54 replies to this topic

[mymini007]

Great guide, once my car is back in a position where it need a wash I will be reffering tio this

[JP Detailing]

Regarding mitts, I've been using a soft brush for quite a while like these:

But without hooking it up to a hose direcly, I use it like you use those mittens. Are these a big nono? They've seemed to do the job for me OK for quite a while.

Also, those pictures you've shown of the before and after regarding swirls, I assume the technique behind it will be described in your following topics?

Great stuff so far, glad to see I was aware of the basics already, keep it coming!

Its not for me to say “No-no-no”. If your happy with the results then that’s all that matters. HOWEVER, I can still advise you

Brushes are likely to produce damage. Hold a strong light (LED) or look at your paintwork in direct sunlight, preferably exactly where the light hits it, you will probably see swirls and marring. For the sake of £5, get yourself two cheap buckets and one of those cheap mitts from Tesco. It will be much kinder to your vehicle.

And yes I will be covering how to remove all swirls and defects, no matter what your budget is in later posts.

If you have any questions in the meantime, just ask.

[jb93]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!! Brush

What's the best tyre dressing? At the moment I am using Megs Endurance Tyre Gel, but in the sun it looks a bit brown?

Will be following this by the way, great guide

Edited by jb93, 04 April 2012 - 09:20 AM.

[JP Detailing]

Depends on what you want. Shine or natural look.

Megs gel is actually quite good and there are many great products out there.

Important thing to remember (and this applies to all cleaning areas in car care) is that ‘it’s all in the prep’. If they still look brown, its possible that you have not cleaned the tyre thoroughly. Think of it like painting a wall. If it’s not clean, the paint won’t stick properly.

Don’t rush this part, dedicate some time to it.

Soak the tyre in APC (all purpose cleaner). Anything from a supermarket will do, I like daisy. Its cheap and effective. APC works really well for traditional dirty areas as the initial clean.
Work in the APC with a semi-stiff brush.
Rinse and repeat
Once dry, the tyre should look dull
Apply your Megs dressing
Leave it to settle for 15 mins
Then re-apply for more shine.

Z-16 is great if want a slight shine but more of a natural look.
http://www.theultimatefinish.co.uk/zaino/z-16-perfect-tire-gloss.aspx

But by all means, the megs you are using is good.


If your still finding its brown and dirty, try gently wiping it with some vinegar, rinse then apply the dressing.

I’ll post up some pics of the process soon.

[freshairmini]

I've used that Autoglym spray tyre dressing and found that good. Keeps the tyre clean and not overly shiny, protects it for quite a while.

[oliver122]

something like this would be great jack , detailing fourms can be to much info for someone who is new to it

what is a good paint detox for my paint? my roof on my mini is terrible is i apply anything it always leaves marks of where you have applied and no matter how much you buff they stay there , the only thing i have found that works is glaze 2.0 and that seems to leave a wet look but no shine to it

what i use atm is for washing :

• 2 buckets
• 2 microfibre wash mits ( one meg , one a cheap one)
• 2 meg micro fibres + some cheaper ones
• a big drying towel
• meg nxt generation car wash
• meg nxt generation wax
• meg ultimate quick wax
• meg ulltimate compund
• meg ultimate detailer
• meg clay bar
• auto glym trye dressing
• auto glym super resin polish
• auto glym fast glass
• auto glym extra gloss protection
• auto glym paint renovater
• auto glym bumper and trim gel

normally once a month i give it a good going over using various of the above
then weekly , gets a wash using megs , then a going over with the meg ultimate quick wax and the glaze 2.0 on the roof. I have got a couple of question , but i will pm you if thats ok ?

oliver

Edited by oliver122, 04 April 2012 - 12:32 PM.

[JP Detailing]

By all means PM me your Q's.

As for your roof, post up a picture of the current results you are getting. Sounds like the laquer may have deteriorated.

Post up a pic and we will look.

[minisilverbullet]

Great guide!

I enjoy "detailing" my mini, it quite therapeutic.

Some questions - My car is never really dirty, maybe a bit dusty or may have the odd patch of residue from light rain. Can I substitute water with something else?

number two - my mini is silver, this is really hard to get a true deep shine, andy recommendations for products for silver cars.

I did find a wax for silver cars by angel wax; but still to buy and try.

oh and some pics

[JP Detailing]

Coloured waxes are a bit of a myth. Whilst they do contain slight pigment differences, the noticeable difference is almost impossible. Any wax is great as long you prep properly and apply it correctly.

