

Wheels
alloy wheel brush
alloy wheel cleaner spray
alloy wheel protector
tyre dressing foam
cleaning cloth

Interior
bird poop remover wipes
int dash wipes
leather care?
duster wipes/cloths

The method (*** additional “detailing” steps)

- First things first - a blast with the pressure washer/hose. Not too close but close enough to remove all of the loose dirt. If needed use some bug spray before you wash & give it a few minutes to do it’s thing.
- ***The snow foam - cover the paintwork & wheels in a good layer of foam, let that sit for a few minutes (not sure how long exactly)
- ***Pressure washer again; the foam should have done a good job at lifting any dirt so rinse it all off
- “wash” the car. Using the 2 buckets method & your choice of car shampoo. The 2 buckets method involves having one bucket for your shampoo mixture & the other with plain water just to rinse after applying the shampoo to the car. The grit guards ensure that any grit that is picked up from the car by your wash mitt falls to the bottom of the bucket. Rinse the car as you go also.
- For the wheels, spray with alloy wheel cleaner to loosen brake dirt & use a wheel brush to remove the dirt then rinse, use a separate wash mitt/sponge if needed.
- Use a thick microfibre drying towel to dry the paintwork. Dab don’t wipe.
- ***on the wheels, apply the wheel protector & buff with a cloth (or as instructed on the kit). Spray on the foam tyre dressing as follow instructions on the kit.
- windows; spray window cleaner & use a clean microfibre cloth - inside & out
- ***clay bar, as instructed on the products; normally applying the detailing spray & using the clay to remove the micro contaminants to smoothen out the paint. You should be able to run your fingers along the paintwork & it should feel perfectly smooth.
- ***polish apply as per product instructions
- ***waxing; invest in a good quality wax. Carnauba wax seems to be popular & worth investing in. Apply as per instructions.
- Stand back & admire the beauty. Take photo’s of your hard work & share

Interior
- No real method here but I usually remove the mats, give them a good vacuum, then the inside of the car. Remove any dust from the surfaces & wipe down with interior car wipes.
- Leather seats; no idea! first time I have had leather seats so don’t know what to do with them yet. No doubt they will need some TLC of some sort.

Notes

As for the detailing steps; I may well pick & choose which of these I do each time I was the car but they are over & above what I consider to be a normal quick basic wash.

Polishing - From what I have read, polishing your car is not something you should do all that often (depending on the paint type). With my (metallic) paint I would be surprised if I need to polish more than twice a year.

General tips; don’t do any detailing in direct sunlight. I have read that applying polish/wax to hot metal isn’t ideal. A warm, overcast day is perfect IMO. I usually do the interior after washing and before I do any detailing stuff.

Personally I intend to wash mine at least every other month but will aim for every 4-6 weeks. May turn out to be more! Something you can’t advise on really I guess because it depends on your driving - I will be doing over 15k miles pa and mostly motorway which mean’s I will be spending a lot of time washing the motor but I can’t wait!

^^^

Sounds good. But you can skip the "2-bucket method" and replace it with using 4 wash mitts. Instead of rinsing your mitt, pick up a clean one. This works great, won't slow you down, and always ensures a clean mitt. No need to rinse a mitt in dirty water and then swiping it across a clean car.

Am I right in thinking some of the detailing these days is driven by the soft paint on modern cars. Many years ago, I recall you could just wash then wax your car to a mirror shine. These days you go out in a strong wind and you've got swirl marks all over the car. I also don't recal bird sh1t eating down the the bare metal if you leave it on for more than 5 minutes either. Also, is it me or does modern paint seem to have an almost 'hammerite'/'orange peel' effect, in comparison to the old style paint.

Monty said:

Am I right in thinking some of the detailing these days is driven by the soft paint on modern cars. Many years ago, I recall you could just wash then wax your car to a mirror shine. These days you go out in a strong wind and you've got swirl marks all over the car. I also don't recal bird sh1t eating down the the bare metal if you leave it on for more than 5 minutes either. Also, is it me or does modern paint seem to have an almost 'hammerite'/'orange peel' effect, in comparison to the old style paint.

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The orange peel effect is the clear coat, it's simply down to the materials used and the speed the car is painted, dried & cleared