How to clean your car properly using Meguiars
Contents
Introduction
Making your E30’s paint sparkle like a new car isn’t as simple as it seems. There’s a lot more to getting a car looking in showroom condition than meets the eye. Of course, many people will be happy to give their car the once over with a bucket of water with a bit of washing-up detergent thrown in for good measure every 6 months or when they can no longer see out of the windscreen. The secrets to having a car with paintwork better than a brand-new car go much deeper!
In this guide, I will be describing the processes that I use personally on my car. These are a combination of recommendations from well known and top quality car detailing companies and a series of methods that I have found to work well for myself. Remember, this is only a guide and you can make variations to this as you please.
My chosen range of products are the Meguiars range. I have found every one of their products to exceed my expectations and with the added bonus of their products being affordable to most of us unlike some of the more expensive products such as Zymol. You can view and order direct from their website at www.meguiars.co.uk
Something that I can’t stress enough in this guide and if you remember nothing else here, then try and remember this:
DO NOT WASH OR POLISH YOUR CAR IN DIRECT SUNLIGHT
This is the worst thing you can do, many people will come out on a nice hot sunny day and wash their cars under the impression that it’s the perfect weather… wrong! An overcast day or somewhere in the shade is perfect otherwise you will end up with no end of problems such as water spots, polish and waxes baking onto the paint, swirl marks, the list goes on!!!
Wheels
Product:
- Meguiars Hot Rims Alloy Wheel Cleaner
For some bizarre reason (don’t ask me why), I always start by washing my wheels before anything else on the car. Start off by hosing down the wheel, never apply a wheel cleaner before wetting the surface first. Spray the wheel cleaner over the alloy wheel taking care not to get any on your brake callipers as it can corrode them. Work the wheel cleaner into the wheel with a soft brush or sponge, I also clean the sidewall surface of the tyre at this point.
Once you have thoroughly cleaned the wheel, rinse off and re-inspect for any parts you may have missed. Try not to leave the wheel cleaner on for long periods and ensure that it is thoroughly washed off after use.
Washing
Products:
- Meguiars NXT Generation Car Wash
- Meguiars Gold Class Shampoo and Conditioner
- Meguiars Lambswool Wash Mitt
One of the most important things to remember when washing your car is to wash it with the correct implement. Little do people realise that the conventional yellow sponge does more harm than good. It basically drags the dirt on the car across the paint causing swirl marks. You need to get yourself a proper wash mitt, I use the Meguiars lambs wool mitt which when used holds a lot of wash solution and actually picks the dirt up into it’s deep pile protecting the paint.
Prior to washing, ensure that you thoroughly rinse each panel first. For any large particles on the car, I use the jet setting on the hose to blast it off. Do NOT use a jet washer though as this could remove your paint too! Mix your solution using warm water and ensure that you stick to the recommended quantities on the bottle.
Start by washing the top of the car and work downwards, some people use different buckets of water and separate mitts for different parts of the car but I prefer to start at the top and work down as the worst of the dirt is usually at the bottom of the car. Wash one pannel at a time and then rinse immediately afterwards to avoid the wash solution from drying onto the paint.
Once finished, remove the spray from the end of the hose and allow the water to flow all over the car, this heavier flow helps to remove any remaining wash solution and “sheet” the water off the car!
Drying
Products:
- Meguiars Microfiber Drying Towel
Fill a bucket with clean lukewarm water and allow the drying towell to soak for approximately 10 minutes. Wring the towel out and start at the top of the car and dry if off working downwards again. Pay attention to any small cracks where water may trap. If you have opening rear windows you’ll probably already know that these hold the water rather well so it’s always worth opening them up to clean behind them!
Open the boot, bonnet and doors to allow all those crevices to be dried out. At the very end, I also dry the alloys off with an old drying cloth.
Preparing the paint for polishing\waxing
Products:
- Meguiars Quick Clay System
- Meguiars Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner (Step 1)
- Meguiars Foam Applicator Pads
- Meguiars 100% Cotton Terrycloth Towel
- Meguiars Microfiber Unltimate Wipe
Before you can think about polishing or waxing your car, you must first prepare the paint. A good test to see if your paint is in an acceptable condition to polish and wax is the “glass test”. Wet a small area of your car and run your fingers along it, if the paintwork does not feel as smooth as a pane of glass then you will need to treat it to remove any contaminants in your paint.
There are two types of contaminant that will affect your paint.
Above surface contaminants
Bird droppings
Dust \ Pollen
Tree Sap
Industrial Fallout
Road Film
Overspray
Below surface contaminants
Acid Rain
Scratches
Oxidation
Stains
A different product will need to be used to extract or remove either the above or below surface contaminants. Firstly I will explain how to treat the above surface contaminants.
To remove any contaminants above the surface of the paint I use the Meguiars Quick Clay system. Ensure the car has just been washed and then panel by panel begin the clay treatment.
Start by spraying the panel with the Meguiars Quick Detailer supplied with the clay. Knead the clay until soft and then gently glide the clay across the surface of the paint. Ensure that it is kept thoroughly lubricated to avoid the clay sticking to the paint. You will find that the clay picks up any contaminants on the paints surface that cannot be removed by washing. Once you have clayed a panel, dry it off with a 100% cotton terrycloth towel.
The next step is to treat the below surface imperfections. The use of a paint cleaner such as Meguiars Deep Crystal Pain Cleaner uses gentle abrasives to slightly cut the paint back to remove the imperfections and light scratches. Apply the paint cleaner using a Meguiars applicator foam pad a small section at a time. Do not allow the cleaner to dry to a haze, buff off quickly after application with a 100% cotton terrycloth towel or Meguiars Microfiber Ultimate Wipe.
Polishing \ Waxing
Products:
- Meguiars Deep Crystal Polish (Step 2)
- Meguiars Deep Crystal Carnauba Wax (Step 3)
- Meguiars Foam Applicator Pads
- Meguiars Microfiber Unlimate Wipe
Many people will use a single product to polish their cars such as a cheap combined polish\wax. When explaining to people, I always use the analogy of a combined shampoo\conditioner for your hair. It works but never as well as if you shampoo and condition your hair separately. The same applies to polishing and waxing your car.
The polish applies the deep shine to your car, however, this is useless unless you protect the shine. This is what the wax is used for, it seals in the shine and protects your paint form the elements. Always try and use a wax that contains the natural carnauba wax as this is best for your car.
Firstly apply the polish a panel at a time and as before, don’t allow it to fully dry. Buff off with a 100% cotton terrycloth towel or ultimate wipe.
The same procedure applies for the wax but this time you can allow it to dry to a haze before removing but once again, do only one panel at a time.
Finishing Touches
Products:
- Meguiars Trim Detailer
- Meguiars High Endurance Tyre Gloss
- Meguiars Gold Class All Metal Restorer
- Meguiars Plast-X
To give the car the perfect finishing touch, there are a couple of other products that I use.
Firstly, I go over all the black trim carefully with the trim detailer to bring it back to a nice black shine. This works well on rubber and plastic exterior trim.
Wheels never look the same unless you apply some sort of tyre gloss. The Meguiars High Endurance Tyre Gloss lasts for along time and does not wash off in the rain, it’s the best tyre gloss that I’ve come across.
I normally polish my exhaust tips with the Meguiars All Metal Polish which restores the original shine to my stainless steel exhaust. Apply with an applicator pad and buff off with a cloth or towel.
Finally, I polish my plastic exterior lights with Meguiars Plast-X. This is a polish specifically designed for bringing up a shine to plastic lights and really sets the car off after a good cleaning session.