Have you tried claying the paintwork? Followed by de-ironising with something like Iron-X?
Also, a machine polish will give it a true deep shine (although, silver will always be harder to notice on) followed by wax.

For a true, deep, flawless finish, the full detailing works are essential.

Nice Mini by the way. Looks brilliant

[GTIAlex06]

Id love if you could send me a message, or post on here some advanced information about alloy wheel cleaning and protection.

I will be receiving a set of newly refurbished wheels that i want to keep in top condition.

Im looking for a good cleaner (is ph neutral the best?)
and
Im looking for a wax/something to apply to the clean wheel to keep the surface protected and easier to clean

[JP Detailing]

Absolutely. I'll be posting up a thread on how to clean and protect alloys next as I've had a number of PM's regarding this. To quickly answer your Q's, yes PH neutral is a must and a wax will protect and make cleaning quicker in the future. Watch this space, I'll crack on with the alloy guide this weekend.

[Spherix]

Its not for me to say “No-no-no”. If your happy with the results then that’s all that matters. HOWEVER, I can still advise you

Brushes are likely to produce damage. Hold a strong light (LED) or look at your paintwork in direct sunlight, preferably exactly where the light hits it, you will probably see swirls and marring. For the sake of £5, get yourself two cheap buckets and one of those cheap mitts from Tesco. It will be much kinder to your vehicle.

And yes I will be covering how to remove all swirls and defects, no matter what your budget is in later posts.

If you have any questions in the meantime, just ask.

Thanks for the advice, will look for a proper mitt later this week, as the brush didn't really do what I wanted it to do either.

Did a quick wash today on my barnfind; it has been sitting in a garage for over 10 years! Gave it it's first wash today using Meguiars gold wash & the carnauba wax, just to get most of the ancient dust off.

Few questions:
- Do you use cold, warm, or hot water for your 'clean' bucket and the soapy one?
- My drying towels tend to get quite dirty, especially when I dry off any windscreen rubbers, any way to avoid this?
- I was waxing the car today, and since mini's love to keep a little water under the rear side windows, rubbers, mirrors and so on, during the waxing the car had drops of water on it, which mixed into the wax applicant pad as I was rubbin' it down the car. Would you dry these droplets off with a separate drying towel, or just continue waxing?
- A rotary cleaning machine, well, rotates; doesn't that make swirls then?

Thanks so far, I'm a guy that likes to keep his rides clean, so you've caught my interest! Here's what I did today;




Can't complain for the time this took, will have to 'finish' it some other time though.

[JP Detailing]

Your ride looks great! Very swish.

To answer some of your Q's.

- Do you use cold, warm, or hot water for your 'clean' bucket and the soapy one? - It doesnt matter. I find that you get more suds when you use warm water so this is preferable.
- My drying towels tend to get quite dirty, especially when I dry off any windscreen rubbers, any way to avoid this? - Wash them ideally after every session. Really spend some time on cleaning the rubbers to avoid this problem and dress them with something like poorboys natural look. Use an APC to clean with a detail brush first.
- I was waxing the car today, and since mini's love to keep a little water under the rear side windows, rubbers, mirrors and so on, during the waxing the car had drops of water on it, which mixed into the wax applicant pad as I was rubbin' it down the car. Would you dry these droplets off with a separate drying towel, or just continue waxing? As long as the water is clean and there is not too much this is actually helping. When you apply wax your pad should be damp, this helps the wax spread better (although I would recommend drying the dropx from the bodywork first and using water from a spray bottle to dampen your pad)
- A rotary cleaning machine, well, rotates; doesn't that make swirls then? If you do not use polish - Yes (but why would you do that? lol). If you use it incorrectly - Yes and worse, it can strike through (goes beyong the laquer) and force you to respray. Machine polishing removes swirls with the right pad and polish combo. Machine polishing is an entirely different beast which I will cover seperately, its very complex and precautions must be taken.

Theres so much to show you guys, I should really hold a mass detailing lesson day! Haha

[JP Detailing]

Just to keep you all updated, I plan on fully detailing my alloys and taking lots of pics this Friday (if the weather is good) so expect a full write up and 'how to' on the Friday evening! Something for you to look forward to!

[GTIAlex06]

Cheers man thanks for taking the time.